Print Stock

Print Stock is the missing second half of the film emulation chain. If you've ever applied a "film stock" node and thought it looked like a filter rather than a photograph, this is often why: you were looking at the negative without the print. Real cinema goes through two characteristic curves - the camera negative captures the scene, then a print stock renders it onto film you can project. Darkroom models both halves. Film Stock (Color) is the negative; this node is the print.

The default, Kodak 2383, is the workhorse of modern "cinematic" looks - it's the print stock behind a huge amount of the teal-in-shadows, warm-highlights grading you see in every film emulation LUT ever sold. If you've been chasing that look, you've been chasing a print stock, not a film stock. Running one without the other is why your grades can come out looking flat or just colored instead of filmic.

How it works

The node applies the print material's per-channel characteristic curves - the tone and color response of the paper/film stock - in linear light. That's the second density response that shapes contrast, black level, and color crossover. The result is what actually makes a negative look like a projected image: richer blacks, filmic rolloff, and a stock-specific color cast.

The inputs

• print_stock (enum, default Kodak 2383) - your four choices: Kodak 2383 and Kodak 2393 (both modern Vision3-era cinema print stocks; 2393 has its own distinct contrast/warmth personality), plus Fuji 3513 and Fuji 3510 (Fuji's print stocks, a slightly different signature). Try them on the same negative; the difference is usually the fastest way to find your look.
• strength (0–1, default 1) - blend between your image and the full print effect. Dialing this back is a legit move; full-strength 2383 is a strong statement.
• contrast_boost (0–1, default 0, optional) - extra contrast on top of the print's own curve, for when the print alone feels too soft.

Output is image, ready for whatever comes next in your pipeline.

Wiring it up

The intended chain is Image → Film Stock (Color) [negative] → Print Stock [print] → output. It's also color-only, so Print Stock is fully allowed inside the LUT bake chain - a Film Stock + Print Stock pair bakes into a .cube beautifully, which is how you turn this into a reusable look for Resolve.

Install & notes

ComfyUI-Darkroom installs the usual way - Manager, search "Darkroom", or git clone https://github.com/jeremieLouvaert/ComfyUI-Darkroom + pip install -r requirements.txt + restart. No GPU, no model files; the print data ships in the repo.

The trap people hit: applying Print Stock without a negative stage first. It assumes the upstream image is negative-like (linear, low-contrast, film-captured). If you feed it a straight sRGB render, the double curve can crush shadows into mud. Match it with a film stock or at least a linear-contrast image, and it clicks into place.