How to Contact Print Black and White Film

Black and white photography can be a rewarding experience from beginning to end. The steps between shooting a roll of film and producing a beautiful series of photographs are some of the most important. The contact sheet is one of the first indicators as to how your shots will turn out. Here is how to contact print black and white film.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Black and white negatives
• Clear plastic negative sleeve
• Photographic enlargement paper (RC or Fiber), glossy or matte is a matter of preference
• Darkroom enlarger
• Sheet of glass
• Opaque square of cardboard
• Black and white photo developer
• Stop bath
• Photo fix
• Water
• Plastic trays for each photo chemical and the water

Making the Contact Sheet

1. Trim your black and white negatives until they fit into the rows of the plastic negative sleeve. Negative sleeves can be found for most film formats and sizes.

2. Take your sleeve of negatives into the dark room. Lay negatives at the base of the enlarger.

3. Turn the enlarger light on with the initial setting at F8 (this can be changed later if necessary). Adjust the bevels until the light covers the entire area of the negative sheet. Turn the light back off once this has been done.

4. Do a test strip to determine proper exposure time.

5. Turn the enlarger light back off after the exposure test has been conducted.

6. Keep the negative sheet in place while carefully placing a sheet of enlarging paper underneath. Arrange the paper so that all of the negatives will get exposed.

7. Place the sheet of glass over the negative sleeve to hold everything in place.

8. Turn on the enlarger light and expose the paper for the amount of time determined during the test strip procedure. Under ideal conditions, the average time tends to be about 10 seconds. However, this is ultimately determined by the exposure level of the negatives themselves (ie: underdeveloped film will need longer exposure time under the enlarger).

9. Develop the contact sheet and set it in a water wash (5 minutes for RC paper, 20 minutes for fiber paper).

10. Allow the print to dry by hanging or laying the sheet out on a mesh screen.

Test Strip Instructions

11. Cut one sheet of the photographic paper into strips about 2 inches wide. This should be done under the darkroom safe light, as any exposure to regular light will ruin the paper.

12. Place one of the paper strips under one of the negative strips on the sleeve (making sure the enlarger light is off first). Make sure the strip is wide enough to allow exposure of the entire negative, especially the sprocket holes.

13. Place the protective glass sheet over the negatives to hold everything in place.

14. Turn on the exposure light and expose the entire negative strip for 2 or 3 seconds.

15. Place the opaque cardboard over the first picture in the negative strip and expose the strip for another 2 or 3 seconds. Continue doing this until you've reached the last picture in the row.

16. Develop the test strip and bring into a well-lighted area.

17. Look at the strip and decide which exposure time is best. Best exposure time occurs when the sprocket holes on the negatives are only barely visible.

Development Process

18. Pour some photo developer into a plastic tray. Do the same for the stop bath and photo fix.

19. Place the exposed paper into the developer tray. Agitate the solution by tipping opposite ends of the tray or swirling the paper about using a pair of tongs.

20. Allow the paper to remain until the image is fully developed (it will take considerably less time for RC paper to develop - about 1.5 minutes).

21. Remove the paper from the developer and immediately immerse in the stop bath. Agitate for 5 seconds if using RC paper, 30 if using fiber paper.

22. Place the paper into the photo fix for about one minute if using RC paper. Keep it immersed for an extra minute if using fiber.

23. Allow the paper to remain in a water wash for the allotted amount of time.

Tips & Warnings

• It is important to check the condition of your photography chemicals regularly, changing them as often as needed.
• Do not pour photo fix down the drain! This chemical solution contains silver which can find its way into local water systems and cause pollution. Used fix should be stored in an airtight container until it can be disposed of properly.