Final Print

The negative created by the spreadsheet is the mathematically true negative of the positive image. In a perfect world this would produce the mathematically true print, however, even though modern printers with three or more black or grey inks print are very good they are not perfect. Also, different photographic materials do not respond in the same way and each photographer has their own idea of what the print should look like.

Even with these variables, if T2 and T14 are reasonably true, the first test print should be, or close to being, an acceptable print. To get to that perfect print TruNeg is unique in its ability to adjust a negative’s curve to discreetly lighten or darken any portion of the print to make up for unwanted affects caused by the printer or material, or to just tweak the image to meet the photographer’s vision for the print.

This may take two or three test strips to get it exactly right, but you do not have to go back and start from the beginning again each time you evolve the image.

The  procedure is straightforward and depends simply on identifying what is wrong with the print, lightening or darkening the offending negative tones by changing the RGB value in the appropriate cell. Remember, though, that you are working with a negative and increasing a tone’s output darkens the print and decreasing it makes that part of the print lighter.

As you make the changes the yellow working curve changes with them but the blue base curve remains the same so that the changes can be visualized.

As the numerical values between the highlights and shadows vary, corrections should be thought of in steps, that is, to lighten or darken one step, nearly one step etc. as indicated by the horizontal lines in the graph. When starting with TruNeg it is suggested that changes be kept to one tone or less, particularly in the highlights as a change of 2 or 3 RGB can make a significant difference. 

What can be difficult is identifying the tones to be corrected because of the exponential nature of negatives and prints. Going over the corrected negative image with the color picker and identifying how the tones fit with the outputs of the working curve can be helpful in choosing the right tones to work with.

Including one of the provided step wedges in the test strip also gives a guide as to how the negative is rendering the tones, particularly in the highlights. 

Once a negative and alternative process is tuned, record the negative and process settings so they can be used for other photographs for the same process. Obviously, the negative of the new image can be adjusted in the same manner if needed. 

Happy printing. TruNeg is a truly enjoyable and rewarding way to making great prints for any photographic process.