The Variable Contrast Printing Manual by Anchell, Steve

[neil poulsen]

Doremus,

Thanks so much for this post. Really interesting!

It's reassuring that you use about the about the same contrast settings when printing. I've been curious about this, because the theory goes, if I have the "correct" contrast in the negative, I "shouldn't need" any additional contrast when printing. Right?

But at the same time, we also know that print contrast behaves a little differently than negative contrast. It could be that, there's an optimum combination of the two that works best.

For this reason, based on experience, I now begin at about magenta 25 when printing a new negative. This results in very little needed contrast adjustment to optimize a print. So, I guesstimate speed as well; though, it occurred to me at one time to do some testing in this regard.

My graded paper days are long gone. Isn't it great that we have such excellent variable contrast papers available. I recall John Wimberly, who's done some outstanding silver gelatin work, saying that Ilford Warmtone was one of the best papers with which he's ever worked. (Even with the high silver content in yesteryear papers.)

[Peter De Smidt]

Using Paul Butzi's method with a dichroic head was the single best methodological change I made in my darkroom work. YMMV.