Making Black & White Prints

The procedure for making a black-and-white print is relatively straightforward. It combines elements of the camerawork and processing necessary to form an image on film because printmaking actually consists of rephotographing the film image on a different material and processing that material. The enlarger from the lens to the baseboard is an open-sided camera working over a small range of image distances but with a relatively wide range of lens extensions. The Framing and focusing is the first step in making a print is to place the negative (usually in a strip), emulsion downward and with the image upside down, in the film carrier and locate the required frame in the aperture. With the masking frame adjusted to hold the required paper size the enlarger lamp is switched on and the head moved up or down the column to provide the approximate framing required. The enlarger lens is set to its maximum aperture and the focusing control operated to project a sharp image on the masking frame. This operation is critical but need not be accurately carried out immediately. The focusing affects the image size and a further adjustment of the framing may be necessary. Then focusing is carried out with great care. The eye must be trained to recognize the point of sharpest focus quickly and the operator must for that reason, accustom himself to picking out the detail in the image that is easiest to focus.