APPLICATIONS PRINTING IN BLACK & WHITE PRINTING TECHNIQUES
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Paper Negatives
There are two ways of using paper negatives. One is effectively a modern version of Fox Talbot’s 1841 “Calotype” process, in which photographic paper is exposed directly in a large-format camera. The paper is processed to give a negative, and a final positive print is obtained by contact printing.
Paper negatives can also be used as a means of retouching. In the past, when photographers used glass plates as big as many of today’s prints, retouching involved pencilling on the surface of the negative itself, to remove blemishes. Nowadays, most negatives are so small that this is no longer practical. However, it is still possible to retouch a paper negative, which you can make by contact printing an ordinary print on a paper such as ILFORD MULTIGRADE IV RC DeLuxe. After retouching the paper negative, you contact print it to make the finished positive print.
Remember: you must make the initial print and the intermediate paper negative the exact size that you want the final print; you cannot enlarge paper negatives.
The initial positive print should be soft in contrast and fully exposed, so there is plenty of highlight detail. Unless you photographed the original subject in very flat lighting, you’ll get optimum results by making the initial print with MULTIGRADE filter 0 or 1.
You make the paper negative by sandwiching the original positive print, emulsion-to-emulsion, with a fresh sheet of paper, and pressing them tightly together under a sheet of heavy glass. You then expose the “sandwich” to the light of the enlarger, just as if you were making a contact sheet from a roll of film negatives.
ILFORD MULTIGRADE IV RC DeLuxe is particularly suitable for making paper negatives because, unlike many papers, it is not marked on the reverse with the manufacturer’s name. In addition, its resin coating hides the fibrous nature of the paper. Uniform areas of light tone such as sky may still show a little unevenness, but not the strong mottling effect that is apparent if you use a fibre based paper.
Retouching the image is simply a matter of adding density to the back of the print, using a soft pencil such as a 4B, a grease pencil, or charcoal. Because the marks are on the back of the paper, they are not clearly visible on the contact print.
It is best to do retouching in two stages: add density to the initial positive print in the areas where you want the final print to be darker; darken the back of the intermediate negative to lighten the final print.
To see where retouching is necessary, place the paper negative face down on a light-box, or hold it up against a window. You can check the process of retouching from time to time by making a contact print from it. You have not altered the original negative; so if you go too far, you can always make another positive print and start over again.