Printing question from newbie

[SanMiguel]

Hello all,

I've recently joined the forum, getting back into the darkroom after a (very) long time. I've had a couple of printing sessions in my as yet un-finished but functional darkroom with reasonable results but I'm looking for someone with more experience than me to cast a critical eye over my process.

I apologise in advance for the long post but I think it helps to describe my process in some detail.

I'm using 35mm, FP4+ developed in Ilfosol3, Ilford Multigrade IV pearl paper and new below-the-lens Ilford filters. I use an RH Stopclock (earlier model) connected to my (diffusion) enlarger which means my timing is consistent. A rather battered Nova processor ensures my chemical temperatures are correct and I'm erring on the side of caution with regard to replenishment.

I'm stopping down 2 stops on my 50mm lens. On one negative with fairly even contrast (outdoor portrait on an overcast day) I got a decent print (16s) at grade 3.5. I was even able to burn in the foreground by 1/4 stop and the sky by 1/2 stop and I was pretty happy with the resulting print.

I then selected a negative with a wider range of contrast (some deep blacks and white highlights) and eventually settled for grade 4.5 and got a nice punchy print that I like.

To arrive at two decent prints took a lot of time, a lot of patience and a lot of test strips. Firstly, a test strip (or two) using grade3 filter to get a time that looked good (not too dark nor too light). And then another set of tests to arrive at a grade that looked good (not too murky nor too harsh). If this meant moving to grade 4 or above then I would need to re-do a test print for the times (although I'm aware that a x2 factor is mentioned with regard to grade 4 and above filters, this clearly isn't exact, or at least not for me and my setup).

So the final half-decent print arrived after perhaps 4, 5 or maybe more test prints - all of which I washed (as quickly as I dare - 5 mins max) and dried (microwave, low heat, slowly) before examining carefully (I'm not sure if 'dry-down' is an issue for RC papers, it seems to be mentioned more in relation to fibre paper). The 'examining carefully' part I find very challenging - are those blacks too dark/not dark enough? Are those highlights the 'correct' tone? Sometimes what appears decent on the test strip doesn't seem to work on a full print - I've taken to using my Comask to produce 4 small (4x5) test prints of the important area of the negative at various grades/times before committing to a final print at 10x8.

Does my process seem appropriate? Is there anything I'm missing or can improve upon? I'm deliberately avoiding the use of exposure meters - these might come later but for now I want to learn my craft manually, so to speak.

Finally(!), are there any generic printing tests I could (should) do which would help my understanding of (a) what tones are achievable with the various paper grades and (b) how to achieve them? I'm happy to put considerable effort into this to get me started on the right track - I find the whole process absorbing as well as challenging and getting a decent print at the end of a few hours is very rewarding.

Thanks,
Michael