The art of producing a quality print using the wet process in a darkroom is a part of the allure of shooting with traditional film. Kodak black and white film produces rich, captivating black and white prints when properly developed and printed. Kodak B&W film may be printed onto either resin coated (RC) papers or fiber based papers. The process of printing with Kodak B&W film requires some specialized equipment and the use of a dedicated darkroom.
Instructions
1. Prepare your darkroom. Make sure the area is light-proof and well-ventilated with room to move. Set up your enlarger on a flat, stable surface and test to make sure the light is functioning. Run a water bath and place each of the developing trays in the bath. Mix your developer, stop bath and fixer according to the manufacturer's instructions and pour into the appropriate developing trays in your water bath, adjusting the temperature of the water bath according to the chemical manufacturer's instructions. Place your film, negative carrier, and light-proof box of photo printing paper within easy reach of the enlarger.
2. Insert the Kodak B&W film negative into the negative carrier and place the carrier in the enlarger. Turn on the enlarger light, allowing the negative's image to be projected onto the developer's easel. Adjust the enlargement of the negative using the coarse adjustment knob. Using the focusing loupe, view the grain of the projection and turn the fine focusing knob until the image is in focus. Turn off the enlarger light.
3. Turn off your light source and make sure the only light in the room is an approved red or amber safe light. This light does not react with your photo paper and will not affect the developing of your prints.
4. Remove one sheet of photo printing paper from the box. Cut the photo paper into strips. Set one strip into your enlarger; this will be your test strip. Replace the other strips in the bag of photo printing paper and reseal the box carefully. Set the timer on your enlarger lamp to an appropriate interval; one second is suggested. Cover all but a 1" area of the test strip with the piece of cardboard and expose the strip. Move the cardboard, exposing the next 1" area, and expose again. Continue exposing until the strip has been fully exposed.
5. Place the strip in the developer tray for one minute if using resin-coated (RC) paper, two minutes for fiber-based papers. Using tongs, remove the paper from the developer and place in the stop bath for 30 seconds for resin-coated paper or one minute for fiber-based paper. Move the paper from the stop bath to the fixer tray for one to two minutes for RC paper, or for two to ten minutes for fiber-based papers. Finally, rinse the paper in a bath of running water for two to five minutes on RC paper or 30-50 minutes for fiber-based prints. The test strip is now developed.
6. Look at the finished test strip in full light to determine the best exposure time for your negative. Set your developer's timer to the appropriate time and make sure the only light is your safe light. Place a new, full sheet of paper in the developer's easel and expose the paper. Follow the developing procedure used for the test strip, then allow your finished print to dry.
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