I make a contact sheet of each roll I shoot. I've been using whatever paper I use for my regular printing (currently Polymax). This is OK for 120 contacts, but 35mm contacts are on the border of useless, even using an 8X loupe. I'm wondering if using Kodak Azo paper, which I understand is designed for contact printing, is likely to produce more useful contact sheets? I gather from the Kodak web site that it is very slow and so not suitable for exposure under an enlarger, and it is fiber based. I assume it really is intended for making final prints by contact rather than enlargement, but if it will give more readable 35mm contact sheets than ordinary enlarging papers I'd be willing to put up with the added nuisance. Anybody have any experience with this?

-- Kip Babington (cbabing3@swbell.net), February 08, 1998

Answers

I have been using Azo for making contact prints from my 6x7, 4x5 and 5x7 negatives. Obviously, since my negatives are large, they are easy to see. Azo is very slow; exposures with ordinary room lights are 1-2 minutes. However, the paper is probably a grade 1 or 2, so it doesn't "block up" in the shadows or highlights. It provides a very readable proof.

Another problem is that it only comes in single weight (I think), which makes handling a little tricky.

Harold Todman

-- Harold Todman (harold_todman@dmr.ca), February 09, 1998.

Azo will certainly work. It is a lot slower than enlarging papers though. When I make contact sheets of small negs that I am going to enlarge, I try to make the contact sheet using the same paper and enlarger that I will use later for printing. This gives me a whole sheet of "test prints" at one time. I keep notes on the back on enlarger settings, times etc, so when it comes time to print, I can get pretty close on the first try, adding a bit to compensate for the sheet of glassused over the contacts. This will not work if you make your contact sheets with the film in a plastic sleeve though. The plastic adds density, and diffuese the image.

-- Tony Brent (ajbrent@mich.com), February 09, 1999.

Kip, Yes, Azo will certainly work. I have used it for 35mm proofs, but properly exposed and developed, so should almost any printing paper. You didn't say what the problem with the 35s was - other than small size, and Azo won't change that. If you have been using the same exposure as for actual printing of the projected negative, that may be the problem. You will need to calibrate exposure and development for the contact prints.

-- Richard Newman (rnewman@snip.net), February 10, 1999.