Making a contact/proof sheet in the darkroom

1. You can have the safelight on when making a Black&White contact print, but not for a color contact print.
2. If you are using an enlarger, adjust the height of the enlarger so that the light will cover an entire sheet of paper.

Measure the height of the enlarger, on the column, and record this measurement in your notebook. You will want to make all future contact proof sheets with the same setting.

3. Place the paper on the easel, or on the baseboard, or on the countertop, depending on where your light source is located.
4. Put the negatives, emulsion side down, on the paper, the strips should not overlap, but be butted against each other.
5. Place a sheet of glass over the negatives, pressing them against the paper.
6. Expose the paper to light. you will need to make a test print.
7. Develop the print, when you have established the correct exposure, wash and dry the print.

When making your test print, instead of looking at the blacks in the pictures, look at the edges of the film, where the sprockets are. Establish an exposure / f-stop combination that is just enough to make the edges maximum black. The exposure strip that is just prior to this would show the edges as a little grayer than the holes in the sprockets.