Designing/Thinking about a darkroom

[macandal]

So, from time to time I start thinking that I want to build my own darkroom in my parents' house. Depending on the amount of pleading I'm willing to do, that will determine, first of all, whether or not I can build my darkroom in their house, and second, the amount of space I get to use. The space can be as tiny as a little closet, and as big (or long) as about 40 ft X 10 ft. Anyway, I've been reading as much information as I can find about building darkrooms and one constant I find is that it is recommended to work backwards. That is, think about the largest print you want to make and that will determine the size of your darkroom. Now, I was wondering if there is an easy way to determine this. I mean, if the biggest print I want to make is 30" x 40" or, mural size, 3' x 5', how much space do I need? Because space may be a factor, if you could tell me how to figure out what the minimum sizes would have to be for these or any other sizes, I would appreciate it.

Thank you.

[Jac@stafford.net]

It's almost simple. I am presuming you are doing B&W. The sink size is important and it need not be a straight length if you build your own: it could be "L" shaped. Trays for developer, stop, fix1, fix2, and wash (or holding if you wash outside the darkroom). Do the simple arithmetic. One thing that I emphasize is the distance from the enlarger to the developer portion of the sink. Personally I like it close so I can just turn around.

I look forward to contributions from more of our members.
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[jp]

Yes, you'll want room in the sink for about 5 trays. I have a roughly 6x8' darkroom with a sink on one side and can do 11x14" prints maximum comfortably. I've done 16x20 with stacking trays and re-using trays, but it's not practical or recommended.

I can say it'd be nice to have 5 foot prints, but I don't have anything nice enough for that size or my nice prints are soft focus which would not scale to that size. If I did need a huge print, I'd probably make a nice small print and send it with a negative to a pro and tell them I want a big print done like this. And it would be pricey but not as much as home renovation.

One long side is the sink, the other side is a table with two enlargers on top, a UV printing box underneath, and plenty of storage shelves, etc.. I'd advocate for plenty of chemical storage as it seems shipping is becoming less casual for that. I keep some up high out of children's reach, others under the sink.

If you want to do alt process, you'll want a bigger dry area than silver printing. Big enough to be cutting/coating/drying paper, loading contact printing frames. Some ventilation is good. Air cleaner is good so you don't deal with dust on your negatives. Install separate tracklights for normal lights and red LED safelight. Loading film takes very little space, I throw a clean dry 16x20 tray in the sink and work out of that for a film loading workspace. Nothing is far that way.

If you can visit other people's darkrooms you can have a feel for what you want. There is a darkroom pictures thread here, but it does not show scale very well, but is good for little ideas.

[Jim Jones]

I learned developing and printing in a 4' by 6' darkroom. Obviously, we didn't make murals. If you want to do 3' by 5' prints, you'll need quite a bit of floor space, tray space, and height for the enlarger unless it is used horizontally, which also takes a lot of space. Typically, the distance from the enlarging lens to the photo paper is a little more than the long dimension of the film. In addition there is the height of the enlarger above the lens. Trays can be stacked vertically. As for sinks, I've had that luxury in only one of the seven darkrooms I've improvised. Perhaps 30" by 40" murals could be made in a 6' by 8' darkroom, but it would be unpleasant. Film alone could be developed in something little larger than the exterior of a Tardis. If space and permanent house alternations are a problem, give digital printing serious consideration.

[LabRat]

By your "working backwards" tip, I think that means that take the size paper sheet that you would consider printing on, let's say for example 16"X20", think of each step in the process that that size sheet will sit in the space in the dry to dry steps... A box of paper holds the unexposed sheets that needs to be accessible to provide a sheet, so that needs counter space while holding (maybe + exposed sheets), maybe a cutter to make sheets smaller and test strips, paper goes to enlarger easel, then off to developer/stop/fix trays, maybe additional trays such as HCA/toner/hold, then washing area, then the bottleneck of what to do with all of those wet, washed prints??? Each step requires that size paper has a "footprint" that it sits on while it's in that step, and that space will be required (and can be added up using simple math)... And any excess space will always be used for something else too...

Alt processes will have different needs, as well as color... Then there's having additional dry space for print/material finishing + storage, + wet space for chem mixing/storage... (Easy to keep clean + well vented is a +++), as well as not too hot/cold, and in a not dusty or damp area, and of course, nicely dark with the lights off... And power/running water (H&C)/drains... That's the basics...

Nice cheap sinks can be made from hydroponics flood tables, google them...

This should give you something to think about...

Good Luck!!!

Steve K

[vdonovan]

So, from time to time I start thinking that I want to build my own darkroom in my parents' house. Depending on the amount of pleading I'm willing to do, that will determine, first of all, whether or not I can build my darkroom in their house, and second, the amount of space I get to use. The space can be as tiny as a little closet, and as big (or long) as about 40 ft X 10 ft. Anyway, I've been reading as much information as I can find about building darkrooms and one constant I find is that it is recommended to work backwards. That is, think about the largest print you want to make and that will determine the size of your darkroom. Now, I was wondering if there is an easy way to determine this. I mean, if the biggest print I want to make is 30" x 40" or, mural size, 3' x 5', how much space do I need? Because space may be a factor, if you could tell me how to figure out what the minimum sizes would have to be for these or any other sizes, I would appreciate it.

Thank you.

Mural printing is quite a bit different from printing at conventional sizes. Most of my printing is 11x14 or smaller, so I designed my darkroom around that size. When I do make mural prints - once or twice a year at most - I rent the mural darkroom at Rayko in San Francisco.

[Doremus Scudder]

I agree that making mural-size prints is maybe a task for a different space, especially if your darkroom space is going to be in your parents house, not yours.

Might I suggest that you design a darkroom that is as spartan and non-invasive as possible (and portable as well) so that when you do get a place of your own, your parents can easily convert the darkroom to some other purpose and you can take the bulk of your darkroom with you wherever you go.

As for working backward; I agree wholeheartedly. Determining which print size will be the largest practical for you entails a bit more than just designing a sink to hold five large trays, however. There are a lot of other considerations. If you plan on exhibiting you prints, then you need to consider space for mounting. My 16x20 prints get mounted on 22x28" mat board; 20x24 prints on 24x36" board or larger. You're going to need a work surface that can handle the largest size mat board you plan on using. Also, you need to have drying space for several of the largest size prints you intend to make. And, you need to have an enlarger set-up that allows you to print up to your maximum size, and that likely from a cropped portion of your negative.

I've recently built a darkroom designed to handle up to 20x24 prints. I built a custom drop-bed enlarger stand to be able to make 20x24" prints from about 2/3 of a 4x5 negative with my Beseler 45; it's 36 inches deep by 40 inches wide. I have a sink that is 10 feet long by 30 inches deep; barely enough for 4-5 20x24 trays and my Versalab 16x20 print washer with its 20x24 insert. I'm making deck boards for the sink so I can convert it to a counter space that's 10 feet by about 32 inches and will support a dry-mount press large enough to mount 20x24 prints on 24x36 board in two passes. I have 10 under-counter drying screens on the dry side that are 22x30 inches so I can wash and dry 10 20x24 prints in a session. The darkroom is just about 10-feet square. I have print and negative storage in separate rooms. As you can see, working up to this big is a pretty big demand on space, and I have what I consider the bare minimum. If I were doing a lot of alt-processes, etc., I would need even more room.

So, for now, you might want to limit yourself to a maximum size of 16x20 for a few reasons. You can make 16x20-inch prints on the baseboards of most 4x5 enlargers, so you won't need more than a standard countertop or table to set up the enlarger. I made 16x20 prints with tray stackers in a sink that I built to stand above a bathtub. It was on legs with rubber suction-cup feet and could be set up and taken down in a few minutes. I had my enlarger on a cabinet with industrial casters attached and it could be rolled into the bathroom/darkroom and out again into the garage in a few minutes as well. Most of what I needed for developing film and enlarging was stored in the cabinet. I made plywood frames covered with felt to fit in the bathroom windows to block light; these could be mounted and removed in a few seconds. Plumbing for the sink consisted of removing the shower head from its hose and connecting my portable plumbing set up; an adapter, a hose, a gang valve, an inline filter and a few feet of tubing, etc. This whole set up came with me through two moves and worked just fine. The prints I made with it are still being exhibited and sold. For mounting, I took over the dining room for a day; I set the table up on blocks, covered it with a blanket and hauled in the dry-mount press and other equipment from my storage unit or garage. Worked just fine.

Till you get a permanent place of your own, I recommend you do something similar, for both your and your parents' sake. Running water (and drain, of course) is really, really nice to have in a darkroom. That makes a good argument for being able to set up and take down in a spare bathroom on the days you want to print. Space for four 16x20" trays can be minimized if you use tray stackers. I used two 3-level tray stackers, but only used the very top and bottom shelves, i.e., two trays per stacker, which allowed me to have four 16x20 trays in the space of two. My 16x20 washer was in the bathtub under the removable sink.

A 16x20 print mounted on 22x28 board and framed makes a fairly large presentation. Most of my work is smaller than this.

Hope this helps a bit,

Doremus

[esearing]

I print 8x10 99% of the time and can get away with a space that is only 4x6 in a garage storage closet. When I need to print large I use the garage and set up a temporary sink/trays using plastic and 1x4 frames. This has taught me I really need two things beyond equipment and chemistry, Water and air temperature control. Build your room indoors if you can or a basement where temps may be more stable.

[Steve Sherman]

Set your darkroom space up using the same principles used in efficient kitchen design, the Golden Triangle. Keep the enlarger, sink and work surface in an easy to access (fewest steps) from one to another. Enjoy the process !!

[Robert Bowring]

My advice is to start with the sink. Figure how large it has to be to handle the size of prints you wish to make. Once you figure what size to make it multiply that size by 1.5 and make it that big. You can never have too much sink. Once you have the sink built build the darkroom around the sink.