f/stop printing and 0/00 filters for burning.

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Originally Posted by Rafal Lukawiecki

Just watch out for any excessive grain that may suddenly appear in otherwise smooth areas, such as the sky or clouds, when burning in with harder grades. While burning in with various grades is very useful, I feel that if you can burn it with the grade of the base exposure, it can make the print less complicated: both to make, and to appreciate.

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This is valid for those who care a lot about grain. While I don't particularly care about minimizing grain, tonality ranks #1 in my list of priorities of achievement in a print. Grain might be noticeable up close when you push your nose against the print, but tonality screams at you from across a room.

If you are burning in highlights then a #5 filter will give higher contrast - along with more grain, as previously noted. Burning with the same grade as you are using for the rest of the print may work best. Burning the highlights with a #00 will give about the same results as flashing.

If you are flashing to bring up the highlights then a #00 is, theoretically, the filter to use. In practical terms, however, it makes no difference. You can use the printing grade or white light to equal effect.

Giving an extra exposure with a #00 - such as using a #00 and a #2 1/2 - is the same as using split grade printing: the result will be a lower contrast print overall. Note there is no requirement for using only a #00 and #5 for split grade. Many split grade printers prefer a #0/#4 choice as they feel it gives better control; very few prints are made at the extremes of the contrast range. If you want something between #2 and #2 1/2 you can split the exposure between those two filters.