Awhile back I learned about a small photographic products shop very near where I live, courtesy of Jerold Harter. I hate to admit that a Wolverine can learn something from a Badger, but so be it...thanks again, Jerold!
Rosy Products is a one-man shop working out of a modest building on a farm near Pullman, Michigan, specializing in stainless steel print washers and sinks. I bought an 11x14 print washer and I am so impressed with it that I wanted to tell other Apuggers about it.
The bottom, sides, water distribution channel and support pieces of the washer are built from stainless steel, which for my money is the most beautiful metal that man has made. John meticulously bends the stainless steel on an ancient press, and welds it with a spot welder that might have been invented the same year that electricity was discovered. Regardless of the age of his tools, he wields them with the utmost craftsmanship and the washer really is a work of art.
The dividers are made from very thin plastic precisely cut, drilled, and assembled. The result of using these thin-walled materials is that despite only being 5" wide, the washer holds 10 11x14 prints. This was important to me since I have a very small darkroom and sink space is precious. It comes with a divider so that 20 8x10 prints can be washed at once, but since I seldom if ever make more than 10 prints in a session, I just leave it out.
I am attaching a picture of the washer installed in my darkroom. Note that the aluminum angle stock along the bottom is not part of the washer, but is a frame that I built to sit the washer above my sink for space purposes. It also comes with a plastic "lid" to keep prints from floating up in the water, but I left it off for illustration purposes.
John mentioned that he might not be building many more of these since they are rather labor intensive, and in fact I think I read over on the LF forum that he is no longer making 16x20 washers. So anyone interested in a washer should contact him soon.
Unfortunately the only finished sink on hand was already boxed up for delivery, so I did not get to see one first hand. But I am anticipating building a new darkroom later this year after relocating, and it will be designed around a Rosy Products sink.
Rosy Products is a one-man shop working out of a modest building on a farm near Pullman, Michigan, specializing in stainless steel print washers and sinks. I bought an 11x14 print washer and I am so impressed with it that I wanted to tell other Apuggers about it.
The bottom, sides, water distribution channel and support pieces of the washer are built from stainless steel, which for my money is the most beautiful metal that man has made. John meticulously bends the stainless steel on an ancient press, and welds it with a spot welder that might have been invented the same year that electricity was discovered. Regardless of the age of his tools, he wields them with the utmost craftsmanship and the washer really is a work of art.
The dividers are made from very thin plastic precisely cut, drilled, and assembled. The result of using these thin-walled materials is that despite only being 5" wide, the washer holds 10 11x14 prints. This was important to me since I have a very small darkroom and sink space is precious. It comes with a divider so that 20 8x10 prints can be washed at once, but since I seldom if ever make more than 10 prints in a session, I just leave it out.
I am attaching a picture of the washer installed in my darkroom. Note that the aluminum angle stock along the bottom is not part of the washer, but is a frame that I built to sit the washer above my sink for space purposes. It also comes with a plastic "lid" to keep prints from floating up in the water, but I left it off for illustration purposes.
John mentioned that he might not be building many more of these since they are rather labor intensive, and in fact I think I read over on the LF forum that he is no longer making 16x20 washers. So anyone interested in a washer should contact him soon.
Unfortunately the only finished sink on hand was already boxed up for delivery, so I did not get to see one first hand. But I am anticipating building a new darkroom later this year after relocating, and it will be designed around a Rosy Products sink.
