CUPBOARD LOVE.
T. LEE SYMS.
Printing from Thin Negatives.—Thin negatives on the other hand, require quite different treatment. In order to get plucky prints from very thin negatives, useless in other processes, we must give a very brief exposure at some distance from the gas; and here it may be well to note that removing the negative to a greater distance from the light is equal to decreasing the actual time of exposure and has other advantages in connection with thin negatives with which theory does not seem to agree. To print from a very thin negative, then, instead of four seconds at eighteen inches, let us cover it with a sheet of tissue paper and give it four seconds at a distance of three or four feet and note the result on development. If it appears to be over-exposed, we may reduce the time of exposure to three seconds at the same distance and modify the developer, as will be explained later on.
Development of Prints.—All my remarks in this article apply equally to most commercial brands of bromide paper; but it is only fair to state that they are particularly intended for that made by the firm of manufacturers publishing this book. Development, and so on, is very similar with all makes of paper, but most of my recent experiments have been made on the "Barnet" matt surface bromide.
I shall presently describe the use of several well-known developers, but it must be well understood that, whatever formula is adopted, a preliminary soaking of the print before development must be done.
When we are about to develop a number of prints we must first soak them in plain cold water until quite flaccid, otherwise the application of the developer would cause the dry print to cockle and curl, and the development would not be regular. This rule applies equally in the case of one print only as when a hundred are ready for development; a prolonged soaking in plain water having no ill effect.
The Iron Developer.—This is one of the developers most frequently recommended for bromide work, but personally I never advise its use (especially by a novice) because the use of the acid clearing bath, which is an essential part of the process, is so frequent a cause of disaster and yellow prints. The Barnet formula is as follows:—
| A. | ||
| Potassium oxalate | 1 | lb. |
| Potassium bromide | 5 | grains. |
| Hot water | 48 | ozs. |
B. | ||
| Iron sulphate | 1 | lb. |
| Citric acid | 4 | drams. |
| Hot water | 32 | ozs. |