Marking enlarging paper

Years ago I took a John Sexton workshop and he gave everyone a pencil for marking the back of prints. After a lot of prints I'm still using that same pencil. It's a Berol Draughting 314. I think Berol is gone but maybe you can try another brand of the same pencil. I don't put much on the back. Just my print number, printing date, paper and developer.

A china marker (grease pencil) works pretty well for marking the back of the paper. It is broad and a bit messy, so you want to keep your marks to a minimum. Marking the prints with a sequential number or letter and keeping corresponding notes with a pad and pencil works well.

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.)

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Hi there!, maybe this helps
When I am in the darkroom, I keep notes into a notebook (small description of the photo and ALL the settings) After the session, as soon as the tests are dry I stick them in the notebook at the corresponding description for future reference. And also at this point I write all the settings (based on the notes) on the back of each print and mark on the notes what settings were good for a good photo. So, even I will not have the print in the future I have the settings write down and the combination that had produce a good photo


I use 3,4B pencils for the prints and never had problems. also it is 'acid free" so, good as archive quality for the print

good luck

I mark everything in a notebook.

Roll # / Frame # / Aperture / Contrast / Time and then dodging burning. An example would be like this:

178/12 f11 3C 12sec b: white shirt of waiter 5 sec d: waiter's face 2sec

The problem is when I print 2 / 3 of the same with different setting and I want to remember which is which. I tend to bend the corners but I don't like this system. Would like to mark with a pencil but was always afraid of some contamination (to chemicals or the print etc...) which is perhaps silly.

After the prints dry - I transfer the notes from the notebook and write it along the edge of the print on the back.

I'll try the suggestion of the 3/4/5B pencils - will see what I can source locally.

Thanks,
Ben

One thing I have done when doing multiple density or filter tests. is to mark the face (or the reverse) with a ball point space pen, works remarkably well. One interesting aspect is that normally the ink colour is black, but, when written underwater directly to the face or reverse side of RC paper, the ink colour turns blue.

I started using these ball point pens many moons ago, mainly to ensure any notes taken when photographing out in all kinds of weather didn't bleed when and/or if the notes and note paper got wet. I now use waterproof note paper, which is designed specifically for the space pens, having been caught once in a huge downpour and finding that my notes were perfect as they were written with a lead pencil, pity about the carrier though as the paper just fell apart or stuck together.

I started using the space pen in a darkroom when in a borrowed darkroom halfway round the world in Germany, it was the only pen I had with me and I wrote information on the rear and front of the RC contact sheets. The owner of the darkroom was fascinated so we did a few experiments writing under water in the wash tray directly onto the plastic coating, bit of an eye opening moment watching the ink colour change as you started writing under water, then pulled the print out and re-started the writing in air.

Mick.

I marked the backs of a large number of test strips (56 of them) with a Sharpie just this week. I was calibrating my RH designs Analyser for 4 different kinds of RC paper. On some of the test strips the Sharpie ink bled right through them (before they went in any chemicals). Not all of the writing but some spots. I didn't think it was possible and checked whether I had ink on my hands or on the table top but it wasn't that. I have used Chinagraph but it doesn't work very well for me. I might try a very soft pencil but it is hard to mark RC paper.

I have a spiral book that I jot down which prints got developed and how. For the negs, the print files are marked in black felt pen designating developer, dilution, times and temps, type of agitation, which camera w/ which lens, which film, w/ or w/o a lens filter, along w/ a date.

The print info goes into the spiral book describing the type of paper, developer (it's always Dektol at the same dilution), date, and exposure times. If there's any dodging, burning or filters used on the print that is noted, and the test strip and test print, if any, are put into an envelope and taped to the page. There's also a number written on the back of the print in permanent marker, and that is duped in the top corner of the page info to find things later.

This may sound a little anal, but if it's not done this way I'm lost later on. It's all very different than my painting or drawing, where things are thrown away if they don't work 100%, or simply painted over and I could give a rip how the image got there. W/ photography I have to be organized or it's a real mess. Many years of market and medical research, along w/ working w/ OSHA, trained me to keep accurate records or I can't find what I need. I would much rather spend time to file things right than search for what I want later.

I am working on a significant project right now, where the negatives are from a 50 year span all medium format or 35mm . I hope to print each image in future, so I
have decided to do a high rez scan of each image, make a 5 x8 inch print of each on matt inkjet paper.
Each print I then mount into a very large 13 x19 art book you can buy from Staples or such.

I concentrate on a few basic concepts and printing steps I have taken to make the image. Some details like time and aperture are really not required. More important to me
is the overall contrast scheme.

I use a modified split filter technique . The most important issue for me is the low filter I start with and the High filter, I never change the timer so its
simply a matter of for example - filter 1/2 1 hit - filter 5 2 hits. This immediately sets the over all contrast. I do not have to record the fstop or time as within one future test
strip that is realized and not relevant to me.
Since there is a lot of writing space about the image mounted on the page, I will then mark the areas of flash, low and high burn , what type of dodge , was it in the low and high.
Did I give an Ansel Adams burn or not, what significant features was I tying to accent what areas was I trying to suppress.

I then leave a degree of difficulty assessment so when I come back to this image I will remember immediately the degree of pain, and in most cases let the client know
that this image is extremely difficult and once solved I should immediately print many editions of the image so I am not reinventing the pain each time I come to this image.

The only markings I ever put on a print is my signature on reverse in the bottom left , non image area. After the print is dry and ready for framing.

This book procedure is only done for large projects that are gallery or museum bound and have a great chance of coming back for further print orders after the first round is sold.

The books are easily stacked and stored and on every front cover is an image by the photographer so I can easily find the project. This is also how I
keep record of all my personal work.

Sounds tedious but once done I am very happy to go through my books and decide what I want to edition for my own work. So every negative I shoot
is scanned and all images I think are potential I make cheap inkjets and mount into these project books, all the neg's are kept in small boxes with the book number or project
description on it...


Hey I just read Momus above, he must be a brother from another mother.

I also use soft pencil, I find 6B works fine with FB and RC papers and doesn't bleed or wash off. After the exposure and before wet processing I record frame number, paper type, lens aperture, exposure time, date.

All information is keep in a hardcover notebook.

cliveh said:

I don't bother.

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me too

take notes on a legal pad as you modify your print to its final stage. then the file print i use an ultra fine sharpie for that first finished print, then there is no need to mark final prints after that.

btw, dodging n burning info is on the face of a dry print using china red crayon.

Information I like to have on the back of a print: date, paper type, base exposure time and contrast. I also like to know what number the print was, 1st, 2nd, 3rd, etc... If the negative is numbered, I'll put that on there.

This is the nuts and bolts of a print. In a notebook I keep more detailed information, and the date on the print lets me find it easily. I like Leuchtturm 1917 ones, because the pages are numbered and they have an index. It's no good writing stuff down if you can't find it later!

This was my 2015 notebook:

https://www.instagram.com/p/BACiME3kkCn/

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.)

Click to expand...

Lately what I've done is number the back of the print (1, 2, 3 etc.) and then write in a notebook the session date, the print # and the details. Later after prints from that session are dry I transfer that info to the print in soft pencil. A little extra work maybe but keeps from getting excited and scribbling/bearing down on the back of the print.

I've found for lith prints (heated dev) and particularly testing that includes bleaching and redev - even sharpie ink can disappear. Pencil or ball-point often doesn't make it to the first fix.

This is critical for me when I'm using, say, precious ektalure or other old papers. I really need a way to match the final dried print to my notes.

Last month I started notching tiny triangles in the edge with scissors, so if my notes say "Print #2" I refer to the 2-notch print.

Lately I've been thinking of either making a 4x5 neg with a row of numbers - (shoot a white sheet with black numbers and overdevelop) and making sort of a cardboard frame to expose only one number and actually expose it on the print border... or maybe an LED penlight with a blacked-out lens with just one line exposed, and a rubber gasket. Stick the light on the border, flick the light on and off and get a black line. Repeat along the edge 2 or 3 or 4 times...

Sounds nutty, but this can be a huge issue for me.

bvy said:

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.

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6B pencil on the back of both RC and FB prints.

I went to a local Stationary store and found 10B pencils surprisingly. I got a few and it works wonders. I don't have to push it at all, it's so soft it writes on anything and it survives development. Not sure for Lith of course, never tried it.

Ben

M Carter said:

This is critical for me when I'm using, say, precious ektalure or other old papers. I really need a way to match the final dried print to my notes.

Last month I started notching tiny triangles in the edge with scissors, so if my notes say "Print #2" I refer to the 2-notch print.

Click to expand...

There are ticket-punches available that make a shallow, shaped notch precisely at the edge of a ticket - or a sheet of photographic paper. That would make the notching procedure a much simpler and more do-able process in a darkroom, than using scissors and multiple cuts in safe-light conditions. Some sort of binary code with a couple of different shapes could also work. With 3mm extra on one edge of the print borders you could even keep the record marks completely outside the usual print+border size, allowing future use as a 'normal' print.