Help! My contact prints are less sharp than original film

[D. Bryant]

I need urgent help! I got what first appeared to be gorgeous contact prints. Contrast and tones are excellent, and under the naked eye the detail was nice as well. Unfortunately this was just an illusion, because under my 22x loupe, the contact print was clearly less sharp than the original film. What am I doing wrong?

I did my contact prints the usual way, by putting a peice of glass over the negative, emulsion side down onto the paper, and using diffuse light. I'm using Ilford RC Multigrade IV paper, Dektol developer. What am I doing wrong? Why is there less detail in the contact print?

You need a contact printing frame or better yet a vacuum easel to maintain tight contact of the film against the paper.

A diffuse light source, such as the light from an enlarger with a color head, will work fine. You don't need a point light source.

Don Bryant