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This is probably a bit overdue, but here’s a tutorial that goes along with our DIY-Large-Format project for developing paper negatives. The technique uses a basic 3 bath process very similar to film developing. The only real difference is that we can watch it happen under a safelight.

Equipment List

All of the equipment used in this tutorial is readily available via Amazon or online/local photography shops. Most of these are affiliate links.

• Ilford MGIV 8×10 Pearl Finish Photographic Paper
• 8×10 print developing trays
• Print tongs
• Thermometer
• Safelight
• Triple Timer
• Agfa Rodinal film developer
• Ilford Ilfostop
• Ilford Rapid Fixer
• Print Squeegee
• Film/paper clips

You can also try different film developers in place of the Agfa Rodinal. Print developers will work too, but they will yield higher contrast negatives. I chose Agfa Rodinal because the contrast is variable depending on the dilution.

Process Overview

If you’ve developed black and white film or paper, this is exactly the same thing — develop, stop, fix, wash, dry.

1. TAKE THE PHOTOGRAPH
   Load the paper in your camera (under a safelight, of course) and get out there to take the shot. Just remember that b/w paper should be shot at approximately ISO10 in daylight conditions.
2. PREP THE DARKROOM
   Seal up the doors and windows, block out all light, mix your chemicals, plug in the safelight, and make sure the temperature on the developer is correct.
3. CUT THE LIGHTS, PULL THE NEGATIVE
   Turn off any white lights, flip on the safelight, and open up the camera to remove the exposed paper negative. If you aren’t using a film holder, take the time to remove any sticky-tack or tape used to hold the image in the camera.
4. DEVELOP
   Drop the paper in quickly and try not to touch it. Agitate as you see fit — more agitation yields higher contrast. Keep an eye on your timer, but you can get decent results by eye-balling it. As it develops, the negative will appear darker than it really is, so let it go for a bit longer if you want to fill in the shadows. I let mine go for about 4.5 minutes with Agfa Rodinal at 1:100 dilutuion.
5. STOP
   When you’re ready to stop developing, drop the negative into the stop bath (or water) for about 15-30 seconds.
6. FIX
   Fix the negative according to the instructions given with your particular choice of chemicals. You can let it go for a bit longer, but not too much longer.
7. HIT THE LIGHTS AND WASH
   It’s now safe to turn on regular lights and transfer the negative to a wash bath. For RC prints, let it stay in moving water for about 3 or 4 minutes (FB prints take a bit longer, just follow the instructions included with your paper). I use a 16×20 print tray on a slight angle with water running into one end and out of the other. You can also just hold it under running water for a few minutes.
8. DRY
   If you have a squeegee, go ahead and remove the excess water before hanging to dry. RC papers should take about 30-60 minutes to dry out, and they dry flat. FB papers will take longer, and you’ll have to flatten them afterward.

After the negative is dry, you can either make a contact print (next video!) or scan it and invert the tones for further digital processing.

Final Negative and Negative Scan

Here’s a scan of the negative I developed in the video, and below that is a scan of the negative that has been inverted and processed with Adobe Camera Raw software. I tried to get the negative scan as close as possible to what I’m seeing in real life. The inverted image was processed to produce the “best” image I could get from it.

The next video episode will show how to take that paper negative and make a contact print from it. I’ll also post a side-by-side comparison of the image just above versus the actual contact print produced in the darkroom. So stay tuned!

Any questions for stuff that I didn’t cover in the video or in this article? How about some further suggestions for developing paper negatives?