Contact Sheet

Contact print

Photopedia

23 October 2007 11:42

A contact print is a photographic image formed by placing an exposed and developed piece of film (it can be negative or positive type film), emulsion side down, and pressing it closely on to a piece of photographic paper – hence the name contact print.

Generally, this is achieved by placing the film and photographic paper beneath a piece of clear glass. This process must be conducted in darkness, or under a suitable safelight, before briefly shining white light through the film to form an image on the photographic paper, which must then be developed to create the contact print.