Generally speaking, new silver gelatin prints are expensive. There are many factors that influence the cost of a photo print, but most relevant in 2025 is economy of scale. Because of the relatively low number of printers working in the medium, the companies creating these materials must charge quite a bit.

The prices you’ll find here for silver gelatin prints are intentionally low. I believe that everyone deserves to have the option to own quality art, and this is something I am able to do at this time. In the future, I would like to sell on a platform that allows me to sell prints based on a sliding income scale.

For context and transparency, let’s break down the cost of making a single 4×5” print similar to the ones available here:

• Film - working with 4×5” film of reasonable quality, we’re looking at almost $2 per exposure. Consider the number of photos one might take before getting it 100% correct. This could be one, or it could be four or more.

• Silver Gelatin Paper - 5×7” silver gelatin paper of reasonable quality runs about $1 per sheet. Darkroom printing is a process that involves dialing in a final product. It always takes multiple sheets to make a suitable print for the first time. Once a print is dialed in, it can be reproduced indefinitely, so you can imagine the up front cost as spread over the number of prints that are made for a given edition.

• Mat Board - Surprisingly expensive! Museum quality, archival mat board sized to 11×14” as is featured in many of the products, can be $15-20 per print. Mats also need to be cut to size, a time consuming and tedious process.

• Miscellany - Chemicals, tape, notebooks, and other tools are somewhat negligible in price on a per print basis, but they do add up and need to be constantly repurchased.

• Labor - I thoroughly enjoy all aspects of making photos (except cutting mats), but there is a good deal of time that goes into creating a single print. Spending a day in the field will typically yield three photos I’d like to print. Then that film needs to be processed. Once the film is processed, the print can be made. On a good day, I can create a small edition of five in about 2.5 hours in the darkroom. After the prints are created, they are toned, for depth and archival fastness. Finally, prints need to be pressed and mounted.

I don’t mention this offhandedly, or intend it to come off in any elitist way, but it is a genuine breakdown of cost and labor that goes into creating a print for you. I am proud of my work, and I hope you’ll be proud to hang one of my prints on your wall someday.

- Ryan