I am looking and will for a while till I know what I need exactly. Will be color and b/w.Originally Posted by Randy Moe
I am looking and will for a while till I know what I need exactly. Will be color and b/w.
Last edited by Steven Ruttenberg; 18-Apr-2018 at 08:00.
Wish I had that much space. Air and heating / insulation would be high on my priority list to keep a stable temperature. Water and drainage are next.
Add electrical sockets wherever you can, even the ceiling, and some with wall switches.
Enlarger bench should have removable top layer so you can project a larger image on lower shelf for large prints (if needed).
Wet side - It doesn't hurt to have a wide sink like 36in x 9ft to accommodate large trays as waterbaths or wash stations. Dryside lots of workspace - standing room is not as important.
Open shelving above and below work spaces is better than closed cabinets which tend to limit your to a certain depth.
Lots of storage for trays, equipment, bottles of chems, measuring and mixing vessels, etc. Plastic pull out stacking drawers for smalls.
A drying cabinet is a nice to have but takes up lots of room.
If you have some folding tables you can put them in your space to determine layout and movement before committing to a layout. Depending where your door is I would build something on all four walls with minimal center floor space.
Reverse your door to open outward if it opens inward.
The magic you are looking for is in the work you are avoiding.
http://www.searing.photography
If you are planning to only scan LF for digital printing your darkroom can be much smaller.
I should've kept/scanned my darkroom floor-plan sketch I gave to the contractor I worked with.
I struggled starting on my DR until I found a book someone gave me that had suggestions and floor plan examples in the back. Can't remember the book title, it's in storage somewhere. I would go to your local library and find some old darkroom books (or buy a few on Amazon or your local used bookstore for a dollar each, they aren't worth anything these days) and look through example plans. Then get some graph paper and make your own plan for your space.
Oh, if you aren't printing via enlarger, the "DR" can just be a bench, sink, and shelves. No problem.
Here's some old pics of mine. Big basement room. Wasn't quite done in these photos and I've improved with pegboard and other things. Will be putting an island for additional enlargers in the center soon...my new/old Beseler 45XL is still sitting waiting for me to replace the gears and get it situated.
I had the advantage of having set up my own temporary (bathroom) darkroom, and used a large college darkroom before I had the chance to make my own. My current space is 9x8 feet (pictures at http://grahamp.dotinthelandscape.org/darkroom.html ). A pocket door opens into a central aisle, wet and dry sides, and lots of shelves. I don't have drainage. I put my extraction fan in the ceiling It was convenient, and made sense in a California summer, but it tends to flush out the hot air in the winter... But there were limitations on the building.
It's a bit like designing a kitchen - sink, appliances, worktops, circulation space, left to right or right to left bias - all come into play when building a comfortable work area.
Planning to do both printing old school and doing digital. For my digital scanning I have been looking for a positive air pressure cabinet to clean and prepare film and mount film to wet scan mount from Better Scanning. Haven't found one reasonably priced or plans to make one.
I should've kept/scanned my darkroom floor-plan sketch I gave to the contractor I worked with.
I struggled starting on my DR until I found a book someone gave me that had suggestions and floor plan examples in the back. Can't remember the book title, it's in storage somewhere. I would go to your local library and find some old darkroom books (or buy a few on Amazon or your local used bookstore for a dollar each, they aren't worth anything these days) and look through example plans. Then get some graph paper and make your own plan for your space.
Oh, if you aren't printing via enlarger, the "DR" can just be a bench, sink, and shelves. No problem.
Here's some old pics of mine. Big basement room. Wasn't quite done in these photos and I've improved with pegboard and other things. Will be putting an island for additional enlargers in the center soon...my new/old Beseler 45XL is still sitting waiting for me to replace the gears and get it situated.
Looks good. I think I am more intimidated by not knowing exactly what I want/need. I tend to make sure I can do anything, in this case, develop color neg, slide, b/w, 4x5/8x10/medium/35mm film, print as large as possible/practical, etc. This home I will be in for like the next 12-15 years or until I die about 50 years from now God willing.
I can build almost anything, but would use contractor to make sure it is done correctly in adding the wall for the door, vent/fresh, plumbing, additional electrical, etc.
The equipment needed is what I also need help with. Which enlarger, tray developing, daylight tank developing, etc. Once room built, what should I put in it. Not Bill Gates here, so it also needs to be reasonable in price, but good quality and sustainable.
Very nice!
Yeah I get that. I was paralyzed until I put it on paper. I already had the enlarger, trays, etc. though, and had made a makeshift darkroom in a yard shed at my previous place, so I knew roughly what I needed. I can print up to 20x24 in my DR and develop b&w, C-41, and E-6 films with the heater/recirculator from Arkay.
To develop and print that size or up to 32x40 for slide, bw and color neg what would be an average cost. I already have the room, so construction costs would be minimal. So really the equipment, sink, etc. Plan to also do contact printing like platinum/palladium. I may even do it by just exposing to the sun. Afterall, we have 95% sunshine where I am at and lots of uv rays to boot!
Does someone have a list of the equipment needed? I like the idea of tray processing film, (although a daylight tank as well would be good), type of water chiller to use, etc. I am surprised something like this isn't readily available on the net. There are more flavors to equipment for a dark room than hairs on my head, it's like which one? And of course someone will always hate your choice of equipment.
Learning a lot from this thread and researching.
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