Photography Printing Techniques

Processed film can be printed manually on an enlarger.

Printing photographs is a technique that was first adopted in 1826, as it became an integral part of the photography process. Three types of printing techniques exist as of 2010: manual photo printing, digital lab printing and home photo printing.

Manual Film Printing

Film is placed into a film carrier and loaded into an enlarger that exposes photo-sensitive paper. After exposure, the photo-sensitive paper is placed in color developer and bleach fix chemicals, to remove the emulsion, then washed with water and dried.

Digital Lab Printing

Digital photographs shot with a digital SLR or point-and-shoot cameras are sent to printing labs. Lab technicians upload the image files into a computer and print them on mini-lab printing machines that contain color developer and bleach fix chemicals.

Inkjet and Laser Printing

Digital photos and scanned images are printed at home through inkjet and laser printers. The photos are printed onto coated ink absorbing photo paper from ink and toner cartridges, rather than being processed in photo chemicals.

References

• University of Texas at Austin: The First Photograph
• Dark Room Source: Enlargers
• Fuji Film: Photo Finishing
• Kodak: Inkjet Photo Paper