Topic: First ever prints.

[Verian]

I spent a couple of enjoyable hours this evening making my first ever prints. It was a bit hit and miss but as time went on things started to get a bit better, and more consistent. My first effort was, essentially, a black square, then slightly less black, then a bit less until I managed one that was ok, but there was a lot of vignetting, not sure what to do about that, it was on a 6x6. I then did a larger enlargement of a smaller area (not sure how to describe that) to cut out the vignetting.

Switched to a 35mm neg and exposed for less than a second (after starting at 1.5, then 1) to get the best print.

I blocked out the light in the kitchen with blankets, it was like a Bedouin camp in there, seemed to work though.

Prints are drying at the moment so no scans, I'll do some tomorrow and then everybody can tell me where I went wrong!

Was great fun and I'm rather looking forward to going out and taking some photos then coming home and developing and printing all in the same day.

[Fluminian]

Congrats, Verian.  To avoid more black squares cut a photo paper into strips and then use a strip
to test exposure. You're probably using condenser and lens for 35 mm film and that's why you get
vignetting.

[Late Developer]

Hi Verian.

Well done.  It's many years since I used to process and print my own and the chances of me doing any printing in the house in which we live now is remote in the extreme.  Therefore, I was wondering if you could make use of the Ilford text book on processing and printing techniques?  I have a copy sitting, gathering dust, on my bookshelf and you're more than welcome to it if you want it.

Learning by sheer experimentation is a fun techrique - so long as you can sort out the "what made this work" from the "what made this go wrong".  Sometimes easier said than done and you can waste a lot of time, chemicals and paper as part of the learning process. 

The book, however, is a great guide to basic (and more advanced) techniques and should help you get it right more times than not - which will improve your confidence, guive you better results more quickly and save you money.

PM me with your address if you want the book......

[Verian]

Congrats, Verian.  To avoid more black squares cut a photo paper into strips and then use a strip
to test exposure. You're probably using condenser and lens for 35 mm film and that's why you get
vignetting.

Yeah, I need to get to grips with the enlarger a bit more. I have a lens for 35mm and 120 but, to be honest, I was probably using the wrong one. My exposure times were very short as well, the best 35mm print I managed was less than a second exposure, so I think I need to figure out the settings a bit better.

I did do a test strip, 5 second increments x 5. Black square. So then I tried 3 seconds and so on until I got down to just under a second. Times that short are difficult to control though, I probably should have read the manual before starting!!

[Verian]

Hi Verian.

Well done.  It's many years since I used to process and print my own and the chances of me doing any printing in the house in which we live now is remote in the extreme.  Therefore, I was wondering if you could make use of the Ilford text book on processing and printing techniques?  I have a copy sitting, gathering dust, on my bookshelf and you're more than welcome to it if you want it.

Learning by sheer experimentation is a fun techrique - so long as you can sort out the "what made this work" from the "what made this go wrong".  Sometimes easier said than done and you can waste a lot of time, chemicals and paper as part of the learning process. 

The book, however, is a great guide to basic (and more advanced) techniques and should help you get it right more times than not - which will improve your confidence, guive you better results more quickly and save you money.

PM me with your address if you want the book......

That would be great, and most kind, I'll drop you a PM, thanks so much.

[Fluminian]

Congrats, Verian.  To avoid more black squares cut a photo paper into strips and then use a strip
to test exposure. You're probably using condenser and lens for 35 mm film and that's why you get
vignetting.

Yeah, I need to get to grips with the enlarger a bit more. I have a lens for 35mm and 120 but, to be honest, I was probably using the wrong one. My exposure times were very short as well, the best 35mm print I managed was less than a second exposure, so I think I need to figure out the settings a bit better.

I did do a test strip, 5 second increments x 5. Black square. So then I tried 3 seconds and so on until I got down to just under a second. Times that short are difficult to control though, I probably should have read the manual before starting!!

You focus wide open, but expose stopped down to say f8.0 . 50mm lens is for 35mm negatives and 70-90mm is for 6x6 -6x7 medium format negatives.

[Francois]

If you still find the exposure too short, you can leave the grade 2 filter under the lens. That'll lengthen the exposure time quite a bit.

[Verian]

Well, they aren't the greatest prints ever made, but they are my first, and you never forget your first, probably.

[Flippy]

If you give us what model your enlarger is I'm sure somebody can help you with the vignetting problem. Some enlargers have a variable condenser which must be adjusted as well as using the proper lens to eliminate vignetting. Also as has been mentioned you want to stop the lens down, exposures normally would be around 5-10 seconds.

[Verian]

If you give us what model your enlarger is I'm sure somebody can help you with the vignetting problem. Some enlargers have a variable condenser which must be adjusted as well as using the proper lens to eliminate vignetting. Also as has been mentioned you want to stop the lens down, exposures normally would be around 5-10 seconds.

I'm pretty sure I used the 35mm lens with a 120 neg, and that I had the lens wide open, which I now know to make sure I get right next time.

I did think at the time that Trying to expose the paper for under a second is a bit odd

[Francois]

That depends. I've seen very short exposure times very often. I even got a dimmer on my enlargers in case things get a little too short.

The condenser part is a real thing. Some have what is called a variable condenser while others have different condensers for different formats. Using the wrong one will give extreme vignetting. And considering that you're exposing a negative material, dark corners always turn to white on the print.