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contact printing without an enlarger


max_wendt

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I know there's a wealth of information out there in the archives and

in other places; in fact, I'm posting because I have read a lot of

it, and I'm perhaps even more confused than when I started!

 

I'm just getting into LF (8x10), and I plan (at least for a few

years, perhaps always) to only make contact prints. I do not have or

plan to buy or make an enlarger. I want to have long enough exposure

times to allow dodging and burning.

 

So, from what I've read, AZO and a bare bulb seem to be the most

common/best way to go.

 

I know that I'll probably want to expose the film accordingly (to get

denser negs). I'm not really too concerned that those negatives

could be hard to enlarge.

 

But I guess I'm maybe just gunshy about starting right off with AZO -

is it suitable for a beginner? Most people using it (here and at the

AZO forum) seem to have quite a lot of experience.

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Azo is as good as any other paper for a beginner, but it is more expensive than most enlarging papers. I believe that the reason most Azo users are more experienced is that as a beginner you are unlikely to fully appreciate the extended tonal scale and other unique properties of Azo (particularly when using an Amidol developer.) In my observation, people migrate to Azo in Amidol after a period of learning to use, and then becoming frustrated with, enlarging papers -- not because enlarging papers are bad, but rather because they don't give the results some people prefer.

 

Note that this isn't meant to disparage enlarging papers. They are perfectly fine and in capable hands produce lovely prints. Azo is just different: once you've seen a number of enlarged prints made on enlarging paper, contact prints made on enlarging paper, and then contact prints made on Azo (preferably with Amidol as the developer,) then you will have the information you need to help determine whether Azo is a tool you want to use, for the prints you want to make. It's the old Platinum/Silver paper debate all over again -- there is no better or worse, just different and everything ultimately boils down to what you personally prefer.

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Max,

 

For contacts I use a cheap painter's light---the kind with a bulb that screws into a reflector and has a clamp to clamp the fixture to something. The bath towel holder works good, but you can just as well use the back of a chair or a ladder. I aim the fixture down on a small table(a TV tray works nicely) A sheet of smooth rubber matting on top of the table and a heavy piece of glass on top of that---you can find small, heavy glass table tops for end tables at import chops like Cost Plus---holds the negative and paper in registration (the $20 word for "together") A GE "Guide" light serves as my safelight(nite lights really. A card with two for about a buck at the drugstore.) AZO is actually quite easy to use. To get it to roll over and play tricks for you takes practice, but it takes practice to get the best performance possible from any photo paper. FWIW, I'd start out with a box of the cheapest stuff you can find---no sense making mistakes with the good($) stuff. Once you're confident that you won't, say, turn on the lights with the box of paper open or make other costly operational errors( it happens, believe me!) order your AZO from Michael and Paula and have fun!

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Having printed with a bare bulb, let me make a couple of suggestions.

 

(1) Get an enlarger timer. New ones are not that expensive or you can buy used, and you'll get a lot more accuracy, especially if you have short exposure times. If you are dodging, it's one less thing to have to worry about.

 

(2) Make sure your bulb is centered over the paper or that the light is otherwise diffuse enough otherwise you will not expose the paper evenly.

 

(3) You're going to require a good distance to get an exposure long enough to be able to dodge. IIRC, with a 15-watt bulb at two feet away, my exposure time was four seconds, but I wasn't trying to dodge.

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Michael,

 

"Azo is as good as any other paper for a beginner, but it is more expensive than most enlarging papers. "

 

A quick check on Michael and Paula's site shows that the grade 2 Azo in the 8x10 size in a 500 sheet box is .65/sheet. While looking at the B&H site the Illford enlarging graded paper is .85/sheet. I didn't see a 500 sheet box or I would have compaired that.

 

BTW-I like using Illfords Mutlicontrast enlarging paper for contact prints. I found the double weight paper easier to use for me.

 

George Losse

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Everyone sort of bows down before the AZO god now like it's really something very special but 30 years ago it was common as dirt in any photo refinisher shop. Not particularly hard to use but take advantage of all the good info on Michael Smith's site and as long as you're going to spend the extra scratch for Azo, why not spend some extra for the Amidol developer. The difference is real. May as well go for it.
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"But I guess I'm maybe just gunshy about starting right off with AZO - is it suitable for a beginner? Most people using it (here and at the AZO forum) seem to have quite a lot of experience. "

 

I wish didn't have a lot of the experience that I have. That is to say, experience making photographs with cameras too small to contact print or experience printing large format negatives on enlarging paper or printing out paper. Or experience using print developers other than amidol.

 

The real reason many gelatin silver printers come late to the Azo party is the fact that they're not dealing with large format cameras until after many years of practice. If you're starting with an 8 x 10, go for the best prints you can make as quickly as you can.

 

Cautionary note: if you prefer the look of platinum/palladium or carbon prints, don't waste your time with Azo. I've always preferred silver prints and always will, but you may not like the look of them. There are a lot of accomplished platinum printers on the Alternative Processes forum who can help you with Pt/Pd and their variants.

 

One other advantage to Azo: it's one of the few products promoted by a world class artist who can not only help you learn how to use it, but is willing to do so. In fact, it's the only such product I know of.

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Max, I started using an 8x10 a little over a year ago, and only contact print. I have a 4x5 enlarger, and use it for exposing the print when using enlarging paper, but I also had some Azo, and used a suspended light bulb. The Azo requires more light intensity than I could get from the enlarger light for a reasonable exposure time.

The least expensive way to go is the suspended light bulb. The only drawback that I can see is placing contrast filters if you use VC paper. If you use graded enlarging papers, you might want to use a dimmer switch to control the light intensity. Enlarging papers respond much quicker than contact printing papers. With a dimmer switch you can control the exposure time. Raising and lowering the height of the light over the paper can also be used to change exposure time, but might not be as effective as a dimmer. I was told that using a dimmer might change the color temp. of the light, which might effect the print. I don't really know about that. You could experiment with different bulb wattages. Also, I use an electric metronome to time exposures, wired with a foot switch for the light.

I wish I had started this way in the beginning, years ago. Nothing that I have done in photography comes close to the enjoyment of using the 8x10 camera and the quality of contact printed 8x10s.

I have had the pleasure of meeting Michael A. Smith and Paula Chamlee; and seeing their work. Their work is excellent, with outstanding print quality. There is alot to be said for learning their proceedures, and using Azo from the beginning.

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Several comments - I am one of the experienced photographers who finally moved up to 8x10, Azo, Amidol. I wish I had done so many years ago. I'd say get the Azo and Amidol early, if not from the beginning, after you've finished making mistakes with a small package of enlarging paper.

 

I never fool with an enlarging timer anymore. I use a metronome as Michael A. Smith suggests in his articles. But then, I am a musician and used an available metronome for years before I could afford a darkroom timer. I find the metronome easier to use, but that may be just me.

 

With Azo, you will need a far brighter bulb than with enlarging paper. I use a regular 75-watt bulb about a foot and a half above the paper. Michael uses a 300-watt bulb several feet above the paper. I made an L-shaped bracket from PVC pipe to hold the bulb and bolted it to a board used as a baseboard. This way, the bulb is always in the same place, same height, etc.

 

I agree completely about Michael being a world class artist using Azo, and who is willing to help.

 

The thing to remember is to read everyone's suggestions, try them out, and do what works best for you.

j

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Thanks for the responses! A few questions:

 

"A GE "Guide" light serves as my safelight" ----

Do you need to put a red/amber/?? filter on that, or is it just dim enough that it won't fog? (I've read that AZO is pretty fog-resistant, but still...)

 

"FWIW, I'd start out with a box of the cheapest stuff you can find." ----

Contact or enlarging? Since I don't have an enlarger, I don't want to try to rig up some kind of filter to use VC enlarging paper, which seems to be the most common - if not only - stuff in the local stores (Minneapolis). If enlarging, can I get long enough exposure times to dodge and burn with a dimmer switch?

 

"Also, I use an electric metronome to time exposures, wired with a foot switch for the light." ----

Yeah - that's my plan.

 

"Nothing that I have done in photography comes close to the enjoyment of using the 8x10 camera and the quality of contact printed 8x10s." ----

I'm really looking forward to it. I've been doing a retrograde technology thing for about six years now - I started with a consumer digital, switched to 35mm and scanning the slides/negs, started shooting B&W and developing the film... but I still scanned and went digital from there (printing with a hextone inkset). I'm not anti-digital at all, and I'll still scan my 35mm stuff (and I don't think I'll be chasing a baby around with the LF camera...).

It's just that my job keeps me in front of the computer all day, so I'm really looking forward to breaking that last link with the computer in my LF photography. That's really one of the main appeals of LF for me. (you know, aside from movements and 80 square inches of negative!)

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Sorry - I took too long typing and missed your response.

 

"But then, I am a musician and used an available metronome for years..." ---- Me too, which is why the idea seems really appealing to me. I have one of those big Franz metronomes that make a really great *snap!* - when I'm done printing, I'll probably be inspired to go practice. ;)

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You can use VC paper without filters, which will give you approximately grade 2, and you can standardize your film exposure/development to that paper. I don't know how effective contrast control techniques used with graded papers are with VC, but they may give you some control.

Azo should be used with Kodak's OC safelight filter, which is a recommended filter for many papers, VC and graded.

When you make a print test strip (I usually use 2 second intervals) you may find that proper primary exposure time is too brief (for me under 6 seconds). The dimmer will allow you to lower the light intensity, which will increase the exposure time. I break up the exposure. I dodge during the primary exposure, then burn in with separate exposures for the selected areas. I had an old box of Azo, expiration 1972, and only used a little of it under a light bulb. I gave the rest to M. Smith (the contrast was too low for the negatives I was producing). My print exposures are made with my 4x5 enlarger light using enlarging papers. I set it to a standard height, I don't change the height, but change the light intensity when necessary with the iris on the lens. If you are new to wet darkroom work and haven't already done so, you may want to read Ansel Adams' books "The Negative" and "The Print". I would also highly recommend Carson Graves' book "Elements of Black and White Printing". I have 35mm and 120 negatives that I want to enlarge, and a lot of good enlarging paper, but if I didn't I would go straight to Azo. I got a 5x7 reduction back for my 8x10, and all future work for the wet darkroom will be for contact printing. I find I learn as much, if not more, from my mistakes as I do from my sucesses. Maybe it's because I have more failures. So going straight to Azo may prove to be the most effective way to go. If you do, go with Michael and Paula. They have more than earned the support of the LF community. Go with fresh film, and fresh chemicals. I have, and still use outdated film. Though it will work, it loses contrast. It is better to remove as many variables as possible. Standardize asap, learn your basic materials, and make great pictures. Then if you want to experiment...

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I'd suggest that you forget the timer and footswitch. Get a metronome. Put the negative and paper in the printing frame with your safe light on (and your printing light off of course). Cover the contact printing frame glass with a piece of mat board or cardboard. Turn on the printing light. Then simultaneously remove the mat board and start the metronome. Count the seconds and when the time is up put the mat board over the glass again and turn off the printing light. This works very well and it saves you having to buy and connect a foot switch to your printing lamp. That's how Micheal Smith teaches and it works just fine. He feels that it also produces more consistent prints than a timer. I don't know about that but I know it works well.

 

A couple other minor points. Make sure the printing light covers the paper evenly. Check this by centering a piece of white mat board a little larger than your contact printing frame under the lprinting lamp. Turn on the lamp and meter the center and the corners of the mat board. You should get the same reading everywhere or at least not be off my more than a third of a stop or so. If you can't get the same reading or very close then the light isn't high enough or you're using the wrong kind of bulb.

 

Rather than using a bare bulb as your printing light get a flood lamp reflector at Home Depot for $5 and put an interior flood lamp - maybe 25 - 50 watts or so depending on how high above the printing frame your light is - in it. That will help spread the light evenly. The reflector will have a clamp that you can attach to a shelf above your work area or you can dangle it from the ceiling, whatever is the easiest way of suspending it two or three feet above the contract printing frame. If you want to get really sophisticated you can hang it with a pulley so that you can vary the height of the lamp to deal with thin or dense negatives or long dodging and burning times.

 

You don't have to get too hung up on Amidol just because you're using Azo. Amidol is very messy stuff, anything it touches will leave a permanent stain, so you have to use gloves when you're handling the print in the the developer, then you have to remove the gloves so that you can handle the dry paper for the next print, then put the gloves back on, then remove them, etc. etc. for the duration of the printing session. So you're more or less constantly removing and putting on gloves. Worse yet, when used with Azo Amidol gives the print a slightly greenish look that has to be removed by toning in selenium. I found the toning tricky because if the print is left in the toner just a little too long it will acquire that purplish selenium-toned look that I don't care for. And if not left in long enough then it didn't get rid of the greenish look. So the print has to be taken out of the toner at precisely the right time. At least that was my experience.

 

I quit using Amidol and started using Ilford Universal 1-9. With Azo it produces a bluish tone and requires toning in selenium if you don't care for a cold look but the timing seems less critical than with Amidol and I don't have to mess with gloves or worry about stains everywhere. This is just my opinion of course, many people prefer the look that Amidol produces and are willing to accept its idiosyncracies to get that look. It's a matter of personal preference, I mention it just so you don't feel that if you use Azo you must also use Amidol.

 

If you do use Amidol by all means use the formula on Michael Smith's web page. That form of Amidol will last for hours in a tray. Other formulas have a very short tray life, like a half hour or so.

 

Good luck, you're in for a lot of fun. A well made contact print from a properly exposed negative, properly processed and toned, will knock your socks off.

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In the days when I used Azo and Amidol ( I now find Forte warmtone glossy

gives me better contact prints) I used as a light source a NuArc graphic arts

point source light. The advantage is that the directed rays from the bulb

make burning easier. The NU Arc had a clunky windup timer, which I jammed

open and then directed through a Gray Lab timer, I think. If you can find one

of these on E-Bay you won't have to pay much -- all that graphic arts stuff has

been wiped out by the digital world. I am not entirely sold on this Azo thing --

it has a holy water aspect that makes me suspicious. What I liked about the

paper was its slowness and fine grain structure, if it is possible to talk about

paper in such a way -- the prints have a kind of etched look. But I find the

Forte much more flexible with, and richer. I develop it in Neutol WA. It takes a

little selenium very well, and the stock is nice and thick The nicest paper I

ever printed on was Ilfomar. As a young man I went to visit and interview Paul

Strand in France, and he told me that every time he found a good paper, it

was discontinued. This was the case with Ifomar, which wasn't really an Ilford

product, but developed by the Lumiere company in France. Sorry about the

reminiscence. I am beginning to sound like an old fart.

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As a musician, I find it much easier to cover the negative with a card, turn on the light, start the metronome, count - 1-2-ready-go and pull the card on the "go", count the exposure and cover with a card. I think trying to start the metronome and pull the card at the same time would be difficult and perhaps imprecise.

 

Then I leave the metronome ticking away, sometimes for hours. It doesn't bother me, but I have a feeling it contributed to two women leaving me.

j

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"Amidol is very messy stuff, anything it touches will leave a permanent stain, so you have to use gloves when you're handling the print in the the developer, then you have to remove the gloves so that you can handle the dry paper for the next print, then put the gloves back on, then remove them, etc. etc. for the duration of the printing session. So you're more or less constantly removing and putting on gloves."

 

Not true. Use a nitrile glove on one hand only. Keep a large bowl of water with dishwashing detergent in it nearby. After the print has been taken out of the fixer, dip your gloved hand in the soapy water and dry with a paper towel. Nitrile gloves dry just like skin.

 

In my humble opinion, there is no substitute for amidol. God knows I've looked for one. BTW, if you do happen to get some on your sink or counter top, Tilex soap scum remover will completely and instantly obliterate any stain. This is also true for pyro.

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"I'm just getting into LF (8x10), and I plan (at least for a few years, perhaps always) to only make contact prints."

 

If you start out with the Azo/Amidol combination, you just may find your contact prints so beautiful that you won't ever consider enlarging them.

 

Azo is easy to use, and when developed in Amidol per Michael Smith's methods and formulas, it's tough to beat for contact printing.

 

Azo is a single weight paper. It's not especially fragile, but it is slightly more prone to creasing than double weight papers. Avoid the use of tongs for handling it. Just pick it up near the edge using your thumb and ONE finger, and it'll be fine.

 

Jim Shanesy's comments regarding the use of a glove is right on, but I often just use my bare hands, and I've not had any problems with stained fingernails or skin. Probably I don't do enough printing to worry about it.

 

If you get a bluish or greenish cast with Azo/Amidol, a very dilute KRST bath, like 1:128, for three minutes will get rid of it, and it won't turn purple even if you leave it in for double that time.

 

If you're of a mind to try Azo and Amidol, just do it. No particular experience is required, and you may find yourself quickly turning out satisfying prints.

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Do it now, don't wait any minute!!

I am quite a begginer myself, having started with 4x5 knowing

that I should have bought an 8x10. Now that I use an 8x10 I can't

use the tiny little 4x5 anymore.

Anyway, I had absolutely no experience with Black and White,

much less with big cameras. Very quicly I was able to make

wonderful prints with the AZO-Amidol combination. I just couldn't

be easier to learn.

Now the prints are in a folder on the kitchen counter. I am

amazed at how many times I look at the very same prints over

and over and I don't ever seem to get tired of doing that.

I believe if you start with the contact printing with AZO you will be

making progress very quickly and then you will realize that your

prints are too good for your vision. Right now that is where I am,

dedicating all my attention, to the seeing. One thing follows the

other.

Good luck!!

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"I know that I'll probably want to expose the film accordingly (to get denser negs). I'm not really too concerned that those negatives could be hard to enlarge".

 

The one thing to be said for starting with Azo first is that your negatives designed for printing on enlarging paper will be too low in contrast for printing on Azo. The idea that overall negative density is important is erroneous. The thing that is important is negative contrast. In fact overexposing film when using a staining developer such as ABC or Pyrocat is counter productive to building contrast in the negative.

 

Silver enlarging paper will normally work the best with a negative that has a net contrast range (high density minus low density) of 1.00. Azo by comparison will work best with a negative that has a net contrast range of 1.30. Film choice for that reason is important since not all films will build contrast equally.

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Max, I use the G.E. Guide lights just as they come of the card. They give off enough light for a small room like a bathroom. They appear to be the same as Kodak's amber O.C. filter. They work great for me. No fogging. The outlets I plug 'em in to are about 2' from where I keep the trays.

 

as for "cheap stuff", the cheapest I've found is usually a MG resin, and usually an off brand. Without a filter such papers are usually going to be the equivalent of Gr 2-1/2. It usually says on the package. I only suggested this for practice to become comfortable with the idea of using a glass or printing frame, and handling film. You can use what ever is left to test your 8x10 holders for light leaks. Load some holders up and leave them in a brightly lit room. Develop and look for telltale signs. If you're comfortable with contact printing, no need to bother though(unless of course, you want to check your holders). I agree with using a darkroom timer for consistent results and by all means use amidol with AZO as Jim Galli recomended. Amidol is what makes AZO special.

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Azo is so easy to use and the results for contact printing silver

prints are so superior to anything else that I wonder why anyone

wouldn't want to jump right in and begin using it.

 

The following was received by us via email on August 30. I

believe it is relevant here.

 

Michael A. Smith

 

"Finally acquired everything I needed to try Azo today and nine

hours later...

 

"Wow! From the very first print, I was simply stunned by the

results. I've been a bit frustrated with my printing for the last

couple of months and this was the most fun I've had in the

darkroom in a very long time. I may have a different perspective

in the morning, but seemed like I was able to get strong prints

from practically any negative I touched - including some I had

given up on long ago. In particular, my older contrasty PMK negs

printed very nicely on G2 (most of them are dog shit on my

enlarger) whereas my more recent WD2D+ negs often needed

G3. Could not believe the feeling of control I felt like I had with

this paper - especially when combined with water development.

Always thought I could never go back to graded papers after

getting used to split grade VC printing but felt no hindrance

whatsoever. A complete joy to use."

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I might be the dissenting voice here but IMO I think you are better off getting a paper at your local store and start from there.

 

Azo is fine but look at the conomics and process. You have to special order either from Michael or someone else, you have to get amidol for best results and you have to know what is a good negative for the paper and be consistent obtaining these type of negatives as the paper only comes is grade 2 and 3. Chances are if you are not using a staining developer that getting a "good" negative for azo will be a bit harder for you than those who do.

 

You dont mention what is your printing experience, if you are comfortable testing, developing, and printing enlargements then azo will be easy for you to use. OTOH if you are just beguinning I would say it would be better to learn how to test, how to adjust your negative for any process and use easily obtained cheap paper for the learning experience.

 

It was mentioned above that a 500 sheet box of azo was only 0.65 cents per sheet...but you still have to pay $325 for the box, while you can go and get mitsubishi student paper for $20 at your local photo shop and you dont have to worry about putting a large chunk of money on paper you might not like.

 

I dont think is good advice that you by pass the learning experience and start with azo just because is "easier". For one I dont think it is, and second if you learn a little bit of sensitometry you can learn how to adjust your negatives and printing methods so you can use ANY printing process not just azo.

 

Alternative methods are not that hard to do either and it is not hard to obtain a somewhat good print, but I would never recommend that you start doing them as your first experience for the same reasons I stated for azo.

 

I agree with the above post, get the chepest paper you can get locally, get a bulb with a reflector at home depot and if you are good with your hands perhaps you might want to put a dimmer on the line so you can adjust brightness. Once you become good at developing your negs,and printing them, then go for the more satisfying methods whether they be azo or an alt process.

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Max, FWIW, if you do try out your technique with cheap paper first, don't bother with amidol---use something like dektol. Keep it as simple as possible. You'll get plenty of opportunity to stain your fingernails black with amidol when you start to experiment with AZO. Your first 8x10 contacts will probably knock your socks off!
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