Alternatives to commercial trays

So, I'm wanting to start printing bigger. I've noticed that trays get exponentially more expensive the larger you go. I'm primarily wanting to do 20x30, 16x20, 20x25.... the damn trays cost roughly 50 dollars a piece. I'm wondering if anyone has any ideas on commercial OTS items that might be used in place of a standard development tray? Something along the lines of a rubbermaid tote or bin maybe.

TIA, Scott

You could try commercial restaurant suppliers. Some have used kitty litter trays and overflow trays for washing machines.
Never hurts to wander the big box stores, just gazing at stuff.

Washing machine trays looked like a good option, but the ones I saw at Ace Hardware were much too flimsy. But i agree, the bigger trays are very expensive, especially beyond 16 by 20.

One of these days, I will make some big trays out of plywood (maybe 1/2 inch for bottom, and 1/4 inch for sides), joined together with aluminum angle iron on the outside, with silicone or something to seal the joints. Then use epoxy paint to seal it all up. Plastic rods at the bottom will help keep the paper off the bottom and allow tongs to get an edge.

This post on building a sink may be helpful.

(there was a url link here which no longer exists)

Visit your nearest Reject Shop (or whatever the el cheapo goods shops are called out of Australia) and an endless assortment of very useable trays will present themselves for you to choose from. I never buy anything from Ace Hardware on principle, their products are overpriced and much too flimsy or poor quality for my liking. You will easily find much better for less money if you shop around.

Kitty Litter trays are fine and not at all flimsy, at least here in The Land Of Oz. They survive what our collection of home felines deposit in them, and dare I say it, for this biological purpose they have to be good!

I bought my last 'pro' trays (the Ilford ones) new in 1990. I will never again buy a set of new darkroom trays at the price my retail supplier charges for them. Every now and then a larger size Ilford or other tray turns up in one of the charity shops I visit regularly, and I grab it. The last 16x20 tray I bought cost me a whopping A$5.00. Cleaning supplies to remove the chemical stain in it cost me more than that. I have used it as a print washer (with a Kodak syphon I also picked up in an op shop for a song) for decades.

For (paper) proof prints in my darkroom, I use four Pyrex baking dishes I bought many years ago. My proofs are almost always 4x5" and it's easy to set up and print with 500 mls (one pint) of chemistry which I then dispose of after the printing session.

Many cost-effective solutions for otherwise hideously expensive photo brand stuff, can be found if one thinks laterally.

You might want to think about print drums, I have 16X20, one drum with motor base will run less than a single tray. For wash 16 X20 I use a kiddy wading pool, bought mine at Wally World under $10.00 then found a couple of Kodak tray siphons so I can wash with good in and output. I like in the low desert so I can wash on my patio.

I use plastic drawer stacks for my 5x7 and 8x10. They make them in much larger sizes. Works great for me and saves space. And is dirt cheap too.

I just made a 2' by 8' darkroom sink out of 3/4 plywood and best grade 1" by 4"s and coated it with 3 coats of Rustolem truck bed liner paint. I tested it this weekend by filling it to the top with water and letting it sit for 28 hours-no leaks. Smaller trays wouldn't be any problem.

Go to Home Depot, Lowes, Menards etc. There are thermoformed white ABS pans for under a washing machine. These even have a provision for attaching a PVC pipe flange. These are cheaper and will hold 20 x 24 with room to spare. I use Paterson 20x24 trays. Very nice
The washing machine trays look like they would work fine. These places also have huge plastic troughs for mixing cement by hand, these are very rugged and cheap

Dear Scott,

I used to complain about how expensive good trays were. I spent years using cheap substitutes before finally giving in and purchasing good quality trays. In the end I wasted hours fighting with poor equipment and ended up spending the money anyway. The good news is that you don't need that many trays. For large prints, purchase a single Paterson tray and empty and fill the chemicals into pails. This is much easier than moving the paper and takes up very little room. Then, purchase an appropriate tray from a home center or restaurant supply store for washing.

Good luck,

Neal Wydra

Be careful with the metal trays. I tried some metal baking pans once and they rusted like crazy after just one use. These photographic chemicals can be harsh on metal. After that I bought some plastic Patterson trays and don't regret my decision. Though I'm only doing up to 11x14, so the prices were still somewhat reasonable.

If I had to go bigger, I might consider looking at those long term, plastic storage containers. I converted a large storage container into a print washer that can do 10 11x14's, which is a lot of water. It's made of thicker plastic than some of the cheap ones, so it has no problems with structural stability even when holding all of that water. Now you can't hardly lift or move it while it's filled with water, but I doubt you'd need to fill one up to the top if you're just developing your prints horizontally. And you could probably cut off the top since you wouldn't need it all that deep if you wanted to save some space.

wallpaper troughs