Processing a Digital Camera Film Paper

The developing of paper means amplifying the effect the exposure light has on the emulsion (latent image), to give different densities on the paper. The time required for the developing is specified by the paper or chemical's manufacturer, an may vary between 30 seconds (fast laminated paper and it's corresponding developer) and 2 minutes, at a temperature of 20 º C.

Developing paper, tests or prints, has to be done completely. The consequence of an insufficient developing in the print is a partial tonal range, without separation in the shadows, since greater densities haven't finished forming; the aspect of the image is flat and dirty. If during developing we see that the exposure level has been excessive we can't do anything to save the print.

The developer, depending on the type of paper, can influence in the tonality of the gray range, from a cold gray (slightly blue), to a warm gray (slightly brown).

The stop bath isn't completely necessary, but it lengthens the life of the fixer, as well as it's efficiency. It is a solution of acetic acid in water (5-15 by 100) which neutralizes the alkalinity of the developer and stops the developing. The length of the stop bath is 30 (resin coated paper) and 60 seconds (fiber based paper).

The fixing makes the image that appears on the print after developing permanent, eliminating the silver salts that haven't received an exposure from the emulsion. This way, only the silver image remains on the base of the paper. The fixing time varies between 30 seconds (fast resin coated and it's corresponding developer) and five minutes (fiber paper).

An insufficient fixing causes photosensitive substances to remain on the paper; these start reacting when we take the print out to the light. The effect isn't observable until after some time, when the print start to show spots or veiling.

If we don't have running water, we can store finished prints in a tray with water, although it is not good for a laminated paper to be submerged for too long. For fiber based paper, in this moment a fixer elimination bath is recommendable, which lasts two minutes and enormously reduces washing time.

The washing of the prints has to be made with running water in a sink or tray. The renewal of the water doesn't have to be fast, but continuous, making sure that the clean water covers the surface of the prints before exiting. The wash tie is of 4 minutes for laminated paper, 30 minutes for fiber paper and 5 minutes for fiber paper treated with the fixer removal.

Laminated paper dries fast in air, specially if after it is washed we strain the water off. It should remain flat during almost all of the processing and after drying. It can be dried with warm air, being careful that it doesn't leave dust on the surface of the print.

Fiber based paper doesn't recover its shape when drying. It is necessary to place the print on a flat surface, and at the same time, let the humidity evaporate. The devise to dry and enamel fiber based prints is the enameller , made up of a metal iron, an electric warming system and a devise that presses the print against the iron. If the paper is glossy, the emulsion is placed in contact with the iron; through effect of the heat, the surface of the paper receives a glassy enameled shine.