For most photographers contact printing is a chore. Those working with transparencies or colour negatives don't have to bother with it anyway. Black and white workers tend to use contact printing to check that the focussing and composition are correct, and there is a small body of photographers who don't bother with this stage in the process at all. Zone system enthusiasts use contact printing to check the correctness of their camera exposure and film development by exposing the contact to obtain the first maximum black on the edge of the film.

Finally, there are those who make contact prints as a part of their day to day output. Contacting from two and a quarter square, five by four, five by seven, ten by eight, or bigger takes you into a world of precise, sharp and delicate tonalities which are impossible with conventional enlargements. If you don't believe this claim, then get hold of some old glass plate negatives from a junk shop or jumble sale and try printing them. You will probably need to print them on grade one or two to appreciate their quality. In any case it will be good practice for what is to come. If you are going to explore the possibilities offered by old processes, then contact printing is the essence and the core of all that you do.