If you really want to get into this, read "Post Exposure" by Ctein. It is true that the range of tones on paper is much narrower than that of the film. That's why it is sometimes nice when the characteristic curve of a film/developer combination has a shoulder that compresses the high densities. Many of today's film/developer combinations, however, have no observable shoulder, which means their linear section stretches far beyond anything the paper can handle in a straight print. You may succeed in squeezing the high densities of the negative into the paper range by burning, and of keeping detail in the low densities by dodging, but the overall range of a given paper will remain the same, and is determined by the difference between its minimum and maximum densities. All you can do (by selecting a suitable grade, by dodging and burning) is apportion specified ranges of negative density to specified print densities. If you need more separation in the highlights, you can get that at the cost of separation in the other tones. Some of the older (aka "alternative) processes are much better at handling long-scale negatives, e.g. platinum printing, but they mostly rely on contact printing from large-format negatives.(posted 8943 days ago)Back again to your last post: Personally, being a physicist, I wouldn't call it magic. But you are in fact right. Still: There is no shortcut. You have to do your own testing to get to know your material. Then you will know which combination of film, developer, film processing, paper, and paper processing will best suit your intention in a specific case (for it will not always be the same). I would second the opinions expressed so far: Go out, burn some film, make prints, and learn. Start with standard material, see where it matches your needs, and get other material to fill the gaps. In due time, your style will EVOLVE.