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How to Develop Photo Paper

After your film has been developed, it's time to make a photo print. Digital photography allows you to easily do this on your home computer. Printing from a negative is a different process and requires a darkroom, photo paper and the chemicals needed to process the photo. Printing a photo correctly can take time and practice.

Things You'll Need

Photo developer
Photo stop bath
Photo fixer
Three photo trays
Rubber-tipped tongs
Darkroom equipment, including enlarger, easel and timer for enlarger
Resin or Fiber-based photo paper

Instructions

- 1
  Mix the photo developer, stop bath and fixer as per the instructions on the chemical bottles. Photo chemicals come in both a liquid-concentrated version and a powder version. Both need to be mixed with water at a certain temperature and ratio for them to work correctly.
- 2
  Place the exposed photo paper into the developer bath. Depending on the type of paper you are using, either fiber-based or resin-coated, the time needed for development will vary. Consult the box the paper came in for a guideline of times.
- 3
  Remove the paper from the developer bath using tongs and place it into a stop bath. This is a short sequence only requiring 10 to 15 seconds.
- 4
  Remove the paper from the stop bath and place the photo into the fixer bath. The photo will stay in this bath for five minutes. After the five minutes, remove the photo and place into a clean water rinse. Leave the photo in the clean water rinse for 10 to 15 minutes
- 5
  Hang the photo using a photo clip or place the photo into a photo dryer. Once the photo is dry you can inspect your work.

Photography