ADJUSTING THE VIGNETTER.
The printer, having placed the negative in the frame, holds it up to the light to adjust the vignetter in front of it, so that the negative is between it and his eye. Should the lights appear not to spread cotton wool over these parts as suggested having first of all, however, fixed the vig netter to the front of the frame with pins to prevent, moving. When vignetting by print-out methods, which should be those first employed, the picture must be looked at occasionally, and if the image is found to be spreading too much, or too little, or unequally, the vignetter may be altered accordingly. When the vig nette has spread too little, it is easy to break it open ; but when it has spread too much, the best plan is to stick a sheet of tissue paper over the opening and to paint the surplus portion with Bate's black, taking the frame into the printing room, and holding it up to the light for the purpose. Of course, such an alteration, to be of any use, needs to be made in the early stages of printing. When printing by development processes the vignetter should invariably be covered by a sheet of tissue paper, except perhaps in the platinotype process, as the quicker the printing the greater will be the tendency to hardness in the result. Tissue paper
has been found to increase the exposure three times, and, although the trans parency of tissue paper of different qualities must vary, there seems to be surprisingly little difference in these. The portion of the frame in relation to the to keep vignette frames on the move throughout exposure, by turning them round occasionally ; this increases the softness of the result. At some estab- 1 lishments, the frames are laid on a board, I suspended from an arm by means of a I bottle jack, as shown in Fig. 248. The I prints are thus kept continually on the move. Sonic twisted wool or string could be made to take the place of the bottle jack, it being then necessary to give the board I an occasional swing. Such arrangements admit of printing in a brighter light. These are the methods of obtaining an ordinary vignetted picture.