How to Print Photo Negatives

Setup

• 1

  Make a light-tight room that is illuminated only by a safelight. Follow the specifications of the paper manufacturer to make sure you have the right safelight, for safelights are low-wattage bulbs that come with amber or red filters. If you use both (or the wrong one) the paper might fog. With a safelight, the printing room does not have to be totally dark.

• 2

  Set out three flat trays that are at least several inches deep and have a larger square area than the printed picture. Fill the second tray with water.

• 3

  Fill the first tray with paper developer and the third tray with fixer. Always follow the directions on the package, when mixing the chemicals.

• 4

  Place a pair of tongs in each tray.

Making the Print

• 5

  Load the negative into the negative carrier and insert the carrier into the top part of the enlarger.

• 6

  Turn the enlarger on and place the easel underneath the light beam. Be certain that all the surface area of the print falls within the lighted area.

• 7

  Focus the image (there should be an adjustment knob on the head of the enlarger) on the surface of the enlarger.

• 8

  Turn the enlarger off and slide a piece of paper into the easel. Be sure not to move the enlarger, when you do.

• 9

  Make a test print. This involves exposing the paper four times for a set length of time. Using a pair of rectangular pieces of cardboard, exposure is controlled so each quadrant of the picture receives a different amount of light. (i.e. if 5 seconds is your chosen interval, you will have total exposures of 5, 10, 15 and 20 seconds, each falling on a different part of the picture. This can be done by first placing the cardboard in an L-shape over the picture. For the second interval, cover only half of the picture. For the third interval, cover just a quarter of the picture; and for the last exposure you will expose the whole sheet.

• 10

  Process the print by first placing it in the developer, then the water bath and finally the fixer. Follow manufacturers instructions for length of time and temperature.

• 11

  Choose the best exposure and make one full print from that time setting.

• 12

  Develop, wash and fix the print. After a print has been pulled from the fixer tray it has to be placed in a tub or sink of lightly-circulating cool water.

• 13

  Examine the print and reprint for better exposure if necessary.

• 14

  Make sure each print gets washed for ten minutes and then hang it on the line to dry using the clips.