Check the lamp to be sure it is operating properly. Rinse the trays with fresh water, and prepare the developing, stop bath, and fixing solutions. The trays should be larger than the prints to be produced, and one of the largest or deepest trays available should be used for the fixing bath.

Figure 11-4. Black tape used as paper stops.

When the solutions are ready, rinse and dry your hands. A supply of printing paper should be available and conveniently located near the printer. Place an empty paper box or paper safe near the printer if the prints are not to be processed after each is exposed. Hold the paper in the paper box or paper safe until the paper is ready to be processed. If the paper is not stored in a paper box or paper safe, it will eventually fog even under safelight conditions.

Masking the Negative

When contact prints require white borders, some type of mask is needed to prevent the printing light from exposing the edges of the printing paper. When the printer is not equipped with a masking device, make a mask to fit the negative. (Usually proof prints do not require masking.) The material used for masks should be opaque and not much thicker than typing paper. When the masking material is too thick it causes a distinct blurring along the edges of the print image.

Some type of guideline or paper stop is useful when placed at one end and one side of the mask opening. The paper stop forms a square-corner guide for alignment of the printing paper. The paper guide helps you to place the paper evenly and parallel with the opening in the mask, and it helps keep the borders even on the print (fig. 11-4). The corner guide or stops can be quite thick without causing poor contact between the negative and the printing paper during exposure. Some printers are equipped with metal strips, so you can mask the negatives by setting the strips to frame the negative.

The negative and printing glass must be cleaned before you place the negative on the printer. Place the negative emulsion-side up on the printing glass and arrange them under the mask until the desired composition is obtained. When you must make more than one print from the same negative, tape the negative (at the corners only) to the printing glass. If the negative is completely taped down, air can be trapped between it and the glass. When the platen or pressure cover is moved into the printing position, the air does not escape. This results in an unsharp print. When you use a hand-cut mask, tape the mask to the glass along one edge before positioning the negative.

Printing Filter Selection

The first requirement for you to make a good print is a clean negative. The negative must then be examined to determine the contrast (flat, normal, or contrasty) and the approximate exposure time required to produce a quality print. As a beginning darkroom worker, you may not be able to make these determinations accurately; however, in a short time and with a little experience, you should overcome any trouble.

In analyzing a negative to determine the most suitable printing filter, be careful not to confuse contrast with density. When in doubt, make test prints. If the test print is contrasty, you should make another test print with a lower numbered filter to lower the contrast. If the original test print lacks contrast, change to a filter with a higher number to increase the contrast. This is a good time to review the information on printing filters and printing papers in chapters 2 and 3.

Test Print

The printing exposure is the operation most likely to cause trouble for an inexperienced darkroom technician. Unlike most films that can tolerate some overexposure and underexposure and still yield usable photographs, printing papers must be exposed correctly to produce good prints.

Experience and familiarity with printing equipment does help; but for a beginner, the correct exposure for prints from most negatives is best determined by making test prints.

The factors that affect exposure are as follows:

The intensity of the printing lights

The distance between the printing lights and the printing glass

The sensitivity of the printing paper

The density of the negative

The first three factors are standardized and, therefore, eliminated as variables by using the contact printer and by printing with the same type of paper. The only remaining variable is negative density. You can determine negative density by making a few test exposures. The exposure time for a negative of average density may be about 1 to 3 seconds. When the negative is large, avoid the expensive and wasteful temptation of using a whole sheet of paper; instead, use a strip about 2 inches wide and as long as the negative for the test exposure. For example, an 8x10 sheet of paper can be cut into three or four small strips.

After you have determined the filter and the test-exposure time, set the timer accordingly. Place the paper test strip over the negative in the printing position. Place the test strip on the negative so the test exposure includes some highlights, midtones, and shadow areas. Hold the paper in position with one hand and lower the platen. As soon as the platen grips the edge of the paper, move your hand away. When the platen is fully lowered, turn on the printing lights for the test-exposure time.

When the test strip has been exposed, develop it for the recommended time. If the image is too dark, the exposure was too long. If the image is too light, the exposure was too short.

It is difficult for even an experienced photographer to judge the contrast of an under- or overexposed print that has been under or overexposed. Before attempting to judge the contrast of a print, you must change the exposure until the proper density is reached. A normally exposed print develops gradually, but steadily-shadows first, then midtones, and finally highlights. The image should appear in about 30 seconds, providing the developer is at the proper strength and temperature. If the image develops very quickly with a general mottling, it is overexposed and the next test should be given less exposure. An overexposed print develops in a very short time, and the common temptation is to pull (remove) it from the developer. This prevents the image from getting too dark, but results in a flat, muddy, uneven, tone image. On the other hand, when the recommended development does not produce a print of the proper density after 2 minutes, the print is underexposed. After you have successfully exposed and processed a few prints, you will rapidly gain enough experience to estimate, closely, the density of negatives for contact printing exposures.

PH2 Noel R. Guest 303.49

Figure 11-5. A processed test strip used to determine exposure.

When a change in exposure time does not produce a print of good contrast, a different printing filter is needed. When a properly exposed and developed test print lacks clean highlights and shadows, try a higher number of printing filter. When the print is mainly black and white with few middle tones, use a lower number filter. Once you have produced a satisfactory test print, you can make the production prints from that negative.

If you use a printing frame (glass and pad or proof printer) to make contact prints, the most convenient and economical way to determine exposure and correct contrast is to expose the test strip in progressive steps of say 2, 4, 6, and 8 seconds. You do this by holding an opaque card on top of the glass and covering three quarters of the paper and exposing one quarter of the paper for 2 seconds. Then move the card to cover one half of the paper and give it an additional exposure of 2 seconds. Move the card so it covers one quarter of the paper and give it another 2 seconds of exposure. Finally, remove the card and give the entire sheet one last exposure of 2 seconds. This shows a distinct progression of exposures of 2, 4, 6, and 8 seconds (fig. 11-5). Develop the test strip normally. To determine the correct exposure, you must examine the test print under white light.

When the correct exposure appears to be between two steps, the required exposure can usually be estimated with some accuracy; however, additional test prints may be needed.

After the exposure time and contrast for one negative have been determined by tests, other negatives of similar density and contrast can be given the same filtration and exposure as a starting point. At first, negatives with widely differing contrast and density require test prints. With experience, you can judge most negatives without resorting to test prints.