Black and White Photography

Photographic printing paper consists of a light-sensitive emulsion coated onto a
base (support) material. The emulsion is made of light-sensitive silver halide
crystals suspended in gelatin, while the base material is white paper stock. Note
that in many respects the makeup of photographic paper resembles film, whose
emulsion is coated onto a clear plastic base.
Printing paper almost always comes in sheets. Standard sizes include 5" x 7",
8" x 10", 11" x 14", 16" x 20", and larger. Paper comes in a light-tight wrapper
inside an envelope or box. A package may contain 10, 25, 50, 100, 250, or
even 500 or more sheets of one size and type. Most beginning photographers
work with a 25- or 100-sheet package; the greater the package quantity, the
lower the per-sheet cost.
Make sure you always keep your paper in its package except when you are
working in a darkroom with a safelight. Even the slightest amount of exposure
to any other type of light will fog paper, ruining it for use.
Choosing a printing paper can be confusing because there are so many types.
Each produces a somewhat different look; sometimes the difference will be
dramatic and sometimes it will be subtle. At your camera store, ask for samples
of prints made on various types of paper to help you choose. Experiment until
you find the type that best complements your work.
Following are the major considerations in choosing a paper: base, weight,
tone, surface, and contrast.
Base. All black-and-white printing papers use paper as a base for the lightsensitive
emulsion. Resin-coated (RC) papers also have a plastic coating on both
sides of the base for easier handling and other conveniences, while fiber-based
papers are not coated. Each type has important differences in both handling
and appearance.
RC papers are in widest use. They cost less than fiber-based papers; process,
wash, and dry faster; and are generally more convenient. For example, RC
papers usually require less exposure time, use less chemistry, and dry flatter
than fiber-based papers. All this makes RC papers ideal for many uses, including
making contact sheets and teaching beginners how to make prints.
Fiber-based papers require extra care. They generally take more time to expose
and process than RC papers, cost more, and are less convenient in certain
ways. However, they are often preferred by advanced photographers because
they usually are more long lasting (archival), have a richer overall look than
RC papers, and are easier to tone, spot, and hand color. Many beginners learn
using RC papers and switch to fiber-based papers later.
Weight. Printing papers are classified according to their base thickness. RC
papers are usually medium weight. Fiber-based papers are generally double
weight, although a very few are single weight.

The weight does not affect the appearance of the printed image. Heavier

papers curl less when dry and are less susceptible to physical damage, such as

creasing, wrinkling, pinching, and even tearing. Double-weight fiber-based

papers also dry flatter and curl less than single-weight papers, but they cost more.

Tone. Tone refers to the color bias of the printing paper. Some papers produce

warm-tone images (brown to green-brown), while others produce cold-tone

images (neutral to blue-black). Often this difference is subtle, though some

papers produce strongly warm tones—in shades of brownish-black, rather

than blacks and grays.

The difference in paper tone comes from a variety of factors, such as the

chemical composition of the emulsion and the base of the printing paper. Warmtone

printing papers often have a creamier white base than cold-tone papers.

Surface. Most paper types are available in at least two or three different

surfaces, such as glossy, semimatte, and matte. The terminology may vary with

different manufacturers; for example, semimatte is sometimes called lustre or

pearl. Also, one brand’s glossy may be more or less glossy than another brand’s.

And RC papers produce a higher-gloss image than glossy fiber-based papers.

Your choice of paper surface is individual, driven by the look you want for a

particular image or for your style of work. However, the glossier the paper, the

sharper the image and the greater the contrast. Matte papers make an image

look softer (less sharp) and flatter (less contrast).

Contrast. Printing papers also are characterized by the way they allow you to

control print contrast (the difference between lights and darks). There are two

choices: variable contrast (also called polycontrast or multigrade) or graded

papers. Both types rate contrast numerically, on a scale that could range from

#0 to #5. Lower numbers (#0, #1) produce lower-contrast prints, while higher

numbers (#4, #5) produce higher contrast.

Variable-contrast papers are most convenient because they allow you to

achieve a range of print contrasts using one package of paper only. Contrast is

controlled using filters in the enlarger to modify the color of the light because

each sheet of paper has both low- and high-contrast emulsions built in. The

two emulsions activate to different degrees when exposed to different color

light. Low-numbered yellow filters expose mostly the low-contrast emulsion

and high-numbered magenta (or reddish-orange) filters expose mostly the highcontrast

emulsion.

Variable-contrast papers also allow you to adjust the contrast in half-step

increments (#1⁄2, #11⁄2, #21⁄2, and so forth), because variable-contrast filters come

in half-step increments. Enlargers with built-in filters allow adjustments in even

smaller fractional increments.