Questions on Viewing Light & Rinse

[Peter Lewin]

(1) My usual printing set-up is 4 11x14 trays in my sink (developer, stop, fix, temporary holding tray), and the print washer (an 11x14 ZoneVI). This was perfect until I switched to TF-4 as my fixer. Since TF-4 is alkaline, the recommendation is to use a running water stop bath (shouldn't be acidic) before moving the print into the fixer. I've been simply filling the stop tray with water, agitating the print for 30 seconds, and then on into the TF-4. What I wondered is whether those of you who use TF-4 are actually doing a 30-second running water rinse, and if so, how do you arrange things in your sink?

(2) Most of the photos of darkrooms don't show the viewing lights over the sink. Mine isn't optimal, it is an old "scissors" lamp pulled down from the ceiling, but even though I have a very low wattage bulb in it, it is really too close to the area where I view the wet print. I make the process work from experience, but wondered how other darkroom printers set up a viewing light over their sinks so that they are getting a more accurate estimate of what the print will look like on a wall under normal lighting.

[Kirk Gittings]

I don't consider a wet print to give me a direct sense of what it would look like finished on a wall. I take the first wet print that is close and sacrifice it. I put it in the microwave and dry it and then pin it on the wall in my living room.

[Heroique]

…How do other darkroom printers set up a viewing light over their sinks so that they are getting a more accurate estimate of what the print will look like on a wall under normal lighting?

Hi Peter,

During wet-processing, my safelight – dim and distant – is mainly to: verify that images are at least “in the ballpark”; to see where the prints are in the trays for safer handling w/ tongs; and finally, to see where the trays are as I transport prints from one tray to another. (If not in the ballpark, I usually stop processing then and there.)

One of my first lessons about darkroom printing was to make no significant judgments about prints until they were 100% dry – and even better – to make these judgments under lighting conditions similar to (or the same as) the lighting planned for their final display.

[ROL]

(1) I use TF4, 30 sec. rinse prior to fixing, as prescribed by the manufacturer. I do the same as you, using plenty of water and agitating continuously, making certain that I replace the water at regular intervals, certainly before it becomes discolored by the developer. Presumably, this is a functional equivalent of running water. All you are doing is rinsing as much developer off the print as practical, prior to fully stopping development in the fix. You are in effect, simply protecting the fix from contamination. I asked the "running water" question specifically of "Photo Engineer" over at APUG. He worked on the similar, but not so good IMO, TF5. The conservative answer he gave indicated that my procedure was satisfactory, given the unlikeliness of most non-commercial darkroom workers to have an actual running water rinse.

(2) For better or worse, I'm not most. Spots over post–fix rinse/toning trays in sink operated by footswitch (same place as the trash can;)):


http://www.rangeoflightphotography.com/SupportPics/DarkroomPix/DR2.jpg

Yeah, ya gotta get accustomed to dry down, given your own lab procedures (I no longer microwave to observe dry down).

Darkroom Portrait (http://www.rangeoflightphotography.com/pages/a-darkroom-portrait)

[Chuck P.]

I've been using TF-4 for several years now. The print goes from the developer to a tray with a kodak siphon tube for about 20-30 sec of running water rinse, then into the tray of TF-4, then to a holding tray. There is a small ball valve on the water temp gauge off my faucet, I just turn that valve for the water rinse, then quickly turn it off again so that I don't have water continuously running during a printing session.

In my darkroom I can very quickly get window light if needed to evaluate a print, but at night that's not possible. So, I've been looking into intalling some track lighting with reveal bulbs for white light and better print viewing.

[cyrus]

I use a rotating print dryer specifically to see dry down. I spent a while trying to guesstimate it and ended up disappointed the following day. I pin the dried print up right next to my sink and keep it as a reference