The Darkroom

The Darkroom

Setting up and equipping a basic darkroom.

How far do you want to go?, well, if you want a professional darkroom then read a book, for, as you will soon find out, my interests always include saving my time and energy wherever possible, while still achieving the end result.

How dark is dark enough?

   Well, again it all depends on how many corners you want to cut... lets face it black and white paper is so slow that you can process at night with the curtains closed in a dark-bedroom... Hmmm, simple.

   Films can be loaded in a dark-bag, made from fabric, (the light-safety of which has been tested by holding up to a light bulb)

   A small room is luxury, a cupboard large enough for the enlarger would be ok, if you process your paper in a light tight developing tank... (which has the added advantage of saving money on amounts of chemicals used)

  A walk in cupboard would make a great permanent darkroom and heck, you can justify the use with the "But where else would I store all this stuff, but in the cupboard" excuse. With some thick black cloth and Velcro, you can make it light tight in seconds.

Safelights...

  Ok, here is a nice place to cut corners... Firstly, if you are working with film then just don't bother... Learn to work in pitch black, since the faint green safelight for panchromatic films is just too weedy to see... If you really need help, then use stick glowing phosphorescent labels, but not too many, just enough to locate items in the dark.

   It is amazing what you can get away with B+W paper. Remember, its not just the colour of a safelight which counts...(brownish for B+W papers, red for ortho film) It is the distance the light is away from the paper, *and* the time the paper is exposed to the light.

  In the past, I have used a red light bulb on a dimmer switch... (at quiet close range too), an electric fire! (in a large room in the corner - not very safe, in either meaning of the word, but ok for short periods), etc etc

  However it must be remembered when you cut corners during the process, it is important to realise you are doing so, so that if for example a grey fog starts appearing and you can't get rid of it, you *know* its because you cheaped out and bought a red bulb from Woolworth's instead of a 'proper' safelight.

  Last word on safelights, remember, the enlarger is set up with the lights on, the paper can be developed in a tank, so you only need to get a sheet of paper out and place it under the enlarger... do you *really* need a safelight?

General Points.

   Processing equipment is dealt with as it is needed in the other sections, here I will talk about what other necessities will arise.

   Facilities such as running water are great for a professional set up, but you can get away with just access to a sink.

   Some form of ventilation is important. Especially if you have open trays of chemicals.

   Paper towels (and lots of them) and old newspapers, oh and a LOCK on the door!

A page from James David Chapman's website. Located at: http://www.users.globalnet.co.uk/~jchap/ Site mirrored here at: http://www.j.chap.btinternet.co.uk
This page last updated: My rating for the page: