Making your first black and white print - the ILFORD PHOTO Website

ILFORDINFORMATION LEAFLETMAKINGYOUR FIRSTBLACK&WHITEPRINTA STEP BY STEP GUIDE TO PRINT PROCESSING FOR HOBBYISTS,STUDENTS AND SCHOOLSFAST AND EASY PRINTINGMaking a black and white print with ILFORDmaterials is a quick and simple three-step process.Two or three minutes after exposing the paper youcan turn on the darkroom light and admire yourprint as it washes in running water. After anothertwo minutes you can hang it up to dry.March 2003ILFORD MULTIGRADE IV RC paper is the perfectchoice if you are making your first print.Controlling the print contrast is easy. By usingMULTIGRADE filters 12 contrast grades can beacheived from 00 (very soft) to 5 (very hard),enabling a wide range of negative types to beprinted. Once you have mastered the basics, thenthere are no limits on the creative options that youcan try — some of the techniques are outlined inthis leaflet.PRINTING EQUIPMENTYou can use any enlarger to make prints onMULTIGRADE IV RC DeLuxe paper: one of the twoILFORD MULTIGRADE filter sets, above or belowthe lens, is sure to fit your model. You will alsoneed some of the darkroom accessories shown inthe illustration — plus your negatives, of course,and a pack of MULTIGRADE IV RC DeLuxe paper.A number of household items are also needed: aclock with a clear second hand, a pair of scissors,a squeegee or sponge, and plastic pegs or a hairdryer. As you gain expertise, you may wish to buya focusing aid, a dedicated darkroom timer, anda puffer brush for removing dust from negatives.If possible, buy different colour processing dishes/trays for each solution or mark each dish/trayclearly developer, stop and fix, and storechemicals in matching colour containers. A traceof fixer or stop bath can contaminate thedeveloper, leading to inconsistent results or — atworst — completely blank prints.EQUIPMENT ACCESSORIESILFORD makes a range of darkroom accessorieswhich can aid your darkroom skills considerably.The accessories are available from photographicdealers and include the following:SAFELIGHTSThe SL1 and DL10 safelights can be used on awork top or by attaching them to the wall. The SL1has an orange filter specially designed for blackand white papers. The DL10 can be fitted with avariety of different 20.3x25.4cm (8x10 in)safelight filters. The ILFORD 902 safelight filter isrecommended for all ILFORD printing papers.DT30This digital thermometer has an LED display whichgives a stabilised reading 15 seconds afterimmersion in your developer, stop bath or fixer.EM1O EXPOSURE MONITORThis measures the amount of exposure needed tomake a black and white or colour print. It isbattery operated and simple to use.Page 1 of 9

MAKING YOUR FIRST BLACK & WHITE PRINTUSING CHEMICALSNote Photographic chemicals are not hazardouswhen used correctly. It is recommended thatgloves, eye protection and an apron or overall areworn when handling and mixing all chemicals.Always follow the specific health and safetyrecommendations on the chemical packaging.Photochemical material safety data sheetscontaining full details for the safe handling,disposal and transportation of ILFORD chemicalsare available from ILFORD agents or directly fromthe ILFORD web site at www.ilford.com.Do not use utensils for food preparation to makeup and store photochemicals. Keep all foodstuffsaway from areas where photographic chemicalsare being prepared and used.Do not use soft drink bottles to store chemicals.Always label containers clearly, and store themsafely, out of reach of children.Do not allow children to use photochemicalsunsupervised.THE CHEMICALS YOU NEEDFor your first print, use the ILFORD chemicalsmentioned below. They are easy to mix and use,because they are supplied in liquid form. All areavailable in small bottles, so they are economicalif you make prints only occasionally.ILFORD MULTIGRADE developer makes the imageappear on the paper. You should mix up only asmuch developer as you need to fill the developingdish/tray about half full: pour the used solutiondown the drain after finishing your processingsession.ILFORD ILFOSTOP stop bath brings development toan end, and prolongs the life of the fixer.ILFORD RAPID FIXER makes the developed imagepermanent. ILFORD RAPID FIXER works quickly.You can make up and use ILFOSTOP andILFORD RAPID FIXER for more than one printingand processing session.PROCESS SUMMARYFor MULTIGRADE IV RC DeLuxe paperStep Time TemperatureDevelopmentILFORD MULTIGRADE 1 minute 20°C/68ºFdeveloper diluted 1+9orILFORDPQ UNIVERSAL 2 minutes 20°C/68ºFdeveloper diluted 1+9Stop bathILFORD ILFOSTOP 10 seconds About 20°C/68ºFdiluted 1+19— preferably nowarmer than24°C/75ºF andno cooler than18°C/64ºFFixILFORD RAPID FIXER 30 seconds as abovediluted 1+4Wash In running No coolerwater for than 5°C/41ºF2 minutesDry Variable Room temperatureor with a coolhair dryerCONTROLLING PRINT CONTRASTMultigrade filter setsTo work with ILFORD MULTIGRADE materials, youneed to be able to control the colour of the lightfrom the enlarger — usually by putting filters intothe light path. White light produces a print ofnormal contrast, about grade 2; yellow (green)light reduces contrast, and magenta (blue) lightincreases it.MULTIGRADE filters are available in kits of 12filters, covering in half grades the equivalent ofpaper grades 00 to 5. If your enlarger has a filterdrawer, choose a set of unmounted square filters.There is also a below-the-lens kit of mounted filtersfor enlargers that do not have a filter drawer.We strongly recommend that you useMULTIGRADE filters to control the colour of thelight — even if your enlarger is equipped with acolour head. MULTIGRADE filters are densitybalancedso that exposure times remain constantat contrast levels lower than grade 4. If you switchto filter 4 or a higher contrast filter, you need onlydouble the exposure. If you nevertheless wish touse a colour head, you will find filtrationrecommendations below.Page 2 of 9

MAKING YOUR FIRST BLACK & WHITE PRINTColour enlargersRefer to the chart below to set filtration if you usethe colour head of your enlarger instead ofindividual MULTIGRADE filters. With a colour headyou will need to make a fresh exposure test eachtime you change contrast — or determineexposure compensation values by experiment.Most colour head enlargers will be provided witha chart with compensation values to indicate whatincrease in exposure time can be anticipatedwhen the contrast is changed.Durst Kodak MeoptaDunco Advena MeoptaDurstBeselerKaiserChromegaKienzleDe VereLeitzFujimotoLupoIFFJoboLPLOmegaPatersonSimmardVivitarMULTIGRADE Durst Durst Kodak Meoptafilter (max (max170M) 130M)00 150Y 120Y 199Y 150Y0 90Y 70Y 90Y 90Y1/ 2 70Y 50Y 70Y 70Y1 55Y 40Y 50Y 55Y1 1/ 2 30Y 25Y 30Y 30Y2 0 0 0 02 1/ 2 20M 10M 5M 20M3 45M 30M 25M 40M3 1/ 2 65M 50M 50M 65M4 100M 75M 80M 85M4 1/ 2 140M 120M 140M 200M5 170M* 130M 199M –*Some enlargers in this group have a maximum magentasetting higher or lower than 170M. For these enlargers, setthe highest possible magenta value as an approximateequivalent to filter 5.Divided filtrationWith a single sheet of MULTIGRADE paper youcan make a print of any contrast — but why stopat one contrast level? Some negatives have highcontrast overall, and low contrast in a small area.You can deal with this problem by making twoexposures using the same negative and paper; setdifferent levels of contrast for each exposure, anduse your hand or a piece of card to shade firstone part of the print, then the other.Printing from colour negativesMULTIGRADE paper produces reasonable blackand white prints from colour negatives. Use aMULTIGRADE filter 3 or 4 to set an initial contrastlevel.Paper negativesUse a sheet of glass to press a washed and driedprint face-to-face with a fresh sheet ofMULTIGRADE paper, then expose the ’sandwich’to the light of the enlarger, using a MULTIGRADEfilter 5. This produces a paper negative which youcan again contact print in the same way toeliminate grey tones, making the print entirelyblack and white.ToningAll MULTIGRADE papers respond well to toning.This traditional process turns the blacks of the printto a warm brown or some other colour.Particularlyrecommended are MG WARMTONE FB and MGWARMTONE RC Ask your local photo dealerabout toning kits.Going furtherILFORD MULTIGRADE IV RC DeLuxe paper is auniquely versatile material. Using the techniquessuggested below, you can exploit the paper‘squalities to print from difficult negatives, createnostalgic sepia prints when combined with toning,or eliminate grey tones for striking images. Thereis only room to outline these creative techniqueshere.Page 3 of 9

MAKING YOUR FIRST BLACK & WHITE PRINTILFORD PAPERSILFORD manufactures a range of papers to suityour individual printing needs. The processingprocedure outlined in this information sheet makesreference to ILFORD MULTIGRADE RC DeLuxe butthis is just one of eight black and white papersthat ILFORD produces for general photographicuse. More information about all ILFORD productsis available from our website atwww.ilford.com.MULTIGRADE PAPERSILFORD MULTIGRADE papers are popular becausethey make printing extremely easy andeconomical. With one box of paper you get 12contrast steps from 00–5 — equivalent to 6 boxesof graded paper.MULTIGRADE IV RC DeLuxeMULTIGRADE IV RC papers set the standards bywhich other resin coated papers are judged.MULTIGRADE IV RC DeLuxe has a medium weightRC base and is available in glossy, pearl andsatin surfaces. MULTIGRADE IV RC Portfolio has adouble weight RC base and is available in glossyand pearl surfaces. MULTIGRADE IV RC isextremely easy and quick to process and dry.GRADED PAPERSILFORD manufactures graded paper for thespecialist printer and for applications wherevariable contrast is not necessary.ILFORD ILFOSPEED RC DeLuxeThis graded RC paper is available in a range ofgrades 0–5, with glossy, semi-matt and pearlsurfaces. The resin coated base ensures thatprocessing, washing and drying are quick andeasy.ILFOBROM GALERIE FBAvailable in a range of grades 1–4 with glossyand matt surfaces, ILFOBROM GALERIE FB is apaper of uncompromising quality. Processing thisfibre-based material is exacting, but in the handsof an expert printer, ILFOBROM GALERIE FBbrings out every detail and tone of even the mostsubtle negatives.MULTIGRADE RC COOLTONEA general purpose mid-weight resin coatedprinting paper for all those photographers andprinters who desire a cool image tone. Its surfacecharacteristics, cool image tone and bright whitebase tint can produce images that appear sharpand crisp with more ‘punch’. It is available in bothglossy and pearl surfaces in a variety of popularcut sheet sizes.MULTIGRADE IV FB FIBERMULTIGRADE IV FB Fiber is coated onto atraditional double weight fibre base, givingunmounted prints a distinctive ’feel’ similar to thatof lightweight card. Some collectors and gallerycurators prefer fibre prints for their proven longterm stability, and in addition the print surface iseasier to retouch. MULTIGRADE IV FB Fiber isavailable in glossy and matt surfaces. However,prints on fibre-based papers need more carefulprocessing and washing than resin coated (RC)prints, and fibre-base (FB) prints do not dry flat asRC prints do.MULTIGRADE WARMTONEMULTIGRADE RC WARMTONE (on an RC base)and MULTIGRADE FB WARMTONE (on an FBbase) are specially designed to be receptive to alltoners, and can be toned to give subtle colourchanges or dramatic effects. MULTIGRADE RCWARMTONE is available in glossy and pearlsurfaces. MULTIGRADE FB warmtone is availablein glossy and semi-matt surfaces.Page 4 of 9

MAKING YOUR FIRST BLACK & WHITE PRINTHOW TO MAKE YOUR FIRST BLACKAND WHITE PRINTExcellent prints can be obtained from your blackand white negatives by commercial processinglaboratories, and most photofinishers andminilabs. So why make your own prints? Printmaking is a creative technique that is enjoyableand fulfilling. Producing your own prints allowsyou to choose the main area of interest for yourselfand enlarge it to almost any size and shapedesired. By ‘dodging’ and ‘burning’, that is, usingyour hands or pieces of card to hold back lightfrom or give extra light to selected areas of yourprint you can emphasise key elements of thepicture. Other simple techniques can be used togreat effect such as using different contrasts fordifferent areas of the print or using two or morenegatives to produce one print. Developing yourskills as a printer will alllow you to makeoutstanding individual prints that give you greatsatisfaction and pleasure.Making the most of your negatives is not difficult.You do not need a purpose-built darkroom, just aroom that can be blacked out. You do not evenneed running water, because the washing stage ofprint-making takes place in daylight. Whateverroom you choose for your print darkroomworkspace you must try to divide it into two areas.A dry area for the enlarger, print composition,negative handling, etc. and a wet area for mixingsolutions and print processing. You should try tocreate a physical divide between the two such ashaving wet and dry work benches set apart fromone another or if the same bench must be usederect a splash barrier.1Setting up your darkroomKitchens, bathrooms, lofts, attic, cellars andbasements and spare rooms have been used aseither temporary or permanent darkrooms. Theroom you have chosen for your darkroom needs tobe completely blacked out to stop light fromentering. For windows use thick card cut to shapeand held in place with black canvas tape. Fordoors use tape or black cloth or canvas to seal theedges. While absolute light-tightness is notrequired for black & white printing andprocessing, there should be no visible cracks.2Setting up your safelightsand equipmentYou do need an enlarger, but it need not beexpensive: even the simplest is capable of makingfine prints on ILFORD MULTIGRADE paper.Set up your safelight (e.g. the ILFORD SL1safelight) at least 1.2m/4ft from the developingdish. Lay out three processing dishes,label themDEV, STOP and FIX, two pairs of print tongs, anda clock for timing development. Then mix up theprocessing chemicals using water at about23°C/73ºF. The aim is to process at a workingtemperature of 20°C/68ºF +/– 1ºC/2ºF, so a fewdegrees are allowed for heat lost in mixing andcooling.Page 5 of 9

MAKING YOUR FIRST BLACK & WHITE PRINT3Mixing your chemicals5Focusingyour imageMix up the developer solution 1+9 by measuringout 60ml of ILFORD MULTIGRADE developer in a150ml cylinder, and adding this to 540ml of waterin a 600ml cylinder. For the stop bath, add 30mlof ILFORD ILFOSTOP stop bath to 570ml of water(1+19). For fixing, add 120ml of ILFORD RAPIDFIXER to 480ml of water (1+4). (This gives enoughprocessing solutions to process about 4020.3x25.4cm/8x10in MULTIGRADE RC prints).With the lens at full aperture, turn on the enlarger.Place an easel loaded with a spare piece of paperon the baseboard. Move the enlarger head toframe and focus the image. You can use a special‘focus finder‘ placed in the centre of the image tofocus on the negative grain for the sharpestpossible image.The chemicals are now ready to place in theirrespective dishes.4Choosingyour negative6Settingthe aperture (f stop)Choose the negative for printing, and make sure itis clean. Remove any dust with a puffer brush.Hold the negatives so you can read the edgenumbers, then turn the negatives round (not over)so the numbers are furthest away from you. Placethe negatives in the negative carrier of theenlarger. Slide the negative carrier into place.Switch on the safelight and switch off theroomlights.You can check the negatives are the right wayround by seeing if the edge numbers are projectedonto the baseboard the right way round.Turn the lens‘ aperture ring from full aperture to f8to increase edge sharpness and give more evenillumination. Count the number of clicks involved,so you can do it without looking at the lens. Theactual aperture used can vary, but should give anexposure time of about 10 seconds. Shorter timesare hard to time accurately; longer ones aretedious. Slide a MULTIGRADE filter 2 into the filterdrawer of your enlarger, or into the holder belowthe lens. This filter produces a good range of printtones with an average negative. If you have acolour enlarger, you may prefer to use the colourhead to dial in filtration equivalent to aMULTIGRADE filter 2.Page 6 of 9

MAKING YOUR FIRST BLACK & WHITE PRINT7Exposing a test print9 StopbathWith the safelight on, and the room lights off, puta sheet of MULTIGRADE paper into the easel,shiny side up. (Reseal the packet carefully.) Youare now ready to make a test print. Switch on theenlarger lamp and expose the whole sheet for twoseconds. Cover one-quarter of the sheet withopaque card, and expose the rest for another 2seconds. Cover half of it, and expose the rest foranother 4 seconds. Cover three-quarters, andexpose the last part for another 8 seconds.As one minute shows on the timer, quickly andsmoothly slide the developed paper into the stopbath. take care not to contaminate the developertongs with the stop bath. Rock the dish for about30 seconds. Use the second pair of tongs (fromthe fixer) to lift the print while solution drains fromit, and transfer it to the dish of ILFORD RAPIDFIXER solution. (The timing of this step is notcritical.)8Developinga print10Fixing a printCheck the thermometer in the dish of developer(20°C/68ºF) and set the timer to zero. Slide thepaper quickly and smoothly into the developer,making sure there are no air bubbles on the shinysurface. Start the timer. Rock the developer dishcontinuously backward and forward to send thesolution gently over the print. After 50 seconds,use tongs to lift the paper out, and drain off thedeveloper.Slide the paper into the dish of fixer, and rock thedish to get a good flow of chemicals over thesurface of the print. Fixing takes only 30 secondsin fresh solution. It does not matter if this time isexceeded slightly, but prints should not be left inthe fixer for minutes on end. If not washing a printstraight away, store it in a dish of clean water.Page 7 of 9

MAKING YOUR FIRST BLACK & WHITE PRINT11Examining the test print13Repeat the processing stepsRinse the test print and examine it under a brightlight (daylight or room lighting).It shows four strips,each one stop darker than the one next to it. Thelightest had only 2 seconds exposure; the next, 4seconds. The third strip received 8 seconds(2+2+4), and the darkest strip received 16seconds (2+2+4+8). Note these times and theaperture used on the test for reference, so that youcan learn from your results. From the test, estimatethe correct exposure for the final print.Repeat the processing steps (8-10) exactly as youdid before. Again, check the temperature of thedeveloper and time the development stage. If thedeveloper has cooled more than a few degrees,warm it up by pouring it into a 600ml cylinderand running hot water over the outside of it. (Thetemperature of the stop and fix are not as critical.)One strip should look about right, but if one stripis too dark and the next too light, the rightexposure will be somewhere in between. If all thestrips are too light, open up the aperture by twostops and repeat the test. If they are all too dark,close it by one stop and repeat the test.12Making the final print14Wash the final printSwitch the room light off and, by safelighting,position the easel under the enlarger to frame theprint as you want it. Take out a new sheet ofMULTIGRADE paper, and place this on the easel.Using the timer, give the paper the correctexposure worked out by examining the test print.Wash the print for 2 minutes in a good flow ofwater ideally at about 20°C/68ºF but cold waterabove 5ºC/41ºF will give adequate washing.Empty the wash tray a few times to ensure acomplete change of wash water, or use rubbertubing to syphon water from the bottom of the tray.Page 8 of 9

MAKING YOUR FIRST BLACK & WHITE PRINT15 Drying17After the wash, drain the print and use a squeegeeor sponge to remove any excess water. Attach awooden or plastic clip to one corner, and hang theprint over a drip tray to dry. Drying can bespeeded up by using a hairdryer on a low setting,kept moving and about 30cm/1ft away from theprint. MULTIGRADE prints dry naturally in a warmroom in under 30 minutes.Even a correctly exposed and processed print maynot have a full range of tones if the negative hadtoo much or too little contrast. If your print lookstoo grey, and lacks either solid black shadows orclean white highlights (or both) use aMULTIGRADE filter 3 or higher at step six. Use aMULTIGRADE filter 1 if there is too much contrast,and your print is dominated by extreme black andwhite tones, with too few shades of grey inbetween.16Examining the final printAll solution volumes in this step by step guide aremetric measurements. If you use US liquidmeasurements please use the table of conversionfactors below.1 litre = 33.8 US fluid oz3.8 litres = 1 US gallon29.6 ml = 1 US fluid oz.A wide range of fact sheets is available which describe andgive guidance on using ILFORD products. Some products inthis fact sheet might not be available in your country.Examine the final print by bright lighting. Thepicture should contain a full range of tones fromsmall areas of pure white(as white as the paper edges) to small areas ofintense black, with all the greys in between. If itdoes not, check that you followed the instructionsaccurately — particularly step 8. Although theimage appears within seconds, the print needs afull 50 seconds to mature. Don‘t be tempted toremove it too soon!ILFORD Imaging UK Limited, Town Lane, MobberleyKnutsford, Cheshire WA16 7JL, Englandwww.ilford.comPage 9 of 996045.GB.www March 2003