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OPTICAL PRINTING PROCESS IN 21 STEPS

1) Clean and organize Optical Printer work area

2) Make sure you have the following items:

16mm, 8mm, S8 projector heads
ND filters
Color Correction Filters
Heat absorbing glass
Diffuser glass
S-8 reel washers
Reel clamps
Compressed air
Magnifying glass
Viewing prism
Camera take-up reel - Projector take-up reel
Project log book
Film cleaner
Velvet cleaning cloth
Film stock

Model K106

Note: These instructions are for the older K102

 

3) Select and measure original footage

4) Time and score shoot

5) Mount projector head

6) Adjust framing & focus

Load "aim frame" or original
Open lens f-stop
Turn on sequencer power "On"
Turn on light bulb, set voltage
Adjust roughly through viewfinder
Make fine adjustment with viewing prism
Open camera
Remove pressure plate Insert viewing prism
Open Variable Shutter Open shutter with "Camera Direction" switch
Adjust N-S & E-W, check frameline
Adjust lens position (magnification)
Adjust camera position (focus)
Readjust N-S & E-W, check frameline
Replace pressure plate

7) Load filmstock, run off leader

8) Clean original film

9) Twist film to correct orientation (base toward lens)

10) Load original footage and move project to 1st frame

11) Set Projector & Camera Counters to "0"

12) Set Voltage

13) Set f-stop

14) Set ND filters

15) Set CC filters

16) Check "idiot list"

17) Shoot film

18) Run off end leader & unload film

19) Prepare Lab order for developing & printing

20) Clean up printer room and cover printer

21) Add notes to Printer log

 

ADJUSTING EXPOSURE FOR MAGNIFACTION

Magnification is the ratio of the height of the image in the printer to the height of the image in the camera.

If a 16mm film is fully framed in the camera the magification is 1/1

Original in Projector                                              Image in Camera

If an 8mm film is fully framed in the camera the magification is 2/1.

Original in Projector                                              Image in Camera

If an 16mm film is masked off so that it only reached half way across the frame, the magnificaton is 1/2

Original in Projector                                              Image in Camera

If the magnificaton is 2/1, (8mm to 16mm) the area is only 1/4 that of a 1/1 magnification. Therefore there is only 1/4 of the light exposing the film in the camera. So the f-stop much be opened 2 stops.

So, the chart below gives approximate compensations for magnification:

Magnification Fraction of original light F-stop
4/1 16x close 4
3/1
9x close 3
2/1 4x close 2
3/2 2x close 1
1 1x none
2/3 1/2x open 1
1/2 1/4x open 2
1/3 1/9x open 3
1/4 1/16x open 4

 

It is always best to test! But this should give you an educated guess.

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