PhotoHistory

From: THE PRACTICAL PRINTER,
A COMPLETE MANUAL PHOTOGRAPHIC PRINTING

By: Charles W Hearn, 1874

CUTTING THE PRINTS

There is no part of photographic printing that is more difficult, or shows more the taste, skill, and worth of a photographic printer than this simple (?) process (as it is called by some) of “cutting the prints.” Many have been the prints that have been ruined in the trimming that were otherwise good. What would be the value of a print that was brilliant and most beautifully toned if it had been ruined in cutting?

I have often been surprised that prints, which are so beautiful in other respects, should be so abominably cut out as some have been that I have seen, when, at a glance at the prints, we could see that, with this exception, the printer thoroughly understood his business, for even upon the closest examination of it, before it was even burnished, we could not see either weakness or coarseness of the paper in the slightest degree, too much bronzing in the shadows, lack of brilliancy, printed neither too dark nor too light, toned so finely that we cannot criticize it a particle, and, in fact, the whole print was a perfect gem, with this exception. We will pause here a moment and consider.

Undoubtedly all of those parts of this print which show workmanship were done by a workman, an excellent one too at that, whereas the trimming, which certainly does not show workmanship, was most probably not done by a workman, but by one who was not well learned; most probably by a boy, or a very careless assistant printer. It has very often been said, and I myself have heard the expression several times, that “any one can trim prints who has been in a printing-room two days;” and I must here beg leave to differ, for, on the contrary, it takes YEARS instead of days to trim them as they should be; and it is owing to the belief of many photographers in the quotation I have above cited, that the almost inexperienced help is told to trim the prints (so as to keep them busy, you know!) while the foreman printer and his experienced assistants are printing, &c., with only this advice (and often not that), “to be sure and have the nose or mouth come in the center of the print.” This part of the work should be entrusted only to an experienced person with a correct eye and good judgment as to the effect required in the finished picture.

In the cutting of the prints there are a variety of rules to be observed which tend towards the prints being properly cut, and, although it is in some cases almost utterly impossible to give rules that will reach them, not knowing the style, &c., of the prints, as almost every operator poses differently, yet a very great number of cases can be hit by the rules which will be given below.

The implements, &c., that are used in cutting the prints are:

• One large plate glass, 10 x 12 inches in size, for cutting the print upon, and in case you cannot obtain a plate glass, a thick, level, ordinary glass of the same size will answer.
• One whetstone.
• One Robinson’s Photograph Trimmer.
• One pair of large shears.
• One shoemaker’s knife.
• One glass, size 7-3/4 x 9-3/4 inches, for cutting 8 x 10 prints.
• Two 4-4 glasses, one 6-1/2 x 8-1/2 inches, for ordinary 4-4 mounts, and one 6 x 8 inches, for prints that are to be mounted on lithographic mounts.
• One oval 4-4 brass mat guide, size of opening 5-3/4 x 7-3/4 inches.
• Two Imperial size glasses, one 4 x 5-3/4 inches, which is the size generally used, and one 4-1/2 x 6 inches, which is used when an Imperial glass is wanted a little larger for special cases.
• One Victoria glass, size 2-3/4 x 4-1/2 inches.
• Two cartes de visite glasses, one 2-1/4 x 3-5/8 inches, which is the ordinary size, and one 2-3/8 x 3-3/4 inches, which is made larger for the same reason as the Imperial.

When the latter glass is used the prints should have been printed upon large card pieces, as the pieces that are obtained, as has been shown on a previous page, are a trifle small for the last-named glass. If printers wish to obtain a great number of small card pieces from a sheet of paper, they will then have to have their card-glasses shorter.

Have places for these things, and always keep them in their places, except, of course, when in use. Prints larger than 8 x 10 inches are very seldom cut, either before finishing or after, for they are mounted upon plain “No. 1 Extra” cardboard, size of said cardboard varying according to the intended size of the prints, and covered with either oval, square, or arch-top mats, and framed with the mats placed next to them.

Although these large prints are not cut to any particular size before toning, they are trimmed and their edges cut cleanly, so that they will not be so likely to tear in the water, during the future operations which they are destined to go through.

In many galleries the 4-4 prints are not cut to any particular size, but trimmed as the larger prints are, and mats are also placed over them when they are about to be framed.

Considerable saving can be made, as regards the expense of a mat every time a print is framed, if the prints are cut to the exact size and style before toning, as is the case in regard to the common carte. For instance: If you were to cut your 4-4 prints either oval or square before toning, the prints could then be mounted upon your 4-4 cardboard, which was prepared for it, and, as will be shown below, you can save considerable money in the course of a year or two by so doing, of course in a greater or less degree according to the amount of business the photographer has.

To do this, however, it is necessary to have mounts prepared especially for the purpose, for if the prints were mounted upon the plain cardboard, and no mat placed over them when framed, the effect would not be at all pleasing.

In many galleries the prints are cut as described above, and mounted upon cardboard ornamented with gilt stripes, in the oval and square forms, inside of which forms the prints are carefully mounted.

Below the mounted photograph the photographer has his name printed in small gilt letters. A print cut oval and mounted upon one of the oval mounts has the appearance of having an oval mat over it, with the advantage of having your name printed on it. A great objection to this is that of having to choose the frame at the time of making your choice of picture, so that the check can be made out properly, thus enabling the operator to mark on the negative either square or oval, which means to cut the 4-4 print square or oval, according to what is marked on said negative.

For instance, a lady wanted a 4-4 arch-top, and on choosing the frame at the time she decided on the style of print; she chose a square one, and the check being made out properly (having all the particulars on it), and being passed to the operator when she entered his domain, he reserved his part of it, and sat her according to orders upon it, and marked the negative as per check: One 4-4 Arch-Top, No. (of negative). Often the words, cut square, are placed on the negative; but in this case, when the style is an archtop, it is not necessary, because the print cannot, with taste, be cut any other way.

When the print is to be mounted upon a lithographic mount, the operator marks on the negative L. M., and then the printer also marks the same letters on the back of the print before it is toned, being sure in doing so that he marks in the shadow or drapery part of the said print, and the mounter, as she pastes the print, sees the marks, and consequently mounts such prints upon the lithographic mounts.

If the lady had chosen an oval frame, she would have to have a vignette style of print to look well, and the negative should then be marked (also as per check): One 4-4 Vig., No. (of negative), cut oval. Of course prints that are printed either in medallion, square, or arch should be cut square, except in a few cases when the prints are printed plain; then they can sometimes be cut in the oval form if desired.

To those photographers who are not in the habit of this mode of working the above may appear to be very complicated, but it is so arranged in every well-regulated gallery, and where there is perfect system throughout the establishment. It is one of the most perfect ways, as regards system, connected with the orders, that there is known, and it is very seldom any mistake occurs when once the plan is in good working order.

It might be supposed that this would cause trouble when duplicates are wanted from the negatives, but that is not so, for when duplicates are ordered from frame-photographs (i. e., those photographs which are to be framed), the patrons almost invariably order the same style of frame and print that was before purchased, and the printer is thus greatly benefited, because he knows how to print every duplicate that is ordered from “old negatives,” and when there should happen to be a variation in the style of frame and print, the thinking photographer will readily invent some way to prevent mistakes. The above, however, is calculated to be followed out by those photographers whose customers make their selection as to how they want everything done, but when, as in the gallery of Mr. Sarony, and also of Mr. Howell of New York, the photographic artist chooses the style best suited for them, &c., and the printers print the order as they think best, no such way is required, and a more simple manner will answer.

When the prints are to be cut in an oval form, the excellent tool known as the Robinson Photograph Trimmer is indispensable. (See Fig. 37.) It does its work so quickly and so well, that no one can estimate it too highly. It will outwear a gross of knives, and does its work better, without tearing the prints. Guides that can be used with it are furnished at a trifling cost.

This trimmer, by the way, is also an excellent thing to use in cutting medallions and masks whenever you may wish to make them.

When you are about to cut square 8 x 10 prints the plate-glass is first laid down on a level bench and the print on it, and upon the print is laid the glass that is used in cutting the print. Adjust this latter glass, and with the shoe-knife cut a quick and clean cut on all sides of and close to it. If you choose you can cut the other sized prints, such as the Imperial and Victoria, by the aid of the shoe-knife and the proper glasses. I have recommended a shoe-knife because it is cheap, costing only about twenty cents; then again, it is better handled than a penknife.

When cutting with the glass and knife place two or three fingers of the left hand firmly yet lightly upon the glass, and cut with the knife in the right hand, cutting around the glass, shifting the elbows a little to one side or the other as occasion requires.

The Robinson Trimmer will also answer for cutting square prints with a very slight round corner. There are a great many printers who use the knife altogether in the cutting of the prints, and then again there are many who use the shears. I generally use the shears for cartes and Imperials, but for larger prints I use the knife.

It may appear to be a small matter for me to write here how you should use your glass and shears in cutting, yet there is one thing which if observed will save your cutting glasses, and also save your shears from getting dull so quickly; it is this:

Many persons in using the shears cut down at the lower part of the glass at an angle, so that the blades of the shears run along the edges of the bottom part of the glass-guide, and consequently the glass is very soon nicked, and in a short time some of the corners are broken off, and the glass is worthless. Now this is owing to the style of cutting (or chopping] with the shears, because every time you cut a print you also cut the glass, or try to. You should allow the blades of the shears to fall parallel to that side of the glass at which you may be cutting, and you will save your glasses, and also prevent the shears from getting dull so quickly.

The rules which will perhaps help the beginner in cutting the prints are the following:

1st. Never have the nose or chin higher than the middle of the print, if the head is of an ordinary size, and the print is printed plain.

2d. Allow a trifle more space on that side of the print toward which the head is turned, being careful not to allow too much, however, as very often the shoulders suffer by the abuse of this rule.

3d. If the print is to be a carte de visite, and the head is very large, it ought to be cut higher up in the print than otherwise, so as to obtain plenty of the body to balance the head.

4th. In cutting out a print, when the figure is leaning on a table, chair, &c., always cut in enough of the accessory to give an air or look of solidity to the base of the print.

5th. Always lay your glass, when you are about to trim the prints, in the same direction as the body is, providing it is not leaning on a table, for then, of course, you must represent the idea of leaning, but when there is no such idea to be conveyed then trim as before said, so that the body will not appear to be leaning too far forward or backward, and thus give the beholder the idea of falling.

6th. Sometimes by cutting the print so that the person will appear to be leaning slightly backward, the effect is very good, providing the figure is that of a large Berlin head. Look out that you do not overdo this, however.

7th. If the print is printed in a medallion or arch-top you should cut it so that there will be as much of the tinted border show on one side as there is on the other, and as much at the top as there is at the bottom, and always cut prints that are printed in either of these styles in the direction that the oval or arch-top may be, and never cut them so that the cut and the oval or arch-top will lay in different directions. To do this you must be sure, in placing on the oval or arch-top for printing, that you get them to lay in the right direction.

8th. If the figure is a standing one, and the whole of it can be cut in the print, then do so, and not cut in only part of it, as is very often done.

9th. If it is a sitting two-thirds figure, then do not think of such a thing as having the nose or chin come in the center of the print, as per rule 1st, but have it come considerably higher up in the print, being careful, however, that you do not get it too high.

10th. Sometimes there are groups of two, three, four, or even five persons in a carte de visite photograph, and, in cutting out these kind of prints, be sure that sufficient of the drapery on either side is cut in, as the neglect of that will make these outside persons appear very slender, being no balance to the figures; and, for such cases as these, either in the small card or the Imperial, we have made the larger glasses to cut with as described above.

11th. If the figure is a standing one of a lady (a bride), with a long-trail dress, and leaning on a chair, then in cutting, not only cut the print so that you will give the idea of leaning on the chair, but cut a very great portion of the dress in, even if the figure of the lady herself is over to one side of the print, for the face is turned (or should be) towards that direction, and you can trim as above, without danger of hurting the looks of the print, for, on the contrary, you will greatly improve it.

12th. When the background of the print is one that shows interiors or exteriors, such as the panels of doors, or a set of perpendicular rows of columns, &c., always cut the prints so that these uprights will be parallel to the sides of the trimmed print, and the cross-panels parallel to the base of it. This kind of a background is more often found in the large prints, more especially so when the “Bendann Backgrounds” are used.

13th. In standing figures, very often the place where the floor meets the background comes in sight when the print is trimmed, and in such cases you should always cut the flooring parallel to this line; and, in the great majority of cases, if the position is properly made, the figure will lean in the proper direction by the observation of this simple rule.

14th. Do not, when cutting prints, try to see how quick you can cut them, but how well, for a dozen well-trimmed prints are worth more than a hundred indifferent ones. First try and see how well, and then, after you have learned that, then see how quickly you can cut them.

The advice and instruction which we have endeavored humbly to give in this chapter, is intended for those persons whose experience at printing has not been so extended as ours, and it is emphatically for such persons that we have written the above, and not for learned printers.