PRINTING THE PICTURE
Printing is perhaps the most interesting of all the phases of
photographic work. While correct lighting, exposure, and negative
making cannot be too strongly emphasized, it is after all the finished
print that has been the end in view through each successive step.
PRINTING PAPERS
PRINTING-OUT PAPERS. The earliest printing paper, plain silver paper,
was introduced by Fox Talbot about 1840. This was followed by albumen
papers, examples being found in the family albums of a generation ago.
Later came the silver chloride papers of the collodion and gelatin
types. In addition to these printing-out papers are others such as
platinum, and carbon, both of which are used quite largely by pictorial
workers. Blue-prints, which are now mainly used for architect’s
drawings, are made by one of the simplest of processes. After exposure
to sunlight through the negative until the image is visible except in
the highlights, washing in water completes the process, as development
and fixing are not required.
DEVELOPING PAPERS. These are used almost exclusively at the present
time. They are very similar to films except in regard to the kind of
support and in the speed. Papers for contact printing usually have
silver chloride for the sensitive silver salt. These are not as fast
papers as those used for enlarging, which more often have silver
bromide for the sensitive compound.
SELECTION OF PAPER. The multiplicity of papers available presents
a valuable means of producing not only distinctive work but also
getting out that which is best technically and artistically from every
negative. Photographic papers are made in both _single_ and _double
weight_, the former being well suited to small prints and those which
are to be mounted flat; the latter being more desirable for post
cards, for prints with borders that are to be left unmounted and for
professional work that is to be placed in folders.
Emulsions are usually coated on a white or buff stock though
occasionally on a cream or ivory base. Printing papers are made in
many _surfaces_—glossy, semi-gloss, semi-matte, velvet, smooth-matte,
slightly rough, rough lustre, rough matte and others. If something out
of the ordinary is wanted there are papers with silk, linen and canvas
surfaces as well as emulsions on tissue, parchment and canvas. The
semi-matte, and velvet surfaces are preferred by many, although the
brilliant glossy prints are best for reproduction. Matte papers are
used for a large proportion of portraits.
_Contrast._ As the print is made by allowing light to shine through the
negative on to a piece of sensitive paper with which it is placed in
contact it follows that a very thin portion of the negative will result
in dark shadows in the print. Similarly over-dense highlights of the
negative will hold back so much of the light that the lightest parts
of the print will be perfectly white. The professional photographer
produces negatives of reasonable uniformity and therefore professional
papers are usually made with only one degree of contrast. The amateur
on the other hand works under such widely varying conditions that it is
almost impossible to secure uniform negatives. So his printing papers
are made in several degrees of contrast, usually three or four, to take
care of the different types of negatives. In the case of papers such as
Velox or Azo, having contrasts numbered from one (the softest) to four
(the most contrasty), the following table should be of help:
No. 1.—A very soft paper used when printing from contrasty
negatives, or when soft effects are wanted.
No. 2.—A medium contrast paper used for average negatives.
Portrait papers are of about this contrast.
No. 3.—A more contrasty paper desirable for weak, thin
negatives.
No. 4.—A very contrasty paper for negatives that are thin
and flat. Also used where much contrast is wanted as when
making pictures of printed matter, line drawings, and maps.
A print to be technically perfect must correctly reproduce the
variations in light and shade of the original subject in their proper
relation and depth. In other words, a paper should be selected which
is of such contrast that when printed, no portion of the picture will
be absolutely white without detail and none will be completely black,
obliterating detail. However, the scale of tones should be as long as
possible without losing this detail.
PRINTING PROCESS
The necessary materials for making prints are few in number and simple
in character. Developing and fixing solutions as well as a short stop
bath, and water for washing and prints are of course essential and
should be ready before starting. As the printing papers are sensitive
to white light the work must be done in a very subdued light or in a
dark room lighted by a safelight lamp fitted with a yellow safelight.
EXPOSURE. The negative is placed upon the glass of the printing frame
or printing machine with the back or shiny side down. Over this is
placed a piece of sensitive paper with the sensitized side in contact
with the dull side of the negative and then the back of the frame is
replaced or the top of the printing machine pushed down. With the
frame the exposure is accomplished by holding it a few inches from
an electric light bulb or other light source for a few seconds. The
time of the exposure will have to be found by experiment. With amateur
papers such as Velox, the time of exposure must be such that the
print will develop up to the proper depth in about 45 seconds in the
developer designed for it at a temperature of 70 degrees. Portrait
papers usually require about 1½ minutes for full development and
enlarging papers may require still longer, in certain cases. If it
is found that upon development for the proper time that the print is
too light, it is evident that the exposure has been insufficient and
must be increased for the next print. On the other hand if the print
develops up to the proper depth too quickly, the exposure has been
too great and the print will be mottled and muddy. When making the
exposures, there is of course a good opportunity for dodging or holding
back certain parts of the picture. Also, there is endless opportunity
for making vignettes, borders, combination prints and other types that
are not especially difficult but which cannot be described in a book
of this size. The reader is urged to consult some more comprehensive
work.[8]
[Footnote 8: See Snodgrass: _The Science and Practice of Photographic
Printing_.]
DEVELOPMENT. The function of the developer and the chemistry of
development are the same as for negatives and need not be repeated. A
Metol (Elon)—hydroquinone combination (MQ) is now almost universally
used. Sodium carbonate has the same function as in the negative
developer but the sodium sulphite here largely acts as a preservative.
Potassium bromide is the chemical in the print developer that controls
the color. Enough bromide must be used to prevent fog or development
of the unexposed grains of silver salts, and this gives a print of a
blue-black color which if sepia-toned will tend to be purple. A larger
quantity under similar conditions of development gives an olive toned
black and white print which is likely to tone to a yellow sepia.
The _formula_ recommended by the manufacturer should always be used. A
specimen formula (Velox) is given:
Water (about 125° F.) 8 ounces
Elon 22 grains
Sodium sulphite (powdered) ¾ ounce
Hydroquinone 87 grains
Sodium carbonate (powdered) 1 ounce
55 grains
Potassium bromide 13 grains
Water to make 16 ounces
For use, take Stock Solution 1 part, water 1 part. Develop 45 seconds
at 70° F.
If placed in bottles filled to the neck and tightly corked it will keep
for several weeks.
_Method of Development._ Four trays containing respectively developer,
short stop bath, fixing bath, and water, arranged in that order should
be ready before starting to print. The same type of fixing bath as
recommended for negatives should be used. The short stop bath consists
of water 16 ounces and acetic acid (28%) ¾ ounce.
After the exposure is made, the tray containing the _developer_ is
tipped to one side and the print slid in face up from the high side of
the tray which is immediately tipped the other way causing the solution
to quickly cover the entire print. The print should be left in the tray
which is rocked slowly to secure evenness of development until within
about 5 seconds or so of the completion of the process. Then while the
print is held up to drain it can easily be seen when the proper depth
is reached. It should immediately be transferred to the short stop bath.
Development should be carried on for the length of time indicated
as correct by the manufacturer of the printing paper and at the
temperature recommended. After some experience it is perhaps better to
learn to develop by inspection. Correctly exposed prints are properly
developed to the correct depth when all the light affected particles
have been reduced or when the light action seems to stop. If the print
becomes too dark before it seems to pause in development, then it has
been overexposed. If it must remain in the developer for some time in
an attempt to force up the image, the print will become discolored.
The print when placed in the _short stop bath_ should be moved about
for two or three seconds and should then be transferred to the fixing
bath, or it may remain until a few more prints are made. A short stop
bath will stop development immediately and will also prevent the alkali
and carbonate from being carried over into the fixing bath. _After the
fingers have been in the short stop bath or fixing bath, they must be
washed and dried before being placed back in the developer._
FIXATION. The prints should be fixed in 15 minutes. A long immersion
may cause bleaching, or discoloration if the bath is too warm. The
prints must be turned over and separated a number of times during
the process of fixation to be sure that all the silver salts are
eliminated. If they are not thoroughly fixed they may turn pink and
gradually fade. If the rinse bath has been used, 64 ounces of the
fixing bath should properly fix 200 3¼ × 5½ prints. Should the fixing
bath become milky in appearance it should be discarded at once.
WASHING. Washing prints by hand is perhaps the most certain method of
eliminating chemicals from the paper and emulsion. Prints are placed in
a tray of clear water and after four or five minutes are transferred
one at a time to another tray of clear water of similar temperature;
the first tray is again filled with clear water and the process is
repeated until the prints have been passed through 10 or 12 changes of
water. If the change in temperature from one wash water to another or
from the developer to fixing bath or from the fixing bath to the wash
water, is very considerable, blisters are likely to result. If running
water is available and the prints are kept separated, they should
properly wash in about one hour.
DRYING. Prints except those having a glossy surface should be dried
face down on photo lintless blotters or on cheese cloth stretchers.
Glossy prints are rolled into contact on ferrotype tins and when
dry have a very smooth shiny surface. Drying machines are used in
commercial photo finishing establishments where it is necessary to turn
out hundreds or even thousands of prints a day.
After the prints are dry they are likely to have a decided curl inward.
They can be straightened by drawing them sharply over the back of a
table, although there is danger of cracking the emulsion. A better
way is to dampen the backs slightly with a wet sponge or cotton and
then place them between heavy lintless cardboards under a few pounds
pressure until dry again.
ENLARGING
Enlargements are in no way materially different from ordinary prints
except that a faster paper is used and the image is formed by
projection through a lens as when being made in the camera, instead
of by contact. With the advent of the modern fast enlarging papers of
contact quality, this method of printing has become so simplified that
beautiful enlargements of any reasonable size can easily and quickly be
made from small negatives of good quality. Thus the ambitious worker
with his ever present Vest Pocket Kodak fitted with an anastigmat lens
is always ready for any emergency, knowing that whenever a worthy
negative is secured it may be used to produce a large picture the equal
of a contact print from a larger camera.
For a long time fixed focus enlarging machines or focusing machines
were used. However, the Automatic Focusing machines are so much more
convenient that they are coming into general use. Being automatic in
focus much time is saved over the kind where it is necessary to attend
to getting the proper sized image and the correct focus at the same
time. Some of these cameras have supplementary lenses which may be
used over the regular lens when softness and diffusion are wanted. The
process of development, fixing, washing and drying is similar to that
of making contact prints.
TONING[9]
For most photographic subjects nothing is more satisfactory than a
good black and white print. Occasionally, however, such a subject as
an autumn landscape is more truthfully rendered in a warmer tone while
pictures of people are often preferred in sepia tones as being more
true to life. Of the two principal methods of producing sepia tones,
the redevelopment and the hypo-alum, the former is usually preferred
for amateur work as it is more simple.
[Footnote 9: For more exhaustive information on toning see Snodgrass:
_The Science and Practice of Photographic Printing_.
_Elementary Photographic Chemistry._ Eastman Kodak Company.]
FINISHING THE PICTURE[10]
Keeping prints loose in a box or drawer is a most unsatisfactory method
of preservation, as they soon become dirty or lost. Mounting them in
folders or on card mounts is better but for average amateur work this
is not so good as keeping them in albums.
[Footnote 10: See Photo-Miniature No. 188: _The Exhibition Print_.]
When selecting mounts, it is well to remember that a light mount will
make a picture appear darker and consequently should be used for a
print that is too light. Similarly a dark print should be placed in a
still darker mount. Black and white prints generally look best on gray
mounts and sepia on brown ones.
Nearly all prints are improved by judicious _trimming_. Anything that
does not help center the interest should be eliminated. Vertical
and horizontal lines that are not true should be corrected whenever
possible. A good, clean cut edge along with square corners can be
secured by the use of a regular trimming board.
If prints are to be _dry mounted_, they should not be trimmed until
after the mounting tissue is attached to the print. Dry mounting has
the decided advantage that prints can be mounted perfectly flat on thin
mounts or album leaves. It is very easily done and does not get the
print or mount soiled and the print is protected from possible moisture
and injurious chemicals in the mount. A piece of dry mounting tissue is
attached to the back of the print by touching it in a couple of places
with a hot iron. The print is now turned face up and with the adhering
tissue is trimmed to the proper size. Next it is placed in position on
the mount, covered with a thin card and put under pressure for a few
seconds in a dry mounting press, or a flat iron may be used.
After the print is mounted it is often necessary to do some _spotting_.
Any small white spots are filled up using a No. 1 sable brush and a
card of spotting colors.
Many prints are made more effective by _hand coloring_. Tinting with
water colors is perhaps the most popular method, although studio work
is often done with oil or pastel colors.