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Things You'll Need
Instructions
Enlargement
Mix the paper developer, stop bath and fixer to working strength and temperature, according to the manufacturer's instructions. The usual recommended temperature for processing prints is 68 degrees Fahrenheit.
Pour the solutions into individual plastic trays that are large enough to accommodate the prints you intend to make. The solutions should be deep enough to immerse the prints completely.
Clean the glass side of the plates with a soft damp cloth. Do not touch the emulsion side.
Place the glass negative into the enlarger, emulsion side down. Compose and focus the photo on the paper easel, and turn off the enlarger.
Turn on the safe light, a dim red light, under which photographic print paper can be handled. Turn off the room light and put a sheet of paper into the easel.
Do a series of test strips, exposing parts of the paper for times ranging from 2 seconds to 10 seconds to get an idea of the appropriate exposure time for a print. Develop the test print for the time recommended for your paper and developer combination.Use a pair of tongs to put the paper in the stop bath for 2 seconds and a different pair of tongs to put in the fixer for 1 minute. Take note of the exposure time for each strip.
Examine the test print. Select the strip that looks best and expose a full print on a fresh sheet of paper for the time indicated by the best test strip.
Develop the print for the recommended time. Use a pair of tongs to place the print in the stop bath for 2 seconds and then place in the fixer for 5 minutes. Check the print to see if it is satisfactory to you. If it is, continue to fix it for 15 minutes more.
Wash the print under running water, at 68 degrees Fahrenheit, for at least 30 minutes. Squeegee the excess water from the print and hang to dry in a dust-free area.
Contact Printing
With the safe light on, place the glass negative, emulsion-side down, on to the photo paper. Adjust the enlarger head so that the light fully covers the negative.
Use a piece of cardboard to cover the negative and make test strips to establish the best exposure time. Develop the print for the recommended time. Use the tongs to put the print into the stop bath for 2 seconds and put into the fixer for 1 minute. Select the test strip that looks best to you and note the exposure time of that strip.
Expose the full negative for the time that gave the best test strip. Put the print into the developer, the stop bath and the fixer for the recommended times. Examine the print and tweak the exposure time, if necessary, until you get a print that satisfies you.
The Digital Method
Place the negative, emulsion down, into the transparency adapter of the scanner and scan it at the resolution you need for the enlargement. If you are printing a photo at the same size as the negative, the resolution should be 300 pixels per inch (PPI). If you are enlarging the negative, the scan should be at a resolution that is the same multiple of 300 PPI as the enlargement is of the negative.
Open the file in a computer image editing program and adjust the image to your liking. You may want to crop, adjust the contrast and sharpen the image.
Print the image on a photo-quality printer or send it out for printing, if your enlargement will be greater than 8-by-10 inches. An 8-by-10 inch print is usually the largest photo print available on home inkjet printers.