MAKING ENLARGEMENT PRINTS

The darkroom arrangement for enlarging is essentially the same as for contact printing. The safelights should be appropriate for the type of paper being printed. The size of the prints may require larger trays and greater amounts of solution, but they should be setup in the sink the same as for contact printing.

For good enlargements, good negatives, a clean enlarger, clean printing filters, correct exposure and development, and careful processing and finishing are necessary. Although most any negative can be printed by projection, there are a few characteristics that are desirable. A good negative has normal density and contrast. It must be sharp and free from such defects as scratches, abrasions, dust, lint and fingerprints.

Enlarger and Easel Adjustments

Insert the negative in the negative carrier so the emulsion side will be down when placed in the enlarger. In other words, the base of the negative (the shiny side) should be up or facing the lamp when inserted into the enlarger. Clean the negative and be sure there is no dust on it. You can use the light from the enlarger to check for dust. Blow off any dust with a bulb syringe or low-pressure air. Then use a camel-hairbrush to remove any dust that was not removed by the air. Replace the negative carrier with the negative into the enlarger and make sure it is properly seated.

Set the paper guide or masking device on the easel to form the border width needed or use a preset easel. As an aid for composing and accurately focusing the image, place a sheet of white paper in the easel - the base side of the paper is used normally for a focusing sheet - then turn out all white lights.

Turn the enlarger lamp on, open the lens to its maximum aperture, and move the easel around until the desired portion of the image is in the picture area. Raise or lower the enlarger head on the upright standard or column and focus the image. Shift the easel as needed, and continue these adjustments until the image is enlarged (or reduced) to the desired size, focused sharply, and composed correctly on the easel.

The size of projection prints is limited by the optical system used and the working space available. A scene may be printed in sections on several sheets of paper and spliced together.

The picture is easier to compose with the scene right side up. If it is upside down from your point of view, either rotate the negative carrier or remove the earner and reposition the negative. The image will appear right side up on the easel when it is positioned upside down in the negative carrier.

Composing the Image

Adjust the picture until the best composition is obtained. When composing the image, try to connect any errors of image composition in the negative. The way the scene is composed on the negative may be a controlling factor in the final composition. You can change the composition of the picture through cropping. This is done by increasing or decreasing the magnification of the image and readjusting the easel.

After the image is correctly composed and focused, the lens aperture should be stopped down so your basic exposure time is about 10 seconds. An exposure time of 10 seconds allows you to accomplish a normal amount of dodging and is fast enough to be practical for quantity production. The exact amount the lens should be stopped down depends on the density of the negative and the magnification of the image. This can be difficult to determine without experience. If you are new to printing, we suggest you start by stopping down the lens to about f/5.6 or f/8 for a normal negative.

Making a Test Print

There are many factors that effect exposure times in enlarging. Some of these factors include the following: . The light source and illumination system of the enlarger l The f/stop of the lens l The density of the negative l The degree of enlargement l The speed of the paper l The density and color of the contrast printing filter

The best way to determine the correct enlarging exposure is by making a test strip. Although the test strip is the most reliable way to determine exposure, it is not necessary to make a test strip for every enlargement. It is, however, a wise practice whenever you have any doubt as to the exact exposure required.

You can make a test print using the same procedure in contact printing.