Make your first print
Every display, paper, and chemistry combination is slightly different. Begin with the calibrated defaults, then use a test strip to establish your own baseline.
- Prepare the iPad. Clean the display, remove anything that keeps the paper from lying flat, and open Bromyde Contact full screen.
- Choose the real paper size. Select the matching preset or create a custom size. Contact prints are rendered at exact physical 1:1 size.
- Set the image. Choose the crop, contrast grade or split-grade recipe, exposure time, and Image Intensity before entering the protected exposure screen.
- Make a test strip. Use the same paper, developer, temperature, and agitation you plan to use for the finished print.
- Change one variable. Adjust time, intensity, grade, or tone separately so each print tells you what improved.
Fix a print problem
Start with the finished print. Choose the symptom that most closely matches what you see.
The print looks soft
Clean the display, remove any screen protector that adds distance, and confirm the paper lies flat with its emulsion toward the screen. A light, flat object can help hold the paper in contact with the display, such as the free 3D-printable paper press. Use as little weight as possible and never apply heavy pressure to the iPad. Leave Glass Compensation at its calibrated defaults. If detail remains soft, raise Blur Width slightly; if edges become harsh, return to the default.
Black areas or borders print gray
On an LCD iPad, backlight can pass through nominally black pixels during a long exposure. Make a test strip at a lower Image Intensity and avoid unnecessarily long exposure times. OLED displays have a natural advantage because black pixels emit no light.
Exposures vary between sessions
Confirm that you used the same iPad, saved negative, paper, grade, exposure time, and Image Intensity. Then check developer dilution and temperature, development time, and agitation. Print Test Mode can label each calibration print with its recipe.
The printed size is wrong or unavailable
Use the app full screen and select the paper size before exposing. Only sizes that physically fit within the active iPad display can print at true 1:1. If a standard preset does not match your paper, create a custom size within the available screen area.
Do I need an OLED iPad?
No. Bromyde Contact supports LCD iPads and controls exposure at very low output. OLED provides cleaner blacks and less stray light, while LCD requires more careful test-strip calibration.
What the purchase unlocks
Bromyde Contact is free to download. Light Source mode is free. Printing from your own photos is unlocked by the Digital Negatives in-app purchase.
What does Digital Negatives unlock?
Exposures and test strips made from a digital negative, plus the Glass Compensation and Print Test Mode sections in Settings. Importing photos, the positive preview, tone, dodge and burn, crop, and film character are free, so you can prepare a negative from your own photograph before deciding. Light Source mode, including its own Expose and Test Strip, needs no purchase.
Expose and Test Strip show a lock
You are in Negative mode without the Digital Negatives purchase. The buttons still open and show what the purchase covers. Light Source mode is unaffected. In Darkroom mode, Bromyde asks you to switch to Studio first, because the App Store purchase sheet is not paper safe.
Glass Compensation and Print Test Mode are missing from Settings
Both sections stay hidden until Digital Negatives is unlocked. Neither one affects a Light Source exposure, so there is nothing for them to change until you print from a digital negative.
Restore a purchase, or use it on a second iPad
Digital Negatives is charged once and stays unlocked on your Apple Account. Sign in with the same Apple Account, open Settings, and use Restore Purchase under Purchase Options. Do this in Studio mode: Restore Purchase opens a system screen that is not darkroom safe.
Understand the settings
Global Settings affect the working environment and every print. Editor controls apply to the selected negative or light-source setup.
- Darkroom Backlight Intensity
- Sets the brightness of menus and setup screens in Darkroom mode. It does not change exposure output. Set it to a comfortable viewing level.
- Start Delay
- Gives you 0–30 seconds to position the paper after you tap Expose or begin a test strip. Choose enough time to work safely without rushing.
- Glass Compensation
- Pre-sharpens the digital negative to counteract softening through the iPad cover glass. This section appears once Digital Negatives is unlocked.
- Fine-Tuning
- Blur Width models the softness being reversed; Smoothing controls how gently compensation is applied.
- Print Test Mode
- Prints recipe values along the image edge, including grade, time, intensity, device model, tone, and Glass Compensation. Use it to label prints during calibration. It applies to digital-negative prints only, so this section appears once Digital Negatives is unlocked.
- Exposure Time
- Controls how long the paper receives light. Once intensity is in a useful range, time is usually the simplest variable to refine with a test strip.
- Image Intensity
- Controls light output during exposure, independently of Darkroom Backlight Intensity. Calibrate it separately for each iPad.
- Grade, Crop & Tone
- Grade controls paper contrast, Paper Size sets physical output dimensions, and Crop and Tone shape the result. Set these before entering the exposure screen.
Improve sharpness and consistency
Treat the display, cover glass, and paper as one optical system. Reduce distance and stray light, and change one variable at a time.
- Use clean, bare glass. Remove dust and fingerprints. When safe, remove a screen protector or case lip that prevents flat contact.
- Keep the app full screen. Do not print in Split View, Slide Over, or Stage Manager. Full screen preserves physical 1:1 sizing.
- Calibrate each iPad separately. Display output differs by model and panel. Make a new test strip when moving a recipe to another device.
- Place the emulsion toward the display. Use only gentle, even contact. Never clamp the iPad or place heavy glass on it.
- Hold the paper flat with a light press. Free STL files for a paper press in 3.5×5, 4×6, and 5×7 are on MakerWorld. Print it and set it on the paper. It holds the paper against the glass without adding weight to the iPad.
- Judge Glass Compensation on paper. Compare developed prints before changing Blur Width or Smoothing.
- Re-test after material changes. Make a new test strip after changing paper, developer, temperature, grade, display, screen protector, or Glass Compensation.
Protect your paper in the darkroom
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