Marking enlarging paper

Tobywan · Jan 16, 2016

How does everyone mark their enlarging paper during a printing session. I have been writing a number on the back with a pencil so I could keep track of which settings I used for it. The problem is after washing the pencil is hard to read. Would a pen work or sharpie?
thanks,
Tobywan

Bill Burk · Jan 16, 2016

I keep all my printing notes on a separate sheet of paper as I work. If any specific print is not obvious, I can always mark it on the back of the like "A" "B" "C"...

http://beefalobill.com/images/labnotesprint.pdf

AgX · Jan 16, 2016

That notes form is so complex I even have to think what it means.

pschwart · Jan 16, 2016

Tobywan said:
How does everyone mark their enlarging paper during a printing session. I have been writing a number on the back with a pencil so I could keep track of which settings I used for it. The problem is after washing the pencil is hard to read. Would a pen work or sharpie?
thanks,
Tobywan

- keep a note pad
- try a 2B or 3B pencil for the back of fiber prints
- Sharpies are great for marking test prints/strips

Bill Burk · Jan 16, 2016

AgX said:
That notes form is so complex I even have to think what it means.

Well there's 3/8 inch gripper at the top (so you can easily get it "printed" on a standard offset press). Enough room at the left for 3-hole punch.

Lines spaced at 1/3 inch, appropriate for handwriting, all the way to the bottom of the page

The big diagrams are where I sketch out the dodge and burns.

You can ignore "Scale Index" (I just put 2 or 3 for grade). I never really get around to "reading" the "Density" of my negatives, so that's an un-used part of the form.

The "Issues" section at the bottom is the most utilized. And the rest is self-explanatory. I can describe 2 or 3 prints so either 1 or 2 of these sheets covers me for a session in the darkroom.

winger · Jan 16, 2016

On the upper left of each print, I write the filter, f-stop, and time plus whether I did dodging or burning. So "F2 1/2 f11 20" would mean used a 2 1/2 filter at f11 for 20 seconds. I always write it the same way. When I was first printing, I tried to write a single number on the print and write the settings in a notebook, but it became too tough to keep track of. It's easier for me to have the settings on the actual print. For fiber I use pencil (a soft one, so no pressure) and for RC it's usually Sharpie.

Doremus Scudder · Jan 16, 2016

I keep a legal pad with me and make notes as I refine a print (exposure time, f-stop, dodging and burning with sketches, etc., etc.). When I've made a final version, I transfer the information to a computer file for future reference.

As for keeping track of different versions of prints while working: I have a magnetic white board that I hang prints on for evaluation. I make notes under them with a board marker during the refinement/comparison process. When I do different things in one batch, I bend corners on the print. There are enough corners and combinations (one corner, two corners, alternate corners etc.) that I've never needed more than this.

I have tried marking tests with a Sharpie, but it often dissolves away in the fix. Soft pencil on the back stays but is often harder to read. For me, the corner bends (or clips if you like) work best.

Doremus

bvy · Jan 16, 2016

6B pencils are my best friends. They make a good dark mark on a number of surfaces, including the back of RC paper, and don't easily wash away. 8B pencils are even better.

cliveh · Jan 16, 2016

I don't bother.

pdeeh · Jan 16, 2016

chinagraph pencil

Sirius Glass · Jan 16, 2016

I keep a notebook of all the darkroom work I do.

AgX · Jan 16, 2016

And how do you relate those notes to the very print?
(In case you got several versions of the same image where printing settings are not obvious.)

Sirius Glass · Jan 16, 2016

AgX said:
And how do you relate those notes to the very print?
(In case you got several versions of the same image where printing settings are not obvious.)

That can be a problem but when I have several variations, one turns out to be the best and I label that in my notes. I have used pencil on the back of the paper, but very rarely.

Jim Jones · Jan 16, 2016

I only mark a negative number on the backs of prints so the negative can easily be found in the future for reprints. Any printing data is recorded on the negative file.

bdial · Jan 16, 2016

For work prints a sharpie has worked well for me. If it's a difficult neg, I'll also make notes in my darkroom notebook.

Loren Sattler · Jan 16, 2016

I take notes on a pad showing paper, contrast filter, exposure time, aperture and burn and dodge instructions. If I have two or more prints with slight differences I clip corners of the prints (before developer) and note that on the sheet. After drying I will know which print looks better after drying.

Patrick Robert James · Jan 16, 2016

Always in pencil on the back of every print, and I include any dodging or burning info as well as what filter values I used. I also keep a notebook that has page numbers and a small printed thumbnail. The notebook has info back to the 90s, but the cross referencing only started about a decade ago. The info for the best looking print gets written down in the notebook (everything, including paper and developer type) and the number of that page gets written with a china marker on the negative sleeve over the negative. All images are catalogued in Lightroom with a scan after developing. It is a very efficient system. Nothing worse than pfaffing about in the darkroom. It is so efficient that I can be printing a negative within a minute of seeing it in Lightroom. The only place where I fail in the whole system is going back after the prints are dry and amending the info in the notebook, but prints can never be reproduced exactly after a little time has gone by so i don't worry too much about it.

Bill Burk · Jan 16, 2016

Patrick Robert James,

Do you write all that after the print is dry? Do you get any impression on the front? Or do you write lightly in the margins.

I have to admit, when I "find" a print with writing on the back... the value goes up in my mind tremendously. Now I know who the photographer is and other details that fill in the story about what I picked up.

Patrick Robert James · Jan 17, 2016

Bill Burk said:
Patrick Robert James,

Do you write all that after the print is dry? Do you get any impression on the front? Or do you write lightly in the margins.

I have to admit, when I "find" a print with writing on the back... the value goes up in my mind tremendously. Now I know who the photographer is and other details that fill in the story about what I picked up.

Hi Bill-
I write it all before it goes in the developer on the back (probably obvious) along the edge of the paper. Sometimes the info takes up nearly the whole width. I have never had any problems with impressions. I use a mechanical pencil. I find that it helps making prints too because sometimes I can end up with multiple prints from a problem neg and making the notes on the back allows me to reference what I want in different areas. When I first started I didn't like doing it because I am a bit lazy, but now that I am used to the process I think it is great. It really helps later after I tone the prints. Sometimes the better print is a lighter one or vice versa.

Pretty much any print of mine is going to have the chicken scratchings on the back. I doubt it adds any value to the print because they don't seem to have any value in the first place...

Sirius Glass · Jan 17, 2016

After the print has dried, I write the year-roll-frame on the back of the print.

Tobywan · Jan 17, 2016

Thanks, everyone

Sounds like a soft(6b) pencil will work best. I keep all my notes in a database linked to the final prints by negative and print number, the problem is when making prints and you have 10 or more floating around.

R.Gould · Jan 17, 2016

Reporters notebook to keep notes of the Analyser/pro settings, then just any slight refinements, I use a sharpie, great to see under the darkroom, and at the top just a rough title and the starting Fstop,

pentaxuser · Jan 17, 2016

It is actually possible to get a 9B. I have one and it really does create a black mark with the softest of pressure. It has lasted a surprisingly long time as well, given how soft the graphite is.

pentaxuser

AgX · Jan 17, 2016

pentaxuser said:
It is actually possible to get a 9B.

In the artist range of pencils, likely not in the common ranges that end at 7B or 8B.

bvy · Jan 17, 2016

Diminishing returns at some point. With a 6B I can even mark on the back of RC paper while it's wet.

Marking enlarging paper

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