Making a black and white printDarkroomSource

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Basic Darkroom Techniques: B&W Print

Making a Black&White print consists of several steps:
  1. Develop the film
  2. Prepare the print chemistry and trays
  3. Make the contact print
  4. Selecting the right negative
  5. Setting up to print
  6. Adjusting the enlarger
  7. Make a test print
  8. Exposing the print

Selecting the right negative

Use the contact sheet to determine which negative to print. Many people use a loop or a magnifier to review the print. You can tell several things from a properly made contact proof. For your first print, you will want to select an picture that looks like it will print "straight", with no dodging, burning, or cropping. Also, you would like a print that appears "normal", with a full range of blacks and whites, on grade 2 paper, and looks like it is an average negative, not too dark or too light.

Setting up to print

You need to have ready:

Adjusting the enlarger

  1. Put the negative into the negative carrier, emulsion side up.
  2. Put a used sheet of paper in the easel, white side up.
  3. Turn the lamp on, and raise or lower the enlarger head so that the projection covers the paper.
  4. Adjust the enlarger focus knob so the project appears to be in focus.
  5. Place the focus tool on the paper, and refine the focus.
    Most focus tools are designed to show you the grain in the negative, adjust the focus until the grain is clearest.
  6. Turn the lamp off - for most enlargers this is true, there are some enlargers however where you leave the lamp on, and close a shutter.
  7. Remove the paper used for focusing, from the easel.

Exposing the print

  1. Make a test print to determine the proper exposure time and f-stop.
  2. Once the correct exposure is determined, make a preliminary print
  3. Turn off the room lights, you can have the safelights on, if you have tested them.
  4. Take a sheet of paper from the paper safe and place it paper side up in the easel.
  5. Expose the print.
  6. Develop the print, wash it briefly, dry it (use a hair dryer).
    If you have determined your dry down adjustment for this paper, developer and viewing light combination, you don't have to dry the print.
  7. Determine what, if any, dodging or burning you wish to do.
  8. After the print has been washed and dried, you may want to make adjustments in exposure, due to dry down or edge fall off or you may be happy with your print.
  9. Once you have found the correct combination of effects, record them in your notebook, along with the negative number, and also on the back of the print in pencil.

Visitor Comments

The comments stated below are not necessarily the opinions of Andy Hughes or DarkroomSource

Emulsion up in negative carrier? I was taught to place the negative in the carrier emulsion side down. Which is correct?
Anonymously contributed on 2004-12-23 10:13:47

Emulsion to emulsion. Negative emulsion (dull side) face down toward the print paper, paper emulsion (shiny side) face up toward the negative.
Contributed by   on 2005-02-04 16:30:09

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