Push Printing

Push Printing, also known as push processing or push developing, is the method of processing the film so that it appears to have had a higher film speed than it actually had when the photo was taken. “Pushing” the film can occur either the developing or printing process to enhance the picture’s resulting contrast.

When pushing the film during its development, a photographer will leave the negative in the developing fluid for a longer period of time. However, when a single frame of the negative has been pushed, the entire roll must be pushed to maintain the quality and integrity of the roll. Similarly, once push printing has been done, it is permanent.

If a photographer wants to use push printing, he will get better results if he pushes the film during the development, rather than during the printing process. Yet, because the photo paper (not the negative) is being treated with the developer, push printing at this stage allows the photographer to experiment with different degrees of “pushing.” Additionally, the negatives can be printed within their assigned film speed.