Silver gelatin print making best practices

[bomzi]

Hello all.
I'm working on a set of 12 45cmx60cm silver gelatin prints with a master print maker.
While I only intend on printing 1 to start with, these will be produced in an edition of 7 which means that I need to be able to replicate the prints at a later date.
I'm quite unfamiliar with darkroom printing and was hoping for some guidance from forum members with more experience.

The process I was thinking of was as follows:
- Make 20x24cm test print. Allow it to dry and evaluate the negative.
- Come up with a plan for dodging and burning and make notes so that it can be replicated.
- Produce full size print and note any changes.

Does this make sense? Any other suggestions?

Thank you.
Randhir

[notorius]

Hello all.
I'm working on a set of 12 45cmx60cm silver gelatin prints with a master print maker.
While I only intend on printing 1 to start with, these will be produced in an edition of 7 which means that I need to be able to replicate the prints at a later date.
I'm quite unfamiliar with darkroom printing and was hoping for some guidance from forum members with more experience.

The process I was thinking of was as follows:
- Make 20x24cm test print. Allow it to dry and evaluate the negative.
- Come up with a plan for dodging and burning and make notes so that it can be replicated.
- Produce full size print and note any changes.

Does this make sense? Any other suggestions?

Thank you.
Randhir

Hello Randhir.
I would suggest adding following steps:

1. Make two sets of the prints in the first session and keep one of them for future comparisons.
2. Always maintain the same conditions when developing the paper. You have to control temperature and developer(and other baths) freshness. Developing time and movements in the tray have to be consistently the same.
3. The paper used should be from tha same batch.

[esearing]

In practice edition of 7 should be printed at the same time and stored if you want the most continuity between prints, otherwise you have to be very disciplined and control everything everytime. But half the fun in printing is that you get to change your mind over time and alter the print to your current mood. Switch papers, toning, subtle bleaching, alt prints, etc. Learn to print! When you are old and can't carry your gear out into the field or weather keeps you trapped in doors, printing allows you to escape into your photography.

[Rick A]

In practice edition of 7 should be printed at the same time and stored if you want the most continuity between prints, otherwise you have to be very disciplined and control everything everytime. But half the fun in printing is that you get to change your mind over time and alter the print to your current mood. Switch papers, toning, subtle bleaching, alt prints, etc. Learn to print! When you are old and can't carry your gear out into the field or weather keeps you trapped in doors, printing allows you to escape into your photography.

What @esearing said plus keep a notebook and list everything you've done to make the print. Every detail no matter how minute and unimportant you might think it is. Room temp, enlarger used and settings, paper used, filtration, chemistry used and temps, etc. Make one extra print, sleeve it and put it in the notebook with the notes and sleeved negative.

[MartyNL]

Be methodical in practice and meticulous in handling with all film, paper and chemicals.

If it's a series, always make smaller proof prints first of the entire series.
In this way, you can view, mix and match the prints as a complete body of work, for consistency and continuity.

In this way, you will avoid the disappointment of a group of exquisite individual prints rather than that of an exquisite collection.

[jnantz]

make sure you use tongs, and don't cross contaminate the chemistry. that is where some folks have troubles ..
have fun with your project!
John

[Doremus Scudder]

...
I'm quite unfamiliar with darkroom printing and was hoping for some guidance from forum members with more experience.
...
Thank you.
Randhir

First, and before you start doing anything that resembles making limited edition fine prints: Become quite familiar with darkroom printing.

Don't be naive and think you can make fine darkroom prints with zero experience. Yes, working with a master printer is great, but if you want to make your own prints, you need to learn the craft of printing. It's not rocket science, but it's not simple either. How much would you expect to know about lithography, oil painting or sculpture in a few sessions. Fine prints come from master printers, who know their craft well. So, unless you just want to have your master printer mentor do your printing for you, you need to put in the time. FWIW, many photographers have others do their printing for them; it's not uncommon nor anything to be ashamed of. However, if you want your work to be all yours, then you need to master that part of it as well.

As for your question:
Once I've arrived at a final version of a print, I make detailed printing notes, which include the paper, developer, exposure, contrast grade/filtration, exact print dimensions, cropping information, enlarger head height, print manipulations (including dodging, burning, split-grade printing, flashing, bleaching, etc.). All the manipulation times are expressed in percentages of the base exposure so they can be repeated if I scale the print up or down in size or if a change in materials later results in a markedly different exposure time.

Getting to the point where one has an excellent print often takes a lot of work and paper. I never make just one final print after all that work. Depending on how intricate the print is and whether or not I think I will need many more of it in the future, I'll make anywhere from two to five or six final prints.

Prints that I have sold well and have had to reprint at a later date always require a re-evaluation of the original. I'll try to improve on my last performance. Using my notes, I'll set up the print so the borders match the original, then start with test strips to find the (new) right exposure time and contrast grade. From there, I use the notes I've made on manipulations as a guide. Sometimes, however, the new print ends up requiring a radically different set of manipulations. I'm often surprised that the dodging and burning on the new print is so different from what I did earlier, just to get the prints to match. Then there's the improvement part: Just like a musical performance, I always try to make things even better than the first time around. After reaching a final print, I make more notes and make several prints.

Best,

Doremus

[Pieter]

Prints in the same edition can all be made at the same time, but there is always the possibility of variation depending on the extent of dodging, burning, bleaching, etc. It is accepted that not all the prints will be exactly the same. If there is a lot of manipulation being done, a drum scan of the negative and be edited in a program such as PhotoShop or Capture One, then an LTV negative made that prints straightforward.

[Vaughan]

... I need to be able to replicate the prints at a later date.

You won't be able to exactly, there are too many variables.

Typically a master print is made which has all the dodges and burns, from which a negative is made. From this, prints are made that need little or no individual adjustments. They won't quite be the same as the original but they will be very close, and are the only way to get consistency with volume.

[Thom Bennett]

Used to print for a local fine art photographer who sold direct to the public through his own gallery. With every new neg he wanted to edition we'd make a two master prints; one (or a few, depending on the day) for the wall and one he kept in his files. Whenever he'd sell a print I'd swing by and pick up the neg and the master print and then do everything I could to replicate it. As long as it matched the master, he didn't care what I had to do to get there. And what I had to do during any given session would vary from my notes but at least I had a starting point. Don't get hung up on exact unless one person is buying all the editions. The differences won't be visible to anyone but you.