really stupid question about contact printing...

[nightwolf75]

never done this before... so bear with me...

i am trying to learn how to do contact printing using transparencies. saw this being done online where people convert their digital photos into negatives to be printed on transparencies, which they lay it on photo paper and expose it to sunlight for contact prints. what i don't get is the paper developing part. on some youtube clips, i see the instructor using the red safe light while developing the paper, and some clips the paper are developed under normal florescent light.

am i missing something here? so under what light am i suppose to develop my paper in? not too sure about this cos i don't have a darkroom at home and have only done film developing... :embrass:

 

[zguy]

It depends on the kind of light sensitive coating on the paper that you are using for the contact printing. If using silver gelatin photo paper like those from Ilford, you have to develop under safe light usually red. I wonder are the lights on so that the scene can be lighted for the demonstration.

Other alternative processes like the kallitype , we can develop the coated paper in daylight.

 

[nightwolf75]

It depends on the kind of light sensitive coating on the paper that you are using for the contact printing. If using silver gelatin photo paper like those from Ilford, you have to develop under safe light usually red. I wonder are the lights on so that the scene can be lighted for the demonstration.

Other alternative processes like the kallitype , we can develop the coated paper in daylight.

Oic... Ok! Thank you, zguy! I'll just play it safe and use a red safe light. A friend of mine passed to me some unused but expired agfa photo paper to mess ard. That's what gave me the idea to do contact printing.

 

[Riotbmx]

Of its regular silver gelatin photo paper need to use safelight. My daughters used some of the expired paper I have to make photograms.

I do salt print and cyanotype prints too. Those can be done indoors as its only sensitive to UV light.

 

[nightwolf75]

Of its regular silver gelatin photo paper need to use safelight. My daughters used some of the expired paper I have to make photograms.

I do salt print and cyanotype prints too. Those can be done indoors as its only sensitive to UV light.

thanks!

once i get the hang of this, think i will try coating my own paper too... ;p

 

[Riotbmx]

thanks!

once i get the hang of this, think i will try coating my own paper too... ;p

e-mail me at 5iftysf@gmail.com if you need any help. Cheers!

 

[student]

There are two components to consider.

1 Exposing the paper.

The paper can be regular silver-impregnated paper, or you can make your own photo-sensitive paper. Then this paper will need to be exposed to light. If you want to be fancy, you can do things like coating an art paper with platinum/palladium. Dry the paper. Then put the negative on the photosensitive paper, usually in a kind of frame, and expose it to sunlight (uv). The exposure takes some time, and the frame allows you to "peek" if the exposure is OK. If you do not want to be fancy, you can use regular silver paper, as in photograms.

I have done photograms using leaves placed on silver paper. Because the papers are light sensitive, the placement of the leaves will have to be done with safelight. Once I am happy with the placement, I switch off the safe light. Then I switch on the "main light", usually for fractions of a second.

2 The exposed paper is then developed in the usual manner as for silver paper, or with other chemicals if you use fanciful methods.

If you are using silver paper, one major problem is exposure. You will have to experiment by trial and error. To get even exposures, for example. I may bounce light off the ceiling from a study lamp.

Have fun!

 

[nightwolf75]

There are two components to consider.

1 Exposing the paper.

The paper can be regular silver-impregnated paper, or you can make your own photo-sensitive paper. Then this paper will need to be exposed to light. If you want to be fancy, you can do things like coating an art paper with platinum/palladium. Dry the paper. Then put the negative on the photosensitive paper, usually in a kind of frame, and expose it to sunlight (uv). The exposure takes some time, and the frame allows you to "peek" if the exposure is OK. If you do not want to be fancy, you can use regular silver paper, as in photograms.

I have done photograms using leaves placed on silver paper. Because the papers are light sensitive, the placement of the leaves will have to be done with safelight. Once I am happy with the placement, I switch off the safe light. Then I switch on the "main light", usually for fractions of a second.

2 The exposed paper is then developed in the usual manner as for silver paper, or with other chemicals if you use fanciful methods.

If you are using silver paper, one major problem is exposure. You will have to experiment by trial and error. To get even exposures, for example. I may bounce light off the ceiling from a study lamp.

Have fun!

thank you, doctor!