I need help. Im stuck with a positive. Its an X ray of polyacrilamide gel with little black spots. The contrast isn't that great from some original prints I have. The question is, how do I get BW prints from it? I've been to photo stores and they are all stumped. Someone told me about Lithograph? paper and said that I could make a direct contact from the X ray to this paper and I would get a positive print. Other suggestions I have received is to make a negative from the positive so that I get positive prints, but the quality of the print will worsen. I'm stuck and looking for any help. Thanks.

-- Jae (paikj@earthlink.net), March 02, 1998

Answers

Polyacrylamide gels

In a lab that I was working in we use to scan our PAGE gels and then invert the contrast that way. It would work fine for both analyses and publication. If you don't have access to one then your best bet would be to make a contact print on high contrast paper, that is assuming it is on clear x-ray film and hasn't been transferred to nitrocellulose. I would also consider having a negative made at a good photo lab using 4"x5" film. If done properly with good equipment the results might surprise you.

-- Andy Laycock (agl@intergate.bc.ca), March 02, 1998.

Polyacrrylamide gels

In the 70's I read about using Panalure Paper to make prints from color slides, tried it & didn't like the results, but it may hold a solution for you since you'll be printing a direct positive in B&W. It would be worth a try if Kodak yet manufactures Panalure Paper. Sorry I couldn't help more.

-- H. David Huffman (craptalk@ix.netcom.com), May 12, 1999.