Many photographers find it very useful to contact print each roll of film and file it with the negatives. To do this cut up the film into strips of six negatives and lie them face down on a sheet of 10 x 8 photographic paper, set the enlarger to its maximum height and stop the lens down three or four stops and expose for 20 seconds, then process the paper through the developer for 1½ minutes, stop bath 30 seconds and fixer 2 minutes. What you should have is 36 little prints which will give you an idea of what is on the negative. You can adjust the time to suit if the print is too dark or too light.

To make a print set the enlarger to the correct height for the size of the print required, dust the negative carrier of the enlarger and place in your chosen negative, focus the image on the baseboard with the lens fully open ,stop down the lens two or three stops ( ƒ8 or ƒ11) set the timer for 5 seconds and expose all of the paper. Cover up one quarter of the paper then expose for another 5 seconds. Cover up half the paper,reset the timer to 10 seconds then expose for the 10 seconds. Cover up three quarters and reset timer for 20 seconds and expose. Place print into developer and process as per the contact print.

You will now have a test print with a corresponding light and dark bands for the following times bellow

5 SECONDS - 10 SECONDS - 20 SECONDS - 40 SECONDS

One of the bands will be your correct printing exposure time, you may fall between bands and simply just make the adjustment in time values (see example)select the time and make a full sized print. You will see in the final print I went for an exposure of 30 seconds which is between the 20 and 40 second band in the test strip. I wanted more detail in the highlights with just a hint of detail in the shadows.

After fixing prints should be washed in running water for a few minutes. Fibre based papers are more complex as the paper absorbs more chemicals and require longer washing times although there are wash aids which do cut down the wash times considerably. After washing resin papers can be left to air dry or speeded up with a hairdryer.

I do hope you find this brief guide to processing a film and printing a negative useful it covers the basics of what is required to get you started in a part of photography which I find very rewarding and satisfying. I still remember seeing my first print beginning to appear in the developing tray and still get a thrill of seeing a good image appear in the developer even to this day after twenty years of printing and developing.

Final Image

Article By P. Dunn
Photographs By P. Dunn and M. Lovell.© 2000.

COLOUR HEAD MULTIGRADE FILTER GUIDE (DURST SINGLE VALUES)
 

00	0	½	1	1½	2	2½	3	3½	4	4½	5
120Y	70Y	5OY	40Y	25Y	0	10M	30M	50M	75M	120M	130M

Y = YELLOW     M = MAGENTA

NOTE SOME COLOUR HEADS GRADE FIVE MIGHT BE OBTAINABLE