كيف تصنع ورقة اختبار لطبعاتك .. كتاب طبع وتحميض الصور الفوتوغرافية

Chapter V

How to make a test paper for your prints

The first thing to be learned in the of printmaking is how to make a test paper for prints, and the test paper is a touch print made by placing negative clippings on top of a large size print sheet in one go. A final positive for several negatives together and is used to determine the level of your negatives and choose the good ones as a prelude to printing them individually. This is why it is advisable to make a test print for each movie that it depicts, and the ideal paper size that is usually used for test prints is 20 x 25 cm.

Lighting: source

The test paper is made by using the light of a magnifier or by the light of a small ordinary lamp, the power of which is watts at most, which is lit above the test paper and at a height of approximately 35 cm from it, and then turns off quickly while it is in place above it. Therefore, it is necessary to connect it to an electric cutter for the sake of ease of work.
Chemicals :

The appearance used to endorse photographic paper differs from the appearance of films. The most popular types of endorsements are Kodak Dektol and Selector, Acufine's Printofine, and

FR Paper Developer Ethol LPD has it, and the difference between these types is in its availability. For example, Dektol is available in the form of a powder, while the LPD is available in the form of a concentrated liquid. The appearances differ from each other in what is called the tone. There are aspects referred to as having a warm nature, and others referred to as having a cold nature. Character is simply the concept of contrast attributed to the paper and appearance used. And the prints of a cold nature are usually of strong contrast with prominent white, gray and black colors, and the motive prints are the ones that have been preceded. In terms of the strength of optical contrast. Dr. Dr. provides a cool character to the layers, which is preferred by many professional photographers. But don't get stuck experimenting with all possible types of papers and themes until you find one that best suits your ideas and what you want to communicate with your shots. With regard to the suspension bath and the fixative, there is no problem in using them. The solutions that I previously used with the films are used here, but avoid using dilute solutions that were previously used with the films. Make special solutions for paper and use them for paper only.

Look at the photocopy paper:

There are several types of photocopy paper, and we will now talk about some of them and postpone others for a later time.

Copy paper is manufactured in standard sizes, including 12.5 x 17.5 cm, 20 x 25 cm, and 27.5 x 35 cm. It can also be made in larger sizes. The most popular size among photographers is 20 x 25 cm. It is cheaper in addition to its versatility. It can also be cut to obtain 17, 12.5 cm paper, and this measure is more economical than buying 17,512.5 cm paper.

Printing papers are available in two types according to their thickness: thick and thin. And the gentle kind of it

It can easily bend when acidified, which affects the accuracy of the focus, which is not at all possible with thick paper that does not bend after drying, as happens with its predecessor. Printing papers are also divided according to their polishing into two types, a glossy or satin type, and a rough, matte type. The stamp also affects the quality of the paper. There are warm-type papers such as Kodak Ektalure and Agfa portriga Rapid, and there are cool-type papers such as Kodak Kodabromide Agta Brovira. Use cool-type paper to make the test layer because it brings out the details more clearly. The paper also differs according to its degree of contrast, which is indicated by a number from 1-6 on the outer cover of the box. The degree of contrast to be used extends to the degree of negativity intensity. If the contrast in the negative is normal, i.e. the black and gray colors are normal with bright white colors, it is necessary to use paper number 2. As for the other degrees of contrast, they work to compensate for the errors of the density of the negative. If the negative is very dense, the No. 1 paper, which is called smooth, will compensate to some degree for this deficiency. Paper 3 to 6 is called hard paper. It stresses the black and white of the negative and is used when the negative is thin.”

For making contact prints choose paper number 2 or 3 regardless of whether the negative is dense or thin. Your choice of paper number also plays an important role in improving the condition of

Level your prints when making large prints. There is another type of printing paper called Poly Contrast paper. It comes in one type and the degree of contrast can be changed by changing the color of the light that is directed at it when printing through multiple special filters. Many photographers prefer to deal with this type of paper because it relieves them of buying several types of paper, although the cost of purchasing filters to work with this type is not insignificant. Therefore, we advise you to work with the paper that we mentioned previously without considering this type, even at this stage only in your photographic career.