The store will not work correctly in the case when cookies are disabled.
We use cookies to make your experience better.To comply with the new e-Privacy directive, we need to ask for your consent to set the cookies.Learn more.
8th April 2014
Further expanding its capabilities and services, California based ILFORD LAB US now offers Silver Gelatin Prints from digital files with a specially commissioned Fuji Frontier digital laser printer optimized for printing black and white images.
This ILFORD LAB US printing service draws on 130 years of ILFORD PHOTO expertise, producing the finest quality Silver Gelatin black and white prints; achieved using traditional ILFORD black and white chemistry and genuine ILFORD silver gelatin photog...
19th November 2013
Buy fabulous real silver gelatin black and white framed wall art photographs from the new House of ILFORD on-line store
House of ILFORD is a new and exciting addition to the services available from the well-established ILFORD LAB DIRECT photographic process and print service based at the HARMAN factory in Mobberley, England.
HARMAN technology Limited is the company behind the famous and iconic ILFORD brand of black and white photographic products.
The House of ILFORD is the pl...
Photographic Paper FAQ's
Which paper product is best/suitable for photograms.
All of our ILFORD photographic papers will easily produce photograms, so the choice will depend on which surface finish you prefer and whether or not you want fibre or resin coated. Resin coated paper is lower cost, easy to process and dry flat and would be a good choice for starting out.
Does reciprocity affect paper?
Paper products are designed for much longer exposure times than film and are less sensitive to reciprocity...
The first stage of making a darkroom print is to determine the exposure time.
If you have already created a contact sheet of your negatives, and they appear correctly exposed, then you should have a rough idea of the necessary exposure (provided you haven’t moved the enlarger head or aperture setting after exposing the contact sheet). Note: If you change the degree of enlargement you will also need to adjust the exposure. Some enlargers have scales printed on their columns to make this easier.
Another...
What are film developers?
Film developers are a photographic chemical that turns your exposed film into working negatives as part of a processing workflow. (You will also need a stop bath and fixer - for more information on how to process your film or which chemistry to choose read our guides).
We offer a broad range of film developers that are designed to exploit the different characteristics of our films. Developers are available in either powder and liquid concentrate form and have a range of charact...
Having shot a roll of black and white film it now needs to be processed to create the negatives. At this point your film is still light sensitive so should not be exposed to light.
Processing your own film can be highly satisfying and cost effective. It is also easy to learn. The most common method for hand processing film is undertaken by using a Daylight Processing Tank. This piece of kit needs the film to be loaded on to a ‘spiral’ or ‘reel’, in the dark, and then enclosed in a light tight co...
Silver halide has been used in photographic film and paper for over 150 years and remains a vital ingredient found in all high-quality products. Silver halide crystals in gelatin form part of an emulsion which is used to coat the paper or film. On exposure to light (i.e. in a camera or darkroom), the crystals react turning into silver and forming the image.
Silver halide prints
There are many ways to produce black & white prints with options varying in quality. Traditional black & white silver ha...
Mounting your Prints
Even the most stunning print can look better when it has been properly mounted. Mounted prints are also better protected as they are kept flat with the image separated from the immediate surroundings by unobtrusive margins.
There are no hard and fast rules about mounting prints; the most suitable results will depend on individual preference, the nature of the image, the intended use and other circumstances.
It is recommended that only boards and other materials intended for the p...
Testing your Safelights
Safelights are an essential component in any darkroom set up. We recommend testing them annually, as ageing can change the transmission characteristics of the filters. This can cause visible fogging of the print or, more likely, a subtle but noticeable drop in contrast.
When setting up your safelights always read the instructions and don't exceed the recommended bulb wattage. Fitting a brighter bulb or mounting your safelight too close to your developing dishes, may cause degra...
Split grade printing
The version of split grade printing described here is that taught to me by the ILFORD head printers, Mike Walden and Terry Offord, and is the simplest, fastest way to make good darkroom prints from pretty much any negative. (The exception is really underexposed negatives to print these you usually only need high contrast).
This is a very powerful technique that can be used routinely with variable contrast (VC) papers, such as ILFORD MULTIGRADE. It makes use of the differing performa...