Hand-Printed Enlargements - Overview

From B&W negatives we craft custom hand-printed RC enlargements from wallet sized up to 20x24 inches. Sorry, no prints from digital or color films. All prints are available with a 1/4 inch or 1/8 inch white border, or borderless. We do not charge extra for simple cropping, (custom cropping is extra) and moderate Dodging and Burning (D&B) is included. You may specify contrast or let us choose for you. RC prints are available in lustre finish only. We offer toning in both classic sepia and selenium.



Hand-Printed Enlargements - Technical Details

All enlargements from our lab are hand-printed by master printer Lee Dubois on quartz-halogen multi-contrast enlargers equipped with Nikor lenses. He never uses the machine printing process. All custom hand-printed enlargements receive light to moderate dodging and burning (D&B) at Lee's discretion. If you have specific D&B instructions we charge an extra fee of $20 per print. We use a variety of true B&W photo papers including Ilford MultiGrade IV in pearl finish and (while our stock-pile lasts) Kodak Polycontrast IV paper in the "E" or Lustre surface. Both papers have beautiful rich blacks and brilliant whites. These prints have to be seen to be believed. Of course, all prints receive an archival wash.

For enlargements, our standard sizes range from 5x7 inches up to 20x24 inches. Sizes smaller than 5x7 are printed centered on 5x7 sheets. Custom sizes and full-frame prints are also available for the price of the sheet size required--for instance a 8x12 print must be made on an 11x14 sheet, please see our Rate Card). 16x20 and 20x24 prints are rolled and sent in tubes to avoid shipping damage. Our enlargements are available with a 1/4 inch white border or a 1/8 inch white border, or borderless. If you are going to mat your prints in pre-cut window mat board we recommend that you order borderless prints, as many brands of window mats are not cut precisely and the white border may show. If you are cutting your own mats or are having your prints professionally mounted, we recommend the prints with borders, as the border gives the print extra protection from atmospheric pollutants --the primary threat to print longevity.

We do not "spot" dust and chemical stains, or mask scratches, on prints made from film processed by a lab other than San Miguel Photo Lab. It is our policy not to fix mistakes made by other labs. If we've processed your film, you will get high-quality display-ready prints.

All prints receive infrared drying for maximum surface quality.

Print toning

We offer both classic sepia and selenium toning. For fully archival prints, image-permanence experts recommend selenium toning of all prints. In house testing here at the lab indicates that selenium toning triples the life of RC prints on display.



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