page_title: Contact print
section_title: Basic tools
hierarchical_section_title: Contact print / Basic tools
caption_attribution_description: Serie fotografica&#160;: Livigno, 1975 / Paolo Monti. - Strisce: 3, Fotogrammi complessivi: 17&#160;: Positivo b/n, gelatina bromuro d'argento/ carta, provino a contatto da pellicola 35 mm. - ((Al verso: "2807". Confronta scheda 2807L01-17. - N.B. Possibile sottoserie (1): . - 9-17 = Ritratto bambino. - Fonte: Agenda di Paolo Monti: Leica 1501-3000 Controllo numerazione (1950-1978), presso Archivio Paolo Monti
context_page_description: A contact print is a photographic image produced from film; sometimes from a film negative, and sometimes from a film positive or paper negative. In a darkroom an exposed and developed piece of film or photographic paper is placed emulsion side down, in contact with a piece of photographic paper, light is briefly shone through the negative or paper and then the paper is developed to reveal the final print.
  The defining characteristic of a contact print is that the resulting print is the same size as the original, rather than having been projected through an enlarger.
context_section_description: Contact printing is a simple and inexpensive process. Its simplicity avails itself to those who may want to try darkroom processing without buying an enlarger. One or more negatives are placed on a sheet of photographic paper which is briefly exposed to a light source. The light may come from a low wattage frosted bulb hanging above an easel which holds them together, or contained in an exposure box with a plate of frosted glass on top. Accurate timing of the light comes with experience, but only a little experimenting leads to positive results. The negative and the photographic paper are placed on the glass plate of the exposure box. A hinged top-cover presses the negatives in close contact with the paper and keeps them in place. The paper is then developed and the result is called a contact print. 
  After exposure, the paper is processed using chemicals in the darkroom to produce the final print. The paper must be placed in a film developer bath, a stop bath, fixer, and finally the hypo-eliminator bath, in that order. Failure to adhere precisely to this process will result in a poor-quality final image with a variety of issues. 
  Ansel Adams describes procedures for making contact prints using ordinary lighting in his book, The Print.
caption: Contact print of a photo film cut in pieces, used for reviewing and selecting images for the final print. Photo by Paolo Monti, 1975.
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