I need to clarify. When I contact print I put only 6 negs (three per sleeve on a full page clear neg protector.) I use glass over the top just like ole. What I do differently is I place a piece of heavy plastic that B&H sells to block out light on the portion of the neg sleeve under the glass that has no negatives in it. What do I do with that resulting white blank space? I use that area to write notes on about where I shot it, what lens, etc the trival stuff we keep records of. I also note which numbered (my system of numbering, the work print that corespondes to it. On the back of that now 8x10 RC sheet, I also write date.
I do use a #2 filter when making the contact sheet.I don't worry about being able to get all 10 images on one page since I split it all up anyway. The way I record info on the sheet it becomes mote that I split it up since I can refer to the notes. I never sweat the small stuff like if the sheet will hold 10 images, I prefer to worry about taking the images.
Once I have the proof sheet I can see which images are as I want them. Some times even what we preceive in our mind as the best shot doesn't look as good once shot. From the ones I look at through a loupe, I make work sheets, again with a #2 filter. I evaluate these work prints (on Cheap RC paper) to see what works, what it needs have done to it, do I need to crop to just a portion, or any other things I can see flaws or good with.
At this point if I have a difficult work print, but I love the scene, I will scan the print in, not the negative. I work in photoshop to see what I can do with doging and buring. This is just an aide I use so I can go into the darkroom to work from what I did on the computer. Scanning the print we all know does not come out the same on the screen as what we have in the print. We all have to do tweaking to make it look the same. That same thing would hold true for negs scanned. Only problem is when you scan a neg, you have no reference with a print in hand what the actual neg would look like when printed. As for scanning the print, remember this is only done to those really difficult prints I sometimes have.
As a result I have proof sheets with info to look at all negatives. I have work prints that are numbered and cross refeneced to proof sheet and vise versa. I mark up work prints since that is exactly what they are with things I want to do to them in the darkroom. I never worry if my camera is capable of making negatives that will fit an 8x10 contact sheet, I never work with that confining thought, I make the contact sheets fit the way I work, and use the best camera I can to get the image.
)? How do you usually make your proofs, on what size and surface type of paper, and how do you choose an exposure time? What points do you consider while evaluating the proofs? Surely this can be an interesting thread for APUG people 
