hi,
I have some question that i want to clarify for myself.
Lately I made a print and I found out that the darker values are not yet fully black.
Following the rule in 'Print';
"Expose for the highlights and control the shadows with contrast."
The enlarger's settings were: F/5.6 , 8 seconds of 120 Yellow filter ,and 13 seconds 130Magenta.
What should i do to get the dark values black? Since I used the maximum Magenta value on my enlarger, I cannot increase Magenta anymore.
Should I use the Ilford Multigrade below lens filter kit to extra Increase the magenta values. Or should i increase the exposure time i use with the magenta filter for example 16 seconds?
Lots of information and opinions here for you to digest.
Let me just add that your framing of the questions indicates an incomplete understanding of what's happening as far as contrast control of your prints goes. Fix that and you'll be just fine.
A couple of comments:
When split-grade printing as you are, it is the
proportion of magenta to the proportion of yellow that determines the overall contrast of the print in addition to the total exposure time. Maximum contrast would be with maximum magenta only (i.e., with no yellow at all). Maximum softness would be with maximum yellow only (no magenta). So, your combination of magenta and yellow gives you an intermediate contrast. If you need more contrast to get satisfying blacks, you need more magenta time and, if your highlights are also too muddy after adding that, less yellow as well. Often, just increasing the time with the magenta will give you the results you want.
So, "using maximum magenta" doesn't guarantee a good black if you don't give enough exposure time, The effect of the magenta filtration depends on how much time (overall exposure) and in what proportion to the yellow exposure that is. If you "underexpose" with the magenta filtration (i.e., too little time) then you'll have trouble getting a decent black on anything but the contrastiest negatives.
The "expose for the highlights and adjust contrast for the blacks" is a good rule, but becomes a bit more complicated with split-grade printing. With split-grade printing, the highlight density is controlled (mostly) by the yellow exposure and the shadow density is controlled (mostly) by the magenta. So "expose for the highlights" becomes "find a max. yellow exposure time that gives you the best highlight density," and "adjust contrast for the blacks" becomes "find a max. magenta exposure time that gives you the low values you like." The "mostly" in parenthesis above means that if you make a large adjustment to either yellow or magenta, you'll likely have to make a small adjustment in the opposite direction for the other. Example: I want to increase my magenta exposure time by 100% because my blacks aren't anywhere close to black usually means I might have to reduce the yellow exposure by 10%-20%.
Once you understand the basic principles, it just becomes a matter of zeroing in on your goal by increasing/decreasing exposure times for yellow and magenta till you find the right combination.
To refine, then, you can burn or dodge with either yellow or magenta. Again, yellow affects highlights most, magenta the low values. The principle is pretty straightforward; it works just like finding the basic combination of yellow and magenta for the whole print, just for a smaller area of the print. So, if you have one area with weak blacks, then burn with magenta. If you have a stubborn highlight that you'd like to be a darker shade of light gray, burn with the yellow filtration. The opposite for dodging; if you have an area where the blacks are too black, dodge during the magenta exposure. An area where the highlights are too dark? Dodge during the yellow exposure. How much? That's for you to figure out.
Oh, and do give your prints full development. I like 2.5 minutes. Also, standardizing your developing time removes an unneeded variable from the equation, making things a lot easier.
Hope this helps,
Doremus