When acquiring my 8×10 View Camera a few years ago I did so with the intention to make contact prints using modern and, down the road, historical processes.

At the time I did not know much about the techniques and materials of historical processes but I loved the tonality and detail of the prints that I had seen in exhibitions and books. After thoroughly researching, I found the connection to historical processes , particularly Albumen Printing, quite fascinating.

Historically, most Albumen prints have been made from dry and wet glass plate negatives. Since I had never made dry or wet glass plate negatives, my initial plan was to make Albumen contact prints from the same film negatives that I would be using for silver chloride contact prints.

Since Albumen coated and silver sensitized printing paper is no longer commercially available it must be hand-made using artists’ paper which is then coated with Albumen and light sensitive silver nitrate using historical or modern recipes. (Albumen paper coating and sensitizing is an exhaustive subject by itself and will be covered in a future entry.)

From the beginning of photography the sun has been the source of light to enable a negative to be printed as a positive. The UV and blue wavelengths in sunlight were essential to printing glass negatives on Albumen paper.

Although I truly enjoyed using the sun as my light source and making this connection to the photographers from the 1850 – 1900 period, the inconsistent and unpredictable nature of the sun was a challenge to me. Printing only on sunny days, at specific times during the day (11AM – 1PM = best UV light), and with light levels changing from season to season, was technically challenging. Additionally, I like to work in the darkroom at night which was not possible!

I researched the internet for photography web sites, forums, and videos to learn about light boxes for historical printing processes and found a wealth of information for purchasing commercially available “off the shelf” light boxes as well as descriptions of and plans for DIY light boxes.

Research showed that specific wavelengths of light were required for different historical printing processes as the light sensitivity of the various chemicals utilized were different.

• I decided that a DIY light box would be the best fit for me. The options were many:
  • Fluorescent Tubes: BL, BLB, and SA
  • H.I.D.: Mercury Vapor, Metal Halide
  • LED
  • Tanning Lights / Tanning Beds
  • UV Grow Lights
  • Reptile Aquarium Lights

After a lot of reading and interaction with web and Forum members who had already built their own light boxes, I decided to build a UV Printer using BLB fluorescent bulbs. I chose BLB bulbs because I did not want LED/ Tanning/Grow/Aquarium bulbs and BLB bulbs were lower cost than BL bulbs.

• Below are a few details of my build:
  • Overall Size: 28in.W x 25in.D x 18in.H
  • Bulb Specs: Twelve 15W T8 BLB tubes 18in.L x 1in.W
  • Cooling: Two “computer” fans
  • Reflective interior walls: Silver foil tape
  • Accepts my 11×14 contact printing frames with room to spare
  • Average print time with the box: 10-18 minutes
  • Average print time with the sun: 6-12 minutes

Stay in touch for my next blog ……. DIY modification of a standard film holder for use with dry & wet glass plates.

Drew Wagner

Things really are not so bad when it comes to black white film, paper and chemistry for silver gelatin work. Same goes for the chemistry and papers to make alternative emulsion processes.  Despite what some would have the uninformed think, film is not dead and traditional wet-based prints made from film are also alive and well.  There certainly was a time when the analog world was starting to look a little bleak, but that’s no longer the case!

Certainly if you are a fan of Kodak products there fewer films available and paper is no longer being produced, but Tri-X, for example, still lives on in its latest formulation along with D76 and HC-110 to develop it!  Ilford is still going strong; recently they introduced a range of new papers to update their VC line that compliments their beautiful Gallerie graded paper, and their films are still widely available. While the pickings might be slim in your local brick and mortar camera shop, Freestyle Photo, B&H and Adorama to name a few, have thriving storefronts and online sites so you can get whatever you need.

Checking out the Freestyle’s site I see listings for 26 brands of black and white film and 7 brands of paper available. In the case of film, there are a variety of choices up to 8×10. Less for 11X14, and beyond that you are talking about special orders to the majors, most likely for group purchases. But, Fuji Acros is back from the dead in the form of Acros II, available in 35mm and 120 formats.  Fuji originally discontinued Acros due to decreasing demand but according to the company “ due to recent interest from millennials and GenZs, who have become the newest film enthusiasts, Fujifilm developed a plan to revive black-and-white film to meet new market demands”.  Just like vinyl records, film will just not go away, due in part to resurgence of interest from younger generations.

When it comes to alternative processes, one only needs to visit the websites of Bostick & Sullivan, Artcraft and Photographer’s Formulary to stock up.  All three provide raw chemical components for those that like to mix their own, as well as premade products, including their own proprietary formulas.

Hey, even instant film is back along with the cameras to use it! 35mm, medium format and large format cameras are still being made and there’s a ton of high quality used gear out there that will work flawlessly for years to come. Enlargers are still being manufactured too and Jobo is producing their wonderful film processors again.  And more good news – used darkroom equipment still can easily be found at great prices.

Yes, film and paper costs have risen and we don’t have all the choices we once had. On the other hand we have some wonderful new film, paper and chemistry choices that were not available in the “good old days”!

All things considered, I would say the state of things is fine and life is pretty good!

Michael Marks