View Full Version : What is the most important
think I should consider, while trying to setup my DR? I did a search on Darkrooms, and read and saw plenty of darkroom examples. Since I'm just starting out with one, which will look very crude to some that I saw here, what is the one most important "factor" I should consider, to make sure I get off on the right foot?
TIA
Brian Ellis
5-Nov-2012, 06:17
Darkness
sound system
Got it covered :), question is.... What type of Music? I listen to Sirius XM all day, pumped through an amp in the studio with some BOSE speakers located at the front of the shop.
Maybe some Floyd's Dark side of the Moon?
Sound Check - Checked!
Brian, working on that today hopefully.
Ground fault interruptors for your protection.
A good large sink with temperature controlled running water.
Make sure your wife doesn't mind you disappearing for hours and hours on end, inside the damn house but unreachable except by shouting.
Paint the walls white, not black.
Really.
E. von Hoegh
5-Nov-2012, 07:43
A lock on the door.
ic-racer
5-Nov-2012, 08:06
think I should consider, while trying to setup my DR? I did a search on Darkrooms, and read and saw plenty of darkroom examples. Since I'm just starting out with one, which will look very crude to some that I saw here, what is the one most important "factor" I should consider, to make sure I get off on the right foot?
TIA
Since I already had a sink, the next thing in the construction of my darkroom that made if functional was the drying cabinet. Dust that settles on the film emulsion during drying is permanent.
Next important thing was a table for the enlarger and a electrical outlet for the enlarger.
Next important thing was a table or counter for the print trays.
Jobo processor followed.
Then 4x5 enlarger.
Then densitometers and sensitometers, pro-mixing graduates, Graylab timers, Seal Press, lenses, archival print washer, extra Jobo drums and reels, enlarger negative holders, enlarger footswitch, extra timers, heads, power supplies, 8x10 enlarger, additional 4x5 enlargers, etc. followed over the next decade, but were not essential.
ic-racer
5-Nov-2012, 08:09
Darkness
I used changing bags and daylight processing drums and printed at night for ten years until I recently got a light trap for my window.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v670/ic-racer/2012/Shade.jpg
You don't *need* running water in your darkroom. I have had four darkrooms, and only one had running water within the "dark" part of the darkroom. It is a nice thing to have, but if it is difficult or expensive to implement in your space, don't let it be a barrier to enjoying darkroom processes.
Pawlowski6132
5-Nov-2012, 08:41
I NEVER seem to have enough outlets at the right locations. You should really figure out what you need where and double it. Eventually, you will have different stations around for different things. Maybe different enlargers, light sources for contact printing, alt printing, timers, ambient lights, tacking iron, rotary processors, light box, fan, air purifier, print/film dryers, light for DBI, Safelights etc.
Give yourself plenty of sink space to grow. Will you ever need to accomodate 20x24 trays? How 'bout print washers?
Also, think about how and where you're going to store and organize your negatives and prints.
Right now, it's a space that is 8' wide by 20' long or so. It was a storage part of my studio. For lighting, I can use natural light from the 3 windows at the end near the back parking lot. All I have to do is remove the light box that hangs on them from gravity. I do have a shortage of power in there though. There won't be any running water, as of yet. I want to make sure I'm going to keep this, and use it, before getting someone in for plumbing, and a way to remove the water once used.
Shelving won't be a problem. My father in law will help out there. I stand there in the middle of the room trying to envision what I'll need and why. I'm waiting on my safe light and other associated hardware from another photographer, before I can move further, with actually doing some printing.
Storage of my negs is already a problem per se. They're all just stacked up in one pile right now.
Appreciate the tips...
Lenny Eiger
5-Nov-2012, 09:02
Best darkroom I had was when I lived in NYC. (1974-84). Everyone puts things out on the curb there and people just pick it up. I found a rug that was being tossed, as a new one was being put in, and I thought, well I'll put this one the darkroom floor. I won't have to care if I spill all sorts of stuff all over it. When its trashed I can just toss it... and pick up another free one. Then I found another one and put it right on top.... Double rug! I could stand at the sink for hours on end with no worries...
These days I might have to go to the rug store at the end of the day, or follow their truck around. After a sink, the rug would be by number one recommendation... then some music, of course...
Good luck,
Lenny
Drew Wiley
5-Nov-2012, 09:07
Good ventilation (but it has to be lightproof).
Tony Lakin
5-Nov-2012, 09:15
Why? the walls in my darkroom are matt black in order to absorb any stray light, the ceiling is painted white in order to bounce my safelighting.
Why? the walls in my darkroom are matt black in order to absorb any stray light, the ceiling is painted white in order to bounce my safelighting.
So you can see.
I made the mistake in my first darkroom of painting the walls black, and I could never find anything; I also tripped on stuff, banged into things, etc.
Get rid of any stray light, and keep the walls a light colour.
Michael E
5-Nov-2012, 10:32
Also, think about how and where you're going to store and organize your negatives and prints.
Don't store them in the darkroom. It has moisture and chemical residue in the air.
1. Ventilation. Keeping out the light also usually means keeping out the fresh air, and my last darkroom was in Texas, so it also meant keeping out the cool air. The less often you have to open the door, the more you'll get done.
2. The walls around the enlarger should be black, to keep light reflecting from the print paper from bouncing back down to it and fogging it slightly. The other walls should be light neutral gray or white. I worked once in a darkroom that had yellow walls--to reflect a safelight color. I don't know whether that worked, but it sure meant that when I turned on the lights to judge print, I had to go to another room. The less often you have to open the door, the more you'll get done.
3. Separate the wet side from the dry side. Load tanks, work under the enlarger, and anything else that is susceptible to moist fingerprints or spray should be done on the dry side, with its own counter-tops.
4. Build all work surfaces at tall counter height, even the sinks. If you have to lean over to work, the time you'll spend in the darkroom will be a literal pain in the back.
5. Build the enlarger frame into the wall, with bracing at the top. I mounted my D3 on a narrow shelf, and then used an adjustible shelf (about 30" square) to support the easel. I could lower that shelf all the way to the floor if necessary, which kept me from having raise the enlarger higher than I could reach.
6. Install things in process order. I put my trays in a sink, with the washer all the way to the right. The sink flowed to the right, so that the developer tray was always upstream from the stop bath tray and the fixer tray, etc.
7. Build a hand-washing sink separate from where you'll put your trays. You MUST wash your hands after dipping them in fixer before putting them in developer.
8. Don't depend on windows for natural light. Moving light traps from the windows will result in a Big Mistake eventually, when it falls unexpectedly or whatever. Put in a proper white viewing light. Then, put the switch for that light in a completely different switch box than the switch that turns on the safelights. I put the viewing light switch on the wall behind where I put my fixer tray. General room light was a ceiling fixture with a pull-chain. The wall switch next to the wall turned on the safelights.
Rick "just some scars" Denney
Tony Lakin
5-Nov-2012, 11:38
So you can see.
I made the mistake in my first darkroom of painting the walls black, and I could never find anything; I also tripped on stuff, banged into things, etc.
Get rid of any stray light, and keep the walls a light colour.
I have had poor eyesight all my life and have worked in darkrooms for most of it, never had a problem tripping over stuff or finding things, I guess it's a case of 'a place for everything and everything in it's place'.
Simple. Install the largest sink you can.
Since I'm just starting out with one, which will look very crude to some that I saw here, what is the one most important "factor" I should consider, to make sure I get off on the right foot?
TIA
Oh, wait a second ...I may have misunderstood the post. Push off with the left foot.
RichardSperry
5-Nov-2012, 16:32
My darkroom is a converted bedroom.
I don't find a sink in there essential or important, in the least.
Sink is in the bathroom. Samsonite plastic foldup table to set trays on is fine by me. Rinse prints in the shower in a developing tray with hosed shower head above it, that's my print washer.
Music is important. Pandora is good for that, it has requisite variety.
I watched a video of Adams where he takes a wet test print to the kitchen to put in the microwave to dry. Same sort of thing, I suppose.
joselsgil
5-Nov-2012, 17:13
I watched a video of Adams where he takes a wet test print to the kitchen to put in the microwave to dry. Same sort of thing, I suppose.
Adams was using a microwave oven to dry a test print. He wanted to see how the clouds looked once the print was dry.
At that time, microwave ovens were still very expensive and all I could think of was. Wow, I could never afford a microwave oven just to dry a wet photo print. This was back in the mid '70s.
Jose
Joseph O'Neil
5-Nov-2012, 18:26
I second a lock on the door, do so before you do anything else. Ventilation is good. but whatever you have, I find having a "place" ahead of time for everything really helps you find things in the dark and low light.
joe
Appreciate all the info guys. I'm so clueless as to what I'm doing right now, but that's slowly changing. Putting in a faux drop ceiling in the DR this a.m. I'm still contact printing in the bathroom right now, but hope that will change in the next week or so ;)
lab black
6-Nov-2012, 06:20
I agree with all the above suggestions; white or light colored walls except around the enlarger, keep negatives out of the darkroom, explore safelights and distance to unexposed paper, ventillation ( I've got vents spaced every 16 in along the bottom perimeter as well as larger Doran blowers at other heights (See Edwards Engineering site), filtered water system, I also have dish sprayers every 3 feet in the sink to spray hands between trays, quality music system, as mentioned, many, many electrical outlets, the height of my sink has been critical to a comfortable workflow to match my forearms at a working in tray level (approx 45 to 50 degrees flex at elbow) Turn off valves at al the water outlets, master electrical turn off, as few shelves that will gather dust as possible. I use craftsman tool chests without the wheels with counter tops built on top which provide instant drawers on glides. If it is manageble, a sink that will take 20x24 trays will somehow come in handy, as long as you are able to reach and touch the back wall of the sink, to turn off valves. I also have wooden epoxied and fiberglassed boxes with wheels that pull out from under the sink that hold chemicals so that all chemicals stay low to the ground. Drying screens are nice. I also have an old metal shop stool that I refurbished in black with crutch tips on the legs. It is nice when you have long negative developing schedules and want to sit for a bit to ease the strain on your back. I also have a light bar above the sink, five lights; one screw in safelight on each end and three white lights in the middle, all on pull cords. I also have boards that fit in sections on top of the sink. They can cover a portion of the sink or the entire sink. they have been very useful in providing working different types of working surfaces; i.e loading 120 film, spotting, looking at negs with a small or if necessary a large light box, loading large film, all sorts of things... lots of outlets and last, lots of outlets. Good luck!
Colin Graham
6-Nov-2012, 06:28
I used changing bags and daylight processing drums and printed at night for ten years until I recently got a light trap for my window.
I could really use one of those- I've been stuffing a giant black-out cork into my window for the last 10 years. Where did you find it?
Adams was using a microwave oven to dry a test print. He wanted to see how the clouds looked once the print was dry.
At that time, microwave ovens were still very expensive and all I could think of was. Wow, I could never afford a microwave oven just to dry a wet photo print. This was back in the mid '70s.
Jose
Actually, that movie was the John Huszar biography that FilmAmerican brought out in 1981.
Rick "still available at the AA Gallery, but with different and less interesting music behind the voiceovers" Denney
ic-racer
6-Nov-2012, 07:47
I could really use one of those- I've been stuffing a giant black-out cork into my window for the last 10 years. Where did you find it?
It was not an easy quest. I went with these people (seesawusa.com). It is a mom-and-pop operation that will order the shades from the shade company. Otherwise, trying to order direct is futile. SHY ZIPSHADE in UK would send direct but the shipping would have doubled the cost of the blind.
http://www.apug.org/forums/forum43/97233-blackout-blinds-casstyle-vs-shy-zipscreen-vs-hunter-douglas.html#post1415633
mike rosenlof
6-Nov-2012, 10:40
Dust control is important. For that reason, I'd never have a rug in a darkroom, but some may have a means to have a rug and no dust. I run an electrostatic air cleaner, and keep the door shut unless there's a good reason to have it open.
My darkroom is painted light yellow. It's OK to bounce 'safe' light around, so fix the white light leaks and let the walls reflect the light in there. The yellow might absorb some 'unsafe' light from the blue end of the spectrum, but really not much. If your enlarger leaks a lot (all leak some!), the darker walls around the enlarger are OK.
If you have some way you can have a flor drain, go for it. If you ever have a spill it will be easier to mop up thoroughly. I don't have one of these.
joselsgil
6-Nov-2012, 11:30
Actually, that movie was the John Huszar biography that FilmAmerican brought out in 1981.
Rick "still available at the AA Gallery, but with different and less interesting music behind the voiceovers" Denney
Rick,
You are probably correct on the date the film came out. After 30 years, like old film and photo paper, my brain has some base fog :)
Well, it's not pretty, but it's going to be functional. We used 4x8' 3/4" insulation sheets from Lowes for the drop ceiling. Used duct tape to tape what little seams I had. The sheets were tongue / groove as well. Ran two pieces of electric fencing wire across the top to prevent sagging. Windows are light tight too.
All I have to do now is throw up some type of faux door and I'll be in business.
Waiting on some more hardware to arrive possibly tomorrow, and I'll get to start to dip my toe in the enlargement arena :)
Feels like Christmas Eve.
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