A density meter makes it very easy to scale up the settings without having to do further trial and error testing. In fact, by using a density meter, I can scale up the test settings to several different print sizes--all without the need for further testing.

Black And White Printing. When printing black and white negatives, the use of the density meter is pretty straightforward. After you have completed your trial and error testing, place the meter’s sensor in a smooth-toned area of the image and turn the meter’s dial until the little lights indicate that you have programmed the meter. Then, raise the enlarger head to the desired magnification and re-focus the enlarger. Next, place the meter sensor back in the same area of the image where you were before and this time, begin to slowly open the enlarger’s lens aperture until the little lights on the density meter indicate that the brightness is now the same as it was before.

You need to understand that a density meter does not measure contrast--at least not directly. If you want to measure the contrast range of a negative, you need to take a reading in the thinnest portion and the densest portion of the negative. Those two readings establish a ratio which can then be related to a contrast grade. Large ratios indicate high contrast; small ratios indicate low contrast. I’ve never been very successful at doing this. The trick to it is where you take the two readings. You want to take the highlight reading in an area of the print where there is just barely some tone value. That is very hard to determine when looking at the projected image on the easel.

With a little experience you will be able to create several programs in the density meter. I have programmed mine for a typical skin tone, and for D-max. Using the programs saves me a lot of trial and error testing since the density meter will tell me how to set the lens aperture before I even make the first test print, regardless of the magnification and/or the density of the negative. I use skin tones because their density level is more constant from one picture to the next than other things such as the sky, grass, trees, etc. Of course, there are all the variations of skin tones such as shadows and highlights as well as different density levels resulting from makeup, suntanning, and ethnic and gender differences.

Of course, the density meter is not foolproof, so it is usually necessary to do a little trial and error testing. But, using the meter sure helps to reduce the amount of testing necessary.