Black and White Photography

10 Making the Print



Some photographers pay labs to make their prints. Many labs do an excellent
job, but for ultimate control and satisfaction, nothing matches doing the work
yourself. The darkroom experience is not for everyone; it takes work, patience,
and attention to detail. However, many photographers will tell you that printing
your own work is essential for getting the results you want. And it can be a
lot of fun, as well.
You can develop film on your own with a makeshift darkroom, but for printing
you will need much more equipment and you should really have a dedicated
space to work. It’s generally less expensive and more convenient to use an
existing darkroom than to build your own. Perhaps someone you know has a
darkroom to share. You also may be able to rent space at a school darkroom
or take a photography class just to use the school’s facilities. Search online or
ask at your local camera store about classes, community centers, or camera
clubs in your area that offer darkroom use.
Here’s a list of darkroom equipment you’ll need whether you set up your
own darkroom or use an existing one.
Enlarger. An enlarger is your primary tool for making photographic prints. Its
purpose is to make enlargements—prints that are larger than the negatives they
are made from. An enlargement may be as small as commercially made snapshots
(31⁄2" x 5" or 4" x 6") or much larger (16" x 20" or 20" x 24" or bigger).
Most beginning photographers start out making 8" x 10" prints.
Enlargers are available for different-size negatives, and they are categorized
according to the largest size they can handle. For example, a 35mm enlarger will
print only 35mm negatives (and obscure smaller sizes), while a 4" x 5" enlarger
handles negative sizes up to 4" x 5" (including 35mm and medium format).
The guts of an enlarger are an adjustable mechanism called a head, which
projects the negative image onto a sheet of printing paper. The head moves up
and down along a rail (or between two parallel rails) that attaches to a baseboard,
a flat board that sits on a table or counter. As you move the head up and down on the rail, the projected image becomes larger or smaller. Once the
image is the desired size, you turn another knob to focus, then lock the head in
place by tightening a knob.
The top of the enlarger head contains a light source, usually a bulb that looks
much like a common household bulb. Below the bulb is a filter drawer, to hold
variable-contrast filters, or a built-in filtration unit used to control print contrast.
Under (or sometimes over) the filter drawer or built-in filters, there is either
a condenser or a diffuser, both of which even out the light that comes from the
bulb which is often brighter in its center than at its edges. A condenser is a thick
glass lens, often consisting of two or more pieces of shaped glass. It gathers up
light rays and focuses them as a strong beam, like a spotlight. Condenser enlargers
produce prints with excellent contrast and a high degree of sharpness.
Most black-and-white enlargers use a condenser, but some models use a
diffuser, which is usually a panel of frosted glass that softens light, like clouds

diffusing sunlight on an overcast day. Prints made using a diffusion enlarger

have a little less contrast and appear a bit softer (less sharp) than prints made

using a condenser enlarger.

Below the condenser or diffuser there is a slot for the negative carrier, which

holds the negative. Most enlargers have a bellows below the negative carrier.

The lens is mounted at the bottom of the bellows, attached to a lens board. You

focus the projected image by expanding or contracting the bellows, which

changes the distance between the lens and the negative.

Enlarging lens. An enlarging lens serves basically the same function as a camera

lens: to focus the image and control the amount of light passing through. In a

camera, the adjustable lens opening controls the light reaching the film; in an enlarger,

the adjustable lens opening controls the light reaching the printing paper.

Sometimes enlargers come packaged with a lens; other times the lens is sold

separately. Price is a pretty good indicator of lens quality. Inexpensive enlarging

lenses are available for under $50, while a top-quality model may sell for

several hundred dollars. For most purposes, inexpensive and moderately priced

lenses produce acceptable results. For more critical printing, especially when

you are making large prints, high-quality lenses can make a significant difference

in overall image sharpness and contrast.