Page 60 - The Wellington photographic handbook

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paper, care must be taken not to touch the sensitive surface with
moist or dirty fingers, or it will most certainly be marked. If the
paper is not of the required size, it should be cut with a pair of
scissors, and not folded and torn, as this also may lead to marks
upon it.

EXPOSURE.
The rapidity of Bromide paper is such that artificial light
answers excellently for printing purposes ; it is therefore a good
method of working in the evenings or in the winter, when it is often
almost impossible to get prints in any other way.

Exposure as far as possible should always be made to the
same light. If a paraffin lamp is used, then it should always be
employed at its best, i.e., with the wicks carefully trimmed and
turned up as high as possible without smoking. If a gas jet is the
light preferred, then it must in the same way be turned up as high
as it will go without roaring. If the pressure is poor, the loss of
light should be allowed for when exposing ; and in this connection,
it is well to remember that in towns the pressure is generally at
its worst on Sunday evenings.
By attention to these points it is possible, and indeed quite
easy, having once found what exposure a negative requires, to
make as many prints as may be wanted, either all at one time or at
intervals of months apart without wasting a single piece of paper
through under or over-printing.
The printing frame is then placed at a definite distance from
the light and the exposure made. The best distance for the frame
is 18 inches from the light, and this distance should be measured
not guessed—and adhered to. It is easy to make a mark on the
table or wall at 18 inches from the source of light, or to tie a piece
of string to the burner with a knot at 18 inches from the flame.
With an average negative, the following list of exposures with
various illuminants may be taken as an approximate guide.
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