Using the Enlarger

To make your first print in the enlarger, you need to understand how printing paper works. You can learn how printing paper operates by reading this quick example below:

1. Turn the F-stop in the enlarger to f-2.8 and set the timer for 15 seconds (this means the enlarger will shine light through a large aperture onto the table when you press the timer button)
2. With the lights off in the darkroom, carefully remove a piece of printing paper
3. Find a small opaque object and place it in the middle of your paper
4. Press the timer button and expose your paper under the light
5. When you develop the print, you will find that the outline of the opaque object stayed white while the rest of the picture is black

From this experiment, you can see that the areas in which light touched the paper turned black while areas that light did not reach the paper remained white. When you place a negative in the negative carrier and turn on the timer light, you will notice similar light and dark areas as in the experiment.

• Dark areas in the negative will prevent light from reaching the paper, thus creating shades of white
• White areas in the negative will allow more light to reach the paper, thus creating shades of black
• Gray areas in the negative will allow a limited amount of light to reach the paper, thus creating shades of gray.