groping in the dark

Printing Review

So I think I may have been getting ahead of myself with my last post on the filters. Let's back up and talk about the printing process itself.

Before starting, you should set up your chemistry and other materials. For resin coated paper, you will need a tray of multigrade developer, a tray of stop bath (some people just use water), and a tray of universal rapid fixer. Make sure to follow the dilution instructions for your chemistry, 1000ml or 32 oz. of chemistry in each tray should be enough (just about half-full). Fiber paper requires extra steps which we are just going to ignore for now. Also, in the sink, set up a tub of water or prepare some other method for rinsing your prints.

On the dry side, make sure your polycontrast filters, grain magnifier, paper dodging tools, etc. are handy. Keep your paper is safe place, away from exposure to light. Lightly dust the areas around the enlarger with an anti-static cloth or brush. Make sure the enlarging lens is clean and free of dust, use a lens cleaning cloth if necessary.

Ready? Okay, let's print!

Choose the negative

Place the negative in the carrier, checking carefully for any dust. Use an anti-static brush or compressed air to clean off the dust before proceeding. A few minutes at this point will save a lot of headaches later.

Focus the image

Adjusting your easel to the desired final size, and move the enlarger head to fit the image to the easel space. Fine tune the focus with the help of a grain magnifier. For this step, it helps to open the aperture so you can see the image clearly.

Prepare for the exposure

Stop down the aperture again to f11 or f8 and set your timer to 2-3 seconds in preparation for exposing the test strip. Use the #3 filter to start.

Expose a test strip

Place a strip of paper in the easel. Remember, only safe lights should be on at this point! Expose sections of the test strip by blocking the light with a piece of cardboard or your hand or some such and moving down the length of the paper in 2 or 3 second intervals.

Process the print

Gently, but quickly, slide the print into the chemistry, letting the chemistry drain off between trays. The paper should spend 2 minutes in the developer, 10 seconds in the stop bath, and 1 minute in the fixer. Agitate each tray continuously. Wash the print in the tub of running water for at least 5 minutes (I usually wait at least 10).

Evaluate your print

You can turn on the white light as soon as the print comes out of the fixer (first, make sure your unexposed paper is hidden!). If your test is too light, try again with a wider aperture, if it's too dark, stop the aperture down. Once you have a test with a good range, choose the exposure that shows the best combination of detail and contrast. Concentrate on finding highlights that hold enough detail, but are still bright.

Expose your print

Expose a new print using your preferred exposure (count the strips and multiply by your interval to get your exposure), process and evaluate.

Evaluate and fine-tune

Adjust your exposure time if necessary and choose other contrast filters as you deem necessary.

Dry your prints

After your prints have been sufficiently rinsed, hang them to dry from clothespins on fishing line, or build a drying rack using polyester window screens strecthed across wooden frames.

Those are the basics as they were taught to me. I'm sure there is plenty of differing opinion out there, so make your own judgements. As you practice, youll find that you'll be able to make better and quicker decisons about exposure, aperture, and filter selection. Don't rush it though, the most important rule is to have fun!

Posted by ksmoker | permalink