Correct exposure for what? Making prints? No such thing as
"correct exposure" (i.e., a standard exposure.) Base
exposure varies from film to film and paper to paper.

I'd suggest a real step wedge for sensitometric applications.
Don't really understand all this fascination with doing basic,
simple darkroom stuff with a computer and printer. Waste of
(much) excess time..

Called a step wedge.

Go here http://www.stouffer.net/

Get a 21 step wedge. If your doing real darkroom work as opposed
to computer futzing a real step wedge is the best bet.

If you mean lay over a projected print Kodak makes/made a gadget called a
projection print scale, make a test print for 60 seconds through the scale
and pick the piece of the wedge that has the best exposure and expose for
the indicated time.  Kind of a crutch, once you get the hang of things it's
probably a waste of time.

What do you find daunting about making test strips?

BTW - consider using F-Stop timing/metrics regardless of whether you go with
some gadget or not.

Kodak Projection Print Scale

You may be talking about the Kodak Projection Print Scale. I don't know if
they are still available; last time I saw one was in high school (1970's--
no comments, please!). The teacher showed it to us, explained how it worked,
and told us he would personnally keep the a.s of anyone using one of them!

The device is/was clear, about 5"x7", with a 10 or 12 slice "pizza". Each
slice was a bit more dense than the last one, with the exposure seconds
indicated. The device was placed over the printing paper and exposed with
your neg for one minute. After developing, you determined which slice looked
best, read off the exposure, and that was your starting exposure.

Pros: neat, clean, no thought required.
Con: the slices were so small that each one only showed the exposure for a
bit of your neg.

If I were given one of them, I would probably hang it on the wall as a
curiosity. Using a half or quarter sheet of printing paper and a piece of
black paper gives me much more flexibility. I can place the test print at
the area of interest, and expose it to times that suit the needs of the neg
in use.

(For anyone who doesn't know what a test print is: Set up your enlarger with
the neg in place. Put a sheet of photo paper on the easel. Cover all but 1/5
with an opaque card, expose for 5 seconds, uncover another 1/5, expose for 5
more seconds, uncover another 1/5, expose... Develope normally. You now have
a print with 5 different exposures. Pick the best one and go to it!)

Ken Hart

jaedend@charter.net (Jed Savage)

 Position your film strip in the carrier so that the
clear area twixt two frames is centered.
 Make a three exposure test strip then process. Evaluate
that clear area. Your exposures should be such that one of
them produces as black a black as you will care for in any
of the adjoining frames.
 If you are experienced and/or lucky the first test will
tell. The method is called, minimum exposure for maximum
black. After that it is one's subjective view of the
print which determines the best exposure.              Dan