From Negative to Print: B&W Printing in the Darkroom

Developer time: 1.30 mins with constant agitation for even development 

Stop Bath time: 30 sec with constant agitation for even stopping of development 

Fixer time: 4 mins lights can be turned on after 30-40 seconds 

Wash time: for Resin Paper (RC) 5-10 mins While For Fibre paper (FB) 35-45 mins 

Contrast in the darkroom is exactly like that in lightroom or photoshop. You can manually adjust the contrast of the image to a softer or harsher grade. While in the digital world you would have a contrast slider in the darkroom this comes as square filters numbered from 00 to 5. These filters vary in contrast depending on which one you use. The 00 is the softest grade if you are using the Ilford Multigrade Filters (Other brands may have other names/numbers) While Grade 5 is the harshest one, giving strong and vivid Blacks while maintaining rich whites. 

An important key thing to remember is that contrast filters affect not just the entire image but also parts of the image as well. Softer grades such as grade 00, 1 or 2 affect the lighter parts of the image more than they do the darker parts. While the harder grades such as Grade 4 or 5 affect the darker parts of the image much more than they do the lighter parts.

This means one can start to manipulate the image using just these small filters with what we call split-grading which is using more than 1 grade on the same image during the same exposure to improve the overall contrast.   

Not all negatives print equally well. Look for a negative with good contrast and detail in both shadows and highlights. If you see that there is none, don't panic. When printing you have complete control over the manipulation and adjustments of the image, exactly like you would have with a digital Image on photoshop. 

Negatives will vary in how they print depending on how they were shot and how they were developed. Printing a negative which was underexposed during the shooting stage will result in flat looking images especially when using lower contrast grades such as Grades 1 to 3. What one would need to do here is to use harder grades such as 4 or 5. These will make up for the lack of contrast in the negative and render a healthy contrast. 

To choose your negatives in an efficient way you can opt for a contact sheet to see which images are best, this way you can already start the process of elimination without having started your print session. 

To make a contact sheet all you need to do is to place your negatives inside a print file (which is basically a negative storage put in transparent plastic rather than translucent material) place it on 8x10 or 9.5x12 (depends how you cut your negatives, I personally cut mine in six strips of 5 and one of 6 so I have to use the larger paper but if you cut them in six strips of 6 you can use the smaller paper) Then raise the enlarger (with the red light filter on) to cover the entirety of the paper and focus it until the edges are sharp. 

After this all you need to do is to put a transparent glass on the negatives and the paper to hold down everything and prevent anything from moving and then it's a matter of exposure. Normally the exposure for a contact sheet is around F/4 (not set in stone) and the time depends on the different film and how it was exposed and developed. The important thing to remember is that the contact sheet’s borders need to be pure black to be a correct contact sheet. 

To reduce the trial and error what you need to do is to do test strips with different times, always using the same pick of exposures (preferably where there are faces or words) so that you can really compare the difference in exposure time. 

After doing 4 test strips you should have a clear indication of which is the correct exposure for your contact sheet (if not change the settings and do another 4 strips). Once you get this indication you can proceed with the full contact sheet. 

Place your chosen negative into the enlarger and project it onto the empty easel or onto a template paper, do not use unexposed paper as otherwise you will ruin it!! 

Get to the size you want to print at and focus the image with a grain focuser, this will help a lot especially when dealing with lots of details, such as the face. After the focusing is done and you’re happy with the size you can either go to a straight print or else start with a test strip. Like when doing the contact sheet test strips you have to expose sections of the image that are the most important such as faces or the subject. To make it as efficient as possible I Would decide the time and the contrast grade example 10 seconds and G3 and keep those constant while changing the aperture, this way you won't have too many variables and makes it easier to find the correct base exposure.  

After you find the correct base exposure you can do a straight print with the settings you found to your liking. Remember photography is an art and art is personal so what one deems to be correct another might say it is horrible. So don’t feel pressure to join in with the general consensus, explore, go out of your comfort zone and find your own style!

Once the base exposure has been done and developed you can choose to further manipulate your image, maybe with split grading or with some dodging and burning. Once you are happy with the manipulation it is time for the last step of this process. 

Washing your prints is perhaps the most crucial point of your printing as incorrect washing will ruin the work you have worked so hard to create. When washing your prints what you are doing is removing the fixer from the paper. The fixer when working attaches to the paper and fixes the crystals that have been exposed while also removing the ones which have not been exposed. When using RC paper you must wash in water for 5-10 minutes as the fixer stays only on the surface while the fibre paper absorbs the fixer through all its layers making it very important to wash with running water for 35-45 minutes. The running water is crucial as otherwise the water mixes with the fixer and essentially becomes the fixer itself.  

After finishing the washing stage it is time to dry the print.

Drying a print takes time, so patience is key. I personally leave my prints overnight to dry as this way I make totally sure that it is fully dry. 

Once dried, you can truly assess your print especially when it comes to Fibre paper as only when it dries do you see the true print. 

From what you’ll notice Fibre paper tends to not dry flat and becomes curled. To combat this you would normally use a heating press but if you don't have 2,000 euros laying around you can put the prints inside a book and pile it with more books to create a press which will flatten the image.