Negatives are capable of producing more 'steps' of density than prints (just as the human eye can discern more steps of density than film). The detail you see in the negs may not be reproducible on paper.
Is this something that recently started happening? If so, you need to figure out what you changed.
Have you tried the obvious: using a lower contrast grade of paper? And if possible, can you print them with a diffusion enlarger rather than a condenser enlarger?
How is your paper developing time? Can you increase the exposure and decrease the dev time?-- not too much-- less than perhaps half the manufacturer's suggested time might cause mottled prints.
Now, I'll step aside, and let someone enter with a truely brillant answer!
Greetings PS members, I don't expect a perfect answer to this silly question, but I'm curious what any of you would have to say. I have a roll of negatives that look perfect on the light table - I see detail in the shadows and the highlights, everything is sharp with good contrast - the highlights don't look as dense as they print, but they take a good deal of work to print. If the negative looks good on the light table, why should it be so contrasty on the paper? Happy Labor Day. Elias
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