Why do my black and white prints of different sizes seem to have a colour variation?
Sometimes Black and White prints vary in tone when compared with the same images of a different size.
Photographers use gray scales and gray cards to determine lighting and exposure and as a reference because gray will show any subtle changes effectively.
With the way we produce Balck and White prints, there may be some changes in the tone of the prints when comparing different sized prints. The reason is that the prints made on Endura Photographic Paper are on a colour material and are exposed and processed through different machines for different sizes. Even though we keep our equipment closely calibrated, there is always a slight varation between paper emulsions, the methods of exposing (laser and led) and the methods of processing. It is virtually impossible to adjust all these variables so that the resultant images are identical all the time.
The best method of reducing the differences is to gang up your images so that they are all printed at the same time on the same paper in the same machine. e.g. If you have a 10x8 and an 11x14, it is best to put the 10x8 on an 11x14 canvas and submit them both in the same order to the lab. They will then be printed on 11" stock and will closely match.
The same applies to colour prints although this tends to be masked by the fact that colour print variation is not as easily noticed as Black and White.