Making prints

Two processes cover almost all darkroom printing: the black & white process and the RA-4 colour process. Black & white negatives are printed on black & white paper. Colour negatives are usually printed on RA-4 colour paper, though they can be printed in black & white too.

Both work the same way in outline. Light is projected through a negative onto light-sensitive paper, and chemistry then develops what the light recorded. The papers, the chemicals and the handling are where they differ.

Black & white process

This is the usual place to start. It uses variable contrast or graded paper and three chemicals: developer, stop bath and fixer.

An enlarger projects the negative onto the paper. You develop the print under a red safelight, which means you can watch the image appear. Contrast and exposure are adjusted with filters and with the length of the exposure.

Read the black & white process.

RA-4 colour process

RA-4 is the standard process for making colour prints from colour negatives. It uses a colour enlarger, RA-4 paper and a colour developer followed by bleach-fix (BLIX).

Three things make it harder than black & white. The paper is sensitive to all colours, so it must be handled in complete darkness. The chemistry needs close temperature control. The colour of the print has to be balanced with filters, usually judged from test strips.

Read the RA-4 colour process.