Copy of 28 x 18.1 cm Carbon Print with Oxide Black pigment made with a TruNeg Negative.
All photographs and prints by John Riches.

The TruNeg Application

TruNeg_5.0 is an affordable, standalone application for PC and macOS that utilises Python Data Analysis and Visualisation libraries to create and manipulate authentic photographic digital negatives for both newcomers and experienced users alike.

TruNeg fundamentally changes the way digital negatives are created. Using just two RGB inputs from a single test strip, TruNeg employs logarithms to produce genuine photographic negatives with the full spectrum of tones from the deepest shadows to the brightest highlights. This is not only quick and simple, no densitometer or scanner is needed, there are no linearization or normalisation procedures, and no coating and processing errors to complicate the issue.

In addition, the TruNeg algorithms enable the creation of profiles to deal with the differences between alternative processes. Simply download the profile for the process being used from the TruNeg website, load it into the negative preset, and print the negative.

In an ideal world, this would be all that's necessary, but due to the variability of printers, papers, processing, and personal preferences, it's likely that the initial print will need to be amended or tweaked. To do this, the application features a curves window that allows the user to select and tweak the print tone by tone to fine-tune the print to meet their individual needs.