First darkroom print

Hi all,

After having so many questions answered in here thanks to your knowledge and passion I decided to start participating.

The reason for this is because I'm new to analog photography and I have so many question to do, but will be in the proper moment.

For now I can say I have been exposing and developing a couple of films, so now the next step.

I was given an enlarger and I'm waiting to receive it and do my first darkroom print. It is one of those Zenith that you can keep inside a suitcase. I was honestly told that it is not the best of the enlargers but a good starting point.

So my first questions for you:

As I'm starting from scratch which type of paper and developer you would recommend and also any specific brand to buy a set of filters (the drawer holds 6x6 filters)?

So ill try to apply all the theory I have been absorving and compromise from now that Ill upload my very first print in here no mater how good or bad it is or how many silly mistakes I've done and from there Ill start torturing you with question.

Kindest regards

Ilford MGIV filters - or I guess they now have MGV filters to go with the MGV paper.
Ilford or Foma or Arista (probably Foma?) RC paper. Buy 5x7 or 8x10. You can get the liquid Ilford Multigrade develper - so you only need to mix a batch you use. You can use water or water+indicator stop as the stop bath. You can buy liquid rapid fixer - I use EcoPro when I buy it (I normally mix it). It's about 1 or 1.5 minutes to fix in liquid rapid fix mixed 1:4 with water.
Making prints is my favourite part of film photography and the reason I use film at all.

As for the enlarger - setting the film plane parallel to the enlarging easel will likely be a problem with that one. Other than that, a good basic lens (like the Nikkor 50mm enlarging lense) is the only real essential. Of course, if the enlarger is bright in the centre and dims out to the corners, that's also an issue...

Thanks very much.

About the chemicals can I just use the stop and fixer I use for developing? Ilfostop and Rapid Fixer?

The lens thats coming with it its a Will Wetzler Wilton 1: 3.5/50. Its seems something plastic according to my research.

The rest Ill have to find out when trying. So does it make any sense saying that the smaller i do my print the easier will be to avoid those issues you mentioned?

Luis Filipe said:

So does it make any sense saying that the smaller i do my print the easier will be to avoid those issues you mentioned?

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Yes. The smaller the print, the less significant enlarger issues become. However, exposure times also become much shorter. And you can't dodge and burn with short exposure times or tiny prints.

My advice is for you specifically as a beginner. Use good negatives of decent density and good contrast. Use rc paper because it's cheaper. Make test strips but do your exposure calculations according to stops, rather than seconds. Learn to recognize what one stop under- or over-exposure looks like. One stop is a function of 2 (either twice as much or half as much) for time - and, of course, one "click" on the lens aperture (or consult a chart). The fewer sources of initial frustration, the more quickly you'll learn. Enlarging is an art.

michael_r said:

Yes you can use Ilfostop and Ilford Rapid Fixer for printing. Be sure to follow Ilford's mixing/dilution directions and Ilford's instructions for stop/fixer processing times and capacities. FOLLOW ILFORD's INTRUCTIONS.

Have fun!

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I agree - particularly about the fun part.
One caution: for prints, it is best to not re-use Ilfostop or Ilford Rapid Fixer that you have already used for film.
Fixer is designed to be re-used until it is used up. Ilfostop can be reused a bit. But If you are going to re-use chemicals, it is important that you keep the chemicals that have been used on film for film, and chemicals that have been used on prints for prints.

MattKing said:

I agree - particularly about the fun part.
One caution: for prints, it is best to not re-use Ilfostop or Ilford Rapid Fixer that you have already used for film.
Fixer is designed to be re-used until it is used up. Ilfostop can be reused a bit. But If you are going to re-use chemicals, it is important that you keep the chemicals that have been used on film for film, and chemicals that have been used on prints for prints.

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Thalnk you. And yes, that was my intention. But is good to know i dont have to buy a different stop and fixer .

Regards.

I’m in the same boat as you - I just did my first prints. I looked for the cheapest paper I could find so I can practice as much as I want without worrying about it. Someone here suggested the Adorama house brand of paper. It is really cheap.

Luis, I'd have a look at the Ilford video on making a print. It is on the IlfordPhoto site. That and the advice you have received is probably enough to be going on with. Once you make your first print the experience of so doing will be enough for you to know if darkroom printing is for you If it is then there will be a lot more information in a book like Tim Rudman's book "The Photographer's MASTER PRINTING COURSE" Try the likes of Alibris or Abe books for a copy There's one on Alibris right now for just under £6 A bargain in relation to what you will learn from it

pentaxuser

Don Heisz said:

Yes. The smaller the print, the less significant enlarger issues become. However, exposure times also become much shorter. And you can't dodge and burn with short exposure times or tiny prints.

My advice is for you specifically as a beginner. Use good negatives of decent density and good contrast. Use rc paper because it's cheaper. Make test strips but do your exposure calculations according to stops, rather than seconds. Learn to recognize what one stop under- or over-exposure looks like. One stop is a function of 2 (either twice as much or half as much) for time - and, of course, one "click" on the lens aperture (or consult a chart). The fewer sources of initial frustration, the more quickly you'll learn. Enlarging is an art.

Click to expand...

I've been shooting mainly in controlled lightning areas for starting, so i think my negatives look quiet balanced, some exposures probably a bit flat. Also the Tri-X seems to give a good margin for error.

Just to see if I got clear when you say to do exposure calculations according to stops rather than seconds you mean exposing the sheet in strips at 5, 10, 20, 30...?

Ariston said:

I’m in the same boat as you - I just did my first prints. I looked for the cheapest paper I could find so I can practice as much as I want without worrying about it. Someone here suggested the Adorama house brand of paper. It is really cheap.

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Great to know that. Thanks.

Hope you can share your experiences.

Luis Filipe said:

Just to see if I got clear when you say to do exposure calculations according to stops rather than seconds you mean exposing the sheet in strips at 5, 10, 20, 30...?

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Try this instead - 4, 5.6, 8, 11, 16, 22, 32, 45, 64 seconds
Those are half stop increments.
Full stop increments would be 4, 8, 16, 32, 64
You may recognize that progression

pentaxuser said:

Luis, I'd have a look at the Ilford video on making a print. It is on the IlfordPhoto site. That and the advice you have received is probably enough to be going on with. Once you make your first print the experience of so doing will be enough for you to know if darkroom printing is for you If it is then there will be a lot more information in a book like Tim Rudman's book "The Photographer's MASTER PRINTING COURSE" Try the likes of Alibris or Abe books for a copy There's one on Alibris right now for just under £6 A bargain in relation to what you will learn from it

pentaxuser

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If its the video Im thinking I think I watched it.

Thanks for the book advice. Will look for it

MattKing said:

4, 5.6, 8, 11, 16, 22, 32, 45, 64

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These are full aperture stops. Each increment is one ev away from the previous.
Doubling or halving time is a full stop, also.

I started out last september/october using Foma RC paper and Foma filters. The paper is nice and affordable, and the filters work quite well. At the moment I bought the filters, they were about 1/4th of the price of an Ilford set.
One thing to keep in mind is that with Foma you get only 6 filters, and you need to combine them to make all possible grades.
Furthermore they're not speed matched, which means you'll need to do a test strip for every filter change, or calculate the new exposure time.
I usually just make a new test strip. Or I do split grade printing, which always includes the extra soft and extra hard filter. With split grade printing the non-speed-matched really is no issue at all.

The Ilford set provides all the filters in half grade increments and are speed matched. Meaning that you don't need to change your exposure time when switching grades (but I think that from grade 4 and up, you need to add one full stop).
So if you can spare the money, the Ilford filters are definitely the better choice for getting more done in a printing session.

Recently I bought some Ilford MGRC DeLuxe paper in Pearl finish, and this is by far my favourite paper up until now.
I think it's nicer than the Foma paper, a little more expensive, but both are really good papers.
I bought a pack of 8x10" based on price vs maximum print size I'd want, anything smaller I can easily cut from these sheets.
RC paper is relatively affordable and quick in processing, meaning you get more done in a printing session's time.
At this moment, I'm usually getting two or three final prints that I'm happy with in an evening's session.
I also have some Ilford FB paper that was given to me, I can really appreciate the look and feel of that over RC paper, but at this moment it's just too much extra work to process for me compared to RC paper. Perhaps when I want to print that one photo in the best possible quality, then I might give it another try, but for now I mostly stick with RC paper.

I see you're from the UK, you could try Kentmere VC Select paper as well, as it is not too expensive but is said to perform very well! AG Photographic seems to sell it for a reasonable price.
For chemicals, just start with something and see if you like it.
I currently use Adotol Konstant developer, that needs to be mixed in 5 liter at once. I store it in 500mL soda bottles in the dark and use a bottle per session.
If I do another session within a week then I usually reuse the developer, otherwise I toss it and take a new bottle the next time.
It is said to have a mixed shelf life of about 6 months, I'm currently at 3 months and every 500mL bottle I've been using still works as expected.
I've also used Neutol NE, but I've experienced that it loses its strength much faster than Adotol.
Stop and Fix don't make too much of a difference I think, just use whatever's convenient to purchase, I'd say.

Hope this helps a little!

You've got good advice here, so I'll just add one simplification that might make your life easier:

Time your test strip and other exposure adjustments (including dodging and burning) in percentages instead of f-stop intervals. The f-stop timing method works well but involves a lot a decimal points and figuring things with the square root of 2 (something I don't feel like doing in the darkroom...).

Percentages accomplish the same thing but are easier to figure on the fly. One learns quickly what a 20% or a 50% change in exposure looks like.

I make my test strips in percentages by giving a basic exposure to the whole strip and then covering up stripes one at a time while counting seconds.

Example: Percentage intervals for a 30% test strip (rounded off to the nearest full second) might be: 10 sec., 13 sec., 17 sec., 22 sec., 29 sec., etc.
To make the strip, you just count the initial 10 seconds, then cover up a stripe and count the difference to the next interval, e.g., 10, 3, 4, 5, 7...
It's easy to remember and you get a really usable test strip that has exposures from 10 to 29 seconds on it. If you need to refine, you can use 20% intervals, etc.,

Have fun and don't hesitate to post here with questions.

Doremus

MattKing said:

Try this instead - 4, 5.6, 8, 11, 16, 22, 32, 45, 64 seconds
Those are half stop increments.
Full stop increments would be 4, 8, 16, 32, 64
You may recognize that progression

Click to expand...

I confess I got a bit confused until I saw a chart in order to archive those values at the end. I was still thinking in seconds

I'll try that. Thanks

Don Heisz said:

These are full aperture stops. Each increment is one ev away from the previous.

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Only if you are speaking in terms of apertures - f/4, f/5.6, f/8, etc.
If you are speaking in terms of seconds of exposure, they are half stops - each is the square root of two (1.4) times the next.
I use that progression, rather than something like 3, 4.2, 6, 8.4, 12, etc. because of how familiar the former progression is.

MattKing said:

Only if you are speaking in terms of apertures - f/4, f/5.6, f/8, etc.
If you are speaking in terms of seconds of exposure, they are half stops - each is the square root of two (1.4) times the next.
I use that progression, rather than something like 3, 4.2, 6, 8.4, 12, etc. because of how familiar the former progression is.

Click to expand...

Using 1.4x the previous stop length is .... not exactly that meaningful? Practically, half a stop between 6 seconds and 12 seconds is 9 seconds. And the longer the exposure, the less significant the rounding error becomes. It's an unnecessary complication to figure stops in that manner.

Simple. Ilford MG RC to start. Ilford MG filters. Get the large pack and cut them down to fit the drawer. I split grade print, so I only need two filters. #5, and #001. If you cannot get the larger filters, just buy the smaller under the lens type + holder kit. My students use this type at school. For a developer, start off with Ilford MG developer. Look forward to seeing your prints!

Ansco 130 paper developer.

You can use the Photographers Formulary kit, to start with, and this developer will last two years of use, on average and improve some with age/use.

Outside Amidol, it'll give you the blackest blacks you can get from a properly exposed b&w negative.

If you like this developer, learning to compound your own is easy, as is D76 for film, stop-baths and fixers, especially plain Hypo and clearing agents, like HCL.

Cheers,
Eli

IMO

Don Heisz said:

Using 1.4x the previous stop length is .... not exactly that meaningful? Practically, half a stop between 6 seconds and 12 seconds is 9 seconds. And the longer the exposure, the less significant the rounding error becomes. It's an unnecessary complication to figure stops in that manner.

Click to expand...

I often work in 1/6 stops, when I'm down to the fine tuning stage.
So I prefer the consistency of something close to half stops when starting out - and that 2.8, 4, 5.6, 8, 11, 16, 22, 32, 45 progression is ingrained in my memory.
I think it also helps drive home how the response of the paper isn't as simple as a straight line. It helps people understand why a 3 second increase to an 8 second exposure is so much more consequential than a 3 second increase to a 22 second exposure.

For me, working in stops is the way to go. Maybe awkward at first, but it pays later when looking at early prints - this area 1/2 stop too dark. That are needs burning in 1 full stop.

MattKing said:

I often work in 1/6 stop

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This thread is to advise someone who has not yet made a print. The idea of a "stop" is a useful abstraction - a way to think about an overall approach to changes in exposure. It's meaningful if you can express it in an intuitive way - such as an increase of one stop = double the exposure time. A firm understanding of that will lead to the ability to nuance your exposures by degrees. I mean, no one's talking about making unsharp masks or contrast mask or water-bath control of contrast or spot developing with hot developer or selective bleaching. No one's even mentioned using two baths of fixer (which I use). Those are sophistications on a basic practice.

I'm not saying you're wrong or advising anything someone shouldn't do. I just think it clouds the basic understanding someone needs at the start.

At any rate, thinking in terms of stops for adjusting exposure is a much better way to do darkroom enlarging. That's the basic point and we agree on that.

First of all thank you very much for your advices. All of them counts.

So in resume, lets imagine I'm using fractions of 5 seconds, so in the end I like the exposure achieved at 20 seconds with a filter at grade 2. If I decide I still need to add a bit more contrast I'll just need to add a grade 3 filter, for example? Does this mess with exposure time or only from 4 and 5 filters?

I also read some posts mentioning about split grade printing. It sounds to me something like processing the same file twice in camera raw, one for shadows and other for highlights and then merging them in PS. Does this make sense?

So if my exposure is 20 seconds at grade 2, should I then apply a low grade filter first and then a high one at 10 seconds each? I confess Im a bit confuse with this concept. Im sure it must be something simple, but Im just curious.