Virtues of Contact Printing

I often wonder these days just how many current photographers practicing their craft in the name of art go the way of contact printing? The advent of digital imagery took down many, many darkrooms from the photographic scene, and how many remain is certainly an unknown factor. So many photographers moved with the technology, embracing digital photography as their primary outlet. As it has always been over the century and a half of photography.

Those that keep to black and white film are the core of Art Photographers who don't change because of changing times and technology. These photographers know what they love, and show it in their work. For this post, I speak to them directly, because I want to address the topic of contact printing as opposed to projection enlargement printing. I would tell you that the size of a print is not proportionate to its beauty or popularity. No one would dispute the fact that a 40"x60" enlarged silver gelatin print is impressive. I've seen prints larger than that hanging in a photography gallery recently. Impressive, if printed well. I have also seen small prints hanging in the same show that grabbed me even more. They were old contact prints from a bygone era.

When I had a gallery, the five platinum printing photographers I represented all used 4x5 view cameras. Hence, their prints were of course 4x5, framed to 11x14, and needless to say they were beautiful to behold. My question to photographers might be simply, if you have a 4x5 camera, have you ever tried contact printing? Even on silver gelatin papers, specifically on chloride paper, if such an animal still exists. Just a thought. Anyone who hasn't done so is missing out on a historical part of printing that is really rewarding.

If you have experienced contact printing, and you enjoyed it, a slight shift in focus can open up an entirely different world of wonders. This world doesn't need an enlarger. For silver gelatin printers one only needs a simple amber safe light, and even a bare incandescent light bulb for printing, a la Edward Weston style. For $40, the price of enough pure silver to make well over a hundred 4x5 prints, and a trip to the local art store to purchase a few sheets of art paper, contact printing becomes an art project that will thrill a printer for a long time. Well, you also need some table salt from the kitchen to make it work.

That's my argument for finding the path of printmaking. I know, it's thin, but it doesn't usually take a whole lot of pushing and yelling to any photographer who feels they have a few good images in them to show the world at large that they too can make beautiful, lasting images they can call Art. Sometimes, preaching to the choir returns a glorious chorus of voices singing the praises to a beautiful art form.

Just in case there might be an interested party desiring to try out contact printing, just because it's way cool, I will delve into respective formulas for printing in different mediums, demanding different density ranges for the respective mediums. I will divide things into two camps; silver gelatin printing and salted silver printing (salt paper print).

Silver Gelatin printing;
Beutler 105 ~ 1:10 ~ ISO {125 - 8 min} {400 - 10 min)

H20 (115 deg)                            750ml
Metol                                              5 g
Sodium Sulfite (anhydrous)          25 g
Sodium Carbonate (anhydrous)    25 g
Cold water to make                   1000 ml

The density range for this formula is for silver gelatin papers, either enlargement or contact printing. The density range will be between Log E .55 to .75. This formula is also a semi-compensating developer, meaning it is very good for holding in the highlights in high contrast situations.

Salted Silver Printing; (Salt Paper)
Beutler 105 ~ 1:7 ~ ISO {125 - 15+ min} {400 20 min}
Beutler 105 ~ 1:10 ~ ISO {125 - 20 min} {400 24+ min}
*( these are not exact times, density tests are very important}

The Beutler formula remains the same in both cases. It is the dilution that makes the difference, and one of the great benefits of this formula, as altering the dilution, changes the contrast index curve in the same way developing time would. The above dilution times demonstrate this. I used the standard dilution of 1:10 when I developed the 5x7 negatives used for printing the portfolio I have been posting. The development time needed for a full range print was 20 minutes. The contrast index curve was long, but not all that steep. Using a 1:7 dilution would make the development time go down, and even then, the contrast index curve would be a bit steeper than the 1:10 curve. The desired density range for printing in silver, or Pt/Pd needs to be between Log E 1.2 and 1.8. That is a dense negative. We used to say you could 'skate' on such a negative. Works though.

One last thought on this contact printing process. This can be done with digital negatives. I would also tell you that sufficient densities can be built up on a digital negative sufficient to make a good print, without having to resort to coloring a digital negative green for 'spectral density'. Spectral density works well, as Dan Burkholder demonstrates regularly. My tests thus far using digital negatives is one of those negatives exceeded what was needed, leaving me with a print I was unable to print in the upper two zones; zone 7 & zone 8. Just so you know.

So, contact print, and enjoy. A sample image using the above formula;

Salted Silver Print ~ "Oregon Stream"
1985 ~ 5x7 ~ Unique
Willamette River ~ Eugene, Oregon