You should have at least one test print at this point. If you followed the "step" method outlined in the last chapter, you've got a print that doesn't look like much, but it can tell us a lot.
Before we get started, the test print needs to be absolutely dry. If it feels at all cool to the touch, it probably isn't dry yet. To speed things along, you can use a fan or a blow dryer. Just don't get the print anything more than warm, so the paper isn't at risk of discoloring, and use plenty air to carry away the water vapor. After it's dry, let it dry a little more just to be sure.
You may have noticed that some of the more exposed steps on the test print looked pretty good in the clearing bath, and some of the less exposed steps looked washed out. But now that the print is dry, the well-exposed step has probably moved at least one minute up the exposure scale. Photographers who normally print on commercial enlarging paper will find this to be the opposite of what they expected. Commercial papers usually look darker when they are wet and dry lighter. This "dry-down" phenomenon makes reading a wet print difficult, but experience can train the eye pretty well.
We're done with testing and have established our exposure, so it's finally time to make that first real print. Everything is the same as before, but we are going to add one more helpful tool—the step wedge. A step wedge is a strip of film with graduated steps (what else?) from near 0% density (clear base) to near 100% density (black). We are going to use it to better evaluate your first finished print by comparing its steps to the print's changes in density. You don't need an expensive calibrated step wedge, so save your money for metal salts or a velvety single-malt and get a "plain vanilla" step wedge. There are several different sizes and configurations for step wedges, but what you want is a Stouffer T2115 (or something similar). It is about ½-inch wide and five inches long, with 21 steps from clear to black.
When you set up the printing frame for the next print, place the step wedge against one side of the negative. It doesn't really matter where you put the step wedge, but it needs to print on some of the coating that went outside the marked image area, and it's nice if the numbers on it read the right way around when you are evaluating the print, later. Now, expose the print for the time you determined in testing, and develop, clear and dry it.
This latest print should look pretty good, unless something went dreadfully wrong, and we are going to use the step wedge part of the print to get to know the image better. Start by punching a hole near the center and edge of the long side of one of test prints you made earlier (an office hole punch is the perfect size. To find the density range of your image, place the punched print facedown on the print you are examining so the image is uncovered and the step wedge print is visible through the hole. This isolates the wedge's steps in the same way as we isolated parts of the image on the test prints. Find the lightest and darkest areas with detail on your image and match them to individual steps on the step wedge. The number of steps from light to dark (or vice versa) tells us the image's density range. The film step wedge can also be used in this way on a light table to determine the density range of a negative.
To find the density range possible with your coating mix at the print's exposure, set aside the hole-punched paper and simply observe which step on the wedge is the lightest and which step is the darkest (all steps beyond these two are the same shade). The difference between the two is the total range possible with that coating formula at the given exposure. This range may be longer than that of your image, but it cannot be shorter.
Up to this point, we have been working toward controlling the mechanics of the process well enough to get a reasonably good print and learning how changes to the process affect its end results. The best way to proceed from here is to practice the craft and make improvements by making mistakes. Also, it pays to keep track of everything you do, not making multiple changes at once, so when something serendipitous occurs, you'll know how you got there. And although I have recommended Dick Arentz's book throughout this tome, there were parts of it that read like Greek to me until I put the pieces together, myself, by trying things and seeing what happened.
Now, we are going to prepare for the day when you are finally satisfied with your work and want to display it. I don't make any claims to being an expert in this area, but I do know what I like, and I have learned from experts in the field how to properly care for a finished print. This section will cover different styles of printing, marking your work as yours, and protecting your prints from the world around them.
One of the most obvious differences in styles between printers is the type of border they leave around the printed image. Some, like me, prefer a clean, paper white border that shows no artifacts of the negative or the coating process. Others mask just outside the image area to get a clean black border, and still others use no mask at all to show the hand work (brush marks and such) in the coating material surrounding the image. If you choose the latter, you can still cover the border edges during the mounting and matting process to get a clean edge, but the hand-worked edges will be forever lost with the first two masked options. In the end, though, which style you choose to use is entirely up to you and your tastes.
If you choose to mask, the process is straightforward and easy to do. You'll need red graphic arts masking film and tape (I use Ulano Rubylith—its deep red color blocks UV radiation), a sharp razor knife (X-Acto or something similar), and a straightedge. I work on a light table, which makes things much easier, but it's not absolutely required. Start by cutting a piece of masking film about the size of the substrate you'll be printing on and attach it with drafting tape to a smooth work surface, dull side up. Next, mark out the four corners of your cutout on the masking film, and using the straightedge to get a clean line, make a light cut with the razor knife, connecting all the corner marks. Do not cut all the way through the film—all you are trying to do is cut through the thin red layer on top of the Mylar base. Finally, using the tip of the razor knife, lift one corner of the cutout and pull the red layer from the base, and you'll have your mask.
As with everything else we've covered so far, practice makes perfect when cutting masks. Your corners should be clean and square. A light touch on the knife cuts only the red film coating, not the base. And to save us all, the complementary red masking tape can be used to fix minor problems with the cutout.
Well, you made it to the end of this thing. I admire your perseverance and hope what you learned here was helpful and inspirational. As you may have realized by now, I love what I do, especially the surprises that come along most every day. Whether it is a scene I absolutely have to capture with my camera, a print I'm making for the first time coming to life in the developer, or someone admiring (or not) a piece of my work, it's all good.
I plan to continue updating this document—adding illustrations and photographs are high on the list—to make it more useful, and I would appreciate any input you might have. Are there parts that are confusing or unclear? Are there errors of fact or omission or grammar/spelling/ punctuation? Did it bore you to tears? Whatever constructive criticism you might have, I would certainly love to hear. Also, I'm more than happy to answer any questions you might have, especially the "dumb" ones (those are much easier to answer than the really hard ones).
Please feel free to contact me at any of the addresses listed in the Contacts & Information section of this site.