BLACK and Whitemake a Resin Coated (RC) Print: Enlarging
BLACK AND WHITEMake a Resin Coated (RC) Print: enlarging
1. Check out your printing kit from the equipment cage. Check which lens you are using. 35 mm film uses a 50mm lens. If no 50 mm lens remain you may be issued a 80mm or 75mm lens. Set up your station. Do not raise or lower the enlarging head when the column is locked. Always place a negative carrier in position before turning on the light. Be careful. Ask the monitor if you are having trouble.
2. Place negative, emulsion side down (dull side down), in negative holder and secure properly. Make sure your enlarger is secure.
3. Turn on timer to 'focus' setting and adjust large crank and fine adjustment knob to focus your negative to final print size that you want. Don't forget to undo lock nut on enlarger column before moving the enlarger head up or down using the crank on right side.
4. Unlock your enlarger column and raise or lower the enlarger head until a rectangle 8 x10” is clearly focused. Adjust bellows as needed.
5. Choose a lens aperture setting 2-3 stops down (darker) than wide open to make your first test exposures.
6. Place a #2 filter on your lens. Eventually when you have printed for a while you may make other filter choices based on your experience.
7. Cut test strips with your scissors.
8. Using test strips first (emulsion side up) set your timer (e.g., at 5 seconds) and make a series of 5 second exposures. Cover most of the test strip using an opaque material like a piece cardboard and then move the cardboard after each 5-second exposure so that another small section of the piece of photo paper is exposed. The sections that have already been exposed will each gain another 5 seconds of exposure. Eventually you will end up with a series of sections of the print that have been exposed at 5, 10, 15 seconds, etc.
9. Follow the steps to develop your paper (develop, stop, fix, wash holding bath. Do not put your test strips in the final wash.)
10. Examine your test strip. Judge which section seems to come closest to a good overall exposure and then make another test strip at that time (aim for printing time of between 10 - 20 seconds, if possible). Then judge if #2 filter (contrast) is appropriate or needs to be changed. And so on until you’re ready to make a work print.
11. To make a full-sized work print place paper in easel and expose using information gathered from test strips. Check processed work print for border placement, assess for possible dodging or burning, etc. With information gained from work prints you are now ready to make a final print.
To process resin Coated
· Develop, 1.5 minutes
· Stop, 30 secs
· Fix, 5 min
· Water hold
· Eliminator (clear) (orbit bath), 2 min
· Wash, 5 min
· Dry in dryer, or place on racks. Take home photos when dry.
MAKE A CONTACT PRINT
· Raise the enlarger to a height where the empty negative holder, placed in the enlarger, produces a 9"x12" rectangle of light when focused (so that the edges of the light are crisp). Stop the lens down 2-3 stops from the brightest. Place negatives emulsion side down onto a piece of photo paper that is emulsion side up and cover completely with a sheet of glass.
· First expose and develop a test strip laid under your plastic-sleeved negatives (as per previous instructions on making test strips).
· Once you have an exposure that looks good for a majority of the negative frames, use a full sheet of 8"x10" paper to make a contact sheet that shows all of the negative frames.
· Remember that a contact print is meant to show the best average exposure for your entire roll of film. It is normal that some frames may remain lighter or darker than others.
NOTES:
· Always make a contact sheet of your negatives
· Always make a work print to finalize your decisions on exposure, contrast, burning, dodging and cropping
· Always use contrast filters when printing b/w
· Always make a final print and record how you did it! Box it and store safely.
Tray Processing
1. Develop: Slide the print face down into the developer. Agitate by rocking the tray or moving the print with tongs. Once the print is fully submerged turn it over so you can watch the development. Use clean tongs and wear gloves to avoid any allergic or other reactions to chemistry. Take care not to contaminate the developer with any other chemical solutions. Do not dip developer tongs into stop bath. Lift out with tongs, let excess chemistry drain off and dip in and out of the water bath.
Develop: 1 to 1.5 minutes, regular agitation (rinse in water tray)
2. Stop: place print face down in the stop bath. Turn. Agitate. Remove after 15 seconds. Drain excess chemistry and dip print in and out of the water bath. Transfer prints using tongs.
Stop: 30 secs, regular agitation (rinse in water tray)
3. Fix: slide the print into the fixer and agitate by rocking the tray or moving the print. Agitate intermittently. The print should not be exposed to air on the surface of the bath as this can cause staining. With many prints in the bath, separate as well as agitate the prints. Do not over-fix the print. The fresher the fix, the quicker the fixing. That means at the beginning of a class or printing session you are fine fixing your prints for 1 min. Increase time as more prints begin to exhaust the fixer. Check the fixer every 30 mins to ensure it is still active. Test strips of film are provided for this or use hypo check.
Fix: 5 mins, intermittent agitation
4. Water holding bath: place your print in a water holding bath. At this point it is a good idea to take your print into the hallway and view it under light. Keep your print in the water bath until enough prints collect to justify a final wash (15 prints.)
Water holding bath: allow prints to collect in a water tray prior to washing.
5. Hypo Eliminate (orbit bath): you may eliminate several prints at once. Place in tray, agitate 2 minutes.
Eliminate: 2 minutes, agitate
6. Wash: wash your print in running water for 5 minutes (RC papers.)
Final wash: 5 minutes with running water. No contamination of other prints.
5. Dry: using the print dryer for resin-coated papers or squeegee and air-dry using screens. Face up for RC.
Dry: