[Leica] Print Drydown

["Mike Durling" <durling@widomaker.com>]

Hey Luggers:

A week or so ago we had a thread going on the density changes that happen to
prints between when the light goes on over the fixer and when the print is
dry.  Several people offered some suggestions which I said I would try and
report back.  I made a few prints this week, and I was able to make some
observations.

I have a small fluorescent fixture about two feet over the fixer.  (I work
in the garage and the main lights are at the top of the stairs.)  When I
turn it on the prints appear fairly washed out.  I taped some heavy paper
over it to knock down the light a bit but that didn't help the look of the
prints.  I found that by just lifting the prints out of the fix I see more
of the highlight values.  I then moved them away from the light to a large
tray on the floor.  When I get them to where the light is fairly dim I get a
good idea of what the final print will look like.  I squegeed the prints the
first night, but on the second I did without.  I haven't done any before and
after squegeeing tests yet.

My fairly preliminary conclusions are that getting the prints out of the fix
and away from the light enables me to judge the wet print fairly accurately.
I can't discount the effects of practice.  Just being careful and knowing
what to look for helps a lot.  The stuff I was printing was shot under
fairly difficult conditions and didn't have a lot of subtlety.  I expect to
refine the techniques when I get back to printing some better negatives.  I
expect as usually happens that training the eye will greatly simplify the
process.  I used to print a lot but I didn't do any for about five years and
very little for some time before that.  It takes a while to get back into it
and to get used to the new materials.

Thanks for all of the good suggestions.  I've learned a lot from this group.

Mike D