The most important part of "finishing" a black and white 50mm print in the darkroom

[Jennifer Johnson]

What is the most important thing you learned about "finishing" a black and white print in the darkroom?

[jose_angel]

There are many "most important" things to consider...

To say just one, the place where the image has to be seen is important. Light conditions, distance, etc. The very same image looks different if seen at different light levels or even at different color temperatures. So I have to check the test prints under similar if not the same conditions.

Edited November 21, 2022 by jose_angel

[robert_bowring]

Spotting the print. I hate to see white spots on a finished print.

[chris_autio]

There have been so many years that I have rushed a prints through the trays or tube, only to witness in a few hours or days or ... that they begin to yellow.   I wash well and give them a bath of wash aid, known otherwise as Hypo Clearing agent.  I enjoy spotting prints if my caffeine level is low.  I no longer use glass or Plex for presentation as I believe it hinders the viewer from the whole feel of the print, creating unwanted reflections.  I sometimes paint on a Golden UV Polymer Varnish with a very wide brush.  It dries quickly, expresses the print as if were wet, or satin.  I know this is an unusual step.

[vrankin]

Proper fix and wash! Many of my prints are more than four decades old, and still retain their tonal range.  I'm glad I was a stickler about keeping chemicals fresh and washing completely, way back then.

[rodeo_joe1]

A 50mm print would be very small. Do you mean a print from a 35mm film negative by any chance? 

I'm also not sure what you mean by 'finishing'. To me that would mean glazing or spotting the print, and RC paper has pretty much done away with glazing, while spotting is a very practical skill that can't easily be demonstrated in a forum like this. 

The most important wet-printing skills are 'dodging' and 'burning' which are means of locally lightening or darkening parts of the print. They too can really only be shown properly by a practical demonstration. 

From your other post, you're in a class, right? So why not ask your teacher? 

[JDMvW]

Spotting was inevitable in film.

1950-02-PP

Edited November 23, 2022 by JDMvW

[rodeo_joe1]

4 hours ago, JDMvW said:

Spotting was inevitable in film.

1950-02-PP

And the guy in the picture was only 20 yrs old when he started spotting that print!

[kmac]

Working cleanly in a dust free environment and keeping fingers off the prints. Prints take a while to dry out, keep them safe while drying, at least 24hrs.

Edited November 24, 2022 by kmac

[jose_angel]

JDMvW archives are impressive... 

20 hours ago, JDMvW said:

Spotting was inevitable in film.

1950-02-PP

JDM, your archives are awesome! Congratulations 😄

Love that glass with the spotting solution (... or maybe a glass of sherry?). Also, the artist`s darkened nails, maybe due to the finger immersion into the pyro developer or whatever extremely poisonous they used in that age...

Many times I read the "print varnish" thing, but never used one. I suspect yellowing could be the big issue after a while. Does anybody know what kind of varnish they used to use?

 

Edited November 24, 2022 by jose_angel

[hjoseph7]

On 11/20/2022 at 5:22 PM, Jennifer Johnson said:

What is the most important thing you learned about "finishing" a black and white print in the darkroom?

When I was printing in the darkroom (mostly in shool), I was what you call a SLOPPY printer. I cared more about the content of an image than the details. My spotting was terrible, I still hate to spot, dust could be seen in certain areas, improper dodging and burning. I would have points taken off for not doing these things.

I was amazed by how some students would spend and entire semester working on 1-2 prints for their final portfolio ? Those 1-2 pictures were great though, ready for exhibition. If you think about, it it all starts with the camera, because no amount of PP is going make a good print out of a bad negative. Once your gorgeous print is ready you can then spray it with some Acrylic Finish that they still sell at Art stores. This will not only preserve your image it will make it shine. 

Edited November 28, 2022 by hjoseph7

[httpwww.photo.netbarry]

On 11/21/2022 at 6:49 AM, robert_bowring said:

Spotting the print. I hate to see white spots on a finished print.

I hated spotting which is why I would tell the OP that every step in the darkroom is important. I learned to check my negatives in a loupe to try to identify any dust and remove it. One of those a stick in time saves 9. Every thing from good test strips to proper washing of the print and drying's important. At least that's how I remember it. 🙂

 

[m._hilo]

making sure the image you will be printing is so good and so special to you, that you will not stop until you get it right.

 

[Rick Helmke]

I always did the best I could to remove dust or whatever from a negative and occasionally used NoScratch from Edwal. Nearly always though if there a dust spot on the print I would re-clean the negative and print again.  It’s quicker than spotting and I was usually coming up on a deadline. Also I wasn’t the one paying for everything. 
 

Rick H.