Beginner: Want to start printing on my own!

[jasonjoo]

Hey folks,

I did a search for some info on how to get started with printing, but most of the hits seemed to be much more specific area than where I am at currently.

I would really appreciate all the help that I can get, so to be a bit more organized, I will try to be as systematic as possible.

First of all, what kind of equipment will I be needing to start making my own prints? I shoot 35mm and 120 roll film and would like to make prints up to 8x10. I will be setting up the enlarger in my bathroom and have about a 4x4' area where I can set the enlarger permanently (does not need to be portable). Other than the enlarger, I imagine I will need a drying rack, some squeegees, a surface to squeegee off excess water, safelights, trays for developer, stop, fixer, etc. If someone could please list all the necessary items, that would be helpful.

Second, which chemicals can I use for both my negatives and prints? Is this advisable? On the Ilford Rapid Fixer label, it mentions that I can mix up a different dilution of fixer to use for prints (I believe it was 1+9 off the top of my head). I am currently using D76 as my developer, but just purchased a bottle of HC-110. Will either of these work as a print developer? For a stop bath, I use tap water. Will I need a stop bath for prints?

Third, what kinds of papers are suitable for beginners? Maybe a cheaper paper that I can first "practice" on. With a cursory glance over some of the posts here, I read things such as split-grade printing and a variety of toning methods. I'd like to keep it simple for now!

These are some questions I have at the moment. I'm really just a beginner here with no knowledge of how to get things started. I have only developed 5 rolls of b/w film over the course of a week. If I am running when I should be walking, please let me know! This is all very exciting and I really just want to try to do everything all at once.

Thanks for your help,

Jason

 

[Nick Zentena]

Enlarger.
Easel . A speed easel is fine if you're sticking to one size to start.
A grain focusser.
Trays. At least four. Better if it's one size bigger then your biggest print but you might manage with 8x10 trays.
Safelight is nice.
Clothes pins and a clothes line.

No squeeges.

Keep two sets of chemicals. You can use the same types of chemicals when it comes to stop and fix but don't use the same batch on both film and paper.

Just buy RC paper. Buy from a shop with fresh paper. At this point you want the least the fewest things to worry about.

I'd suggest buying either a 100 or 250 sheet of 5x7. Don't change papers until you've finished it.

 

[jasonjoo]

Thanks Nick.

I'm guessing that buying second hand would be cheapest, but I can't imagine how much shipping costs would be for an enlarger and the "stand" (is this the easle?). I'll have to look on Craigslist. Any particular brands that I should be looking for?

Jason

 

[MattKing]

Jason:

So many questions, and they are all so much fun .

Take a look at this link, which leads to more links, on the Ilford website:

http://www.ilfordphoto.com/applications/page.asp?n=27

On your third question/point, I would suggest that you seriously consider starting with RC paper. The quality is high, and drying is easy (I use a dish rack, and the front of melamine cabinets). You are in California, so if you don't have a store nearby, shipping from Freestyle (an APUG sponsor) would be a good source. Since the demise of Kodak B & W papers, I've been using and recommending Ilford, but the Kentmere option is also apparently good, and others here have stated that they like the Freestyle house brand, Arista.

Safelight(s) and trays will be needed - cat litter trays from Walmart/Target work well for the trays.

The Ilford Rapid Fix will work great, as will Kodak, or Sprint, or Clayton or...

I use stop bath, but many don't. So well I recommend it, if you are diligent about changing the water bath frequently, you can avoid it.

As for developer, you may be able to make HC110 work (some have), but it is far from ideal. Dektol is the standard, and cheap, and easy. Ilford have great alternatives, as do a number of others. Personally I use Polymax, a Kodak alternative available as a liquid concentrate. You may want to seek out liquid chemistry, because it is very convenient.

On the equipment side, if you are able to find an enlarger with a colour head, than it is very easy to use the colour filters to adjust contrast on variable contrast papers. If not, variable contrast filters are easily obtained, and quite cheap. The type of filter you need depends on the enlarger you get. I use a Beseler 67 series enlarger, and I would recommend them. The Beseler 23 series are very common, and also very good (although somewhat larger). Many will recommend a 4x5 enlarger as well. Whatever enlarger you get, make sure that the lamps are easily obtained, and that negative carriers and lensboards are either included, or easily obtained.

Also, noting the advice above, you will also need a paper easel. That is the piece of equipment that holds the paper still and flat, and creates the nice clean white borders (unless you are using a borderless easel).

They come in essentially 4 types:

1) Speed Easel - fixed sizes, inexpensive and easy, but not particularly flexible;

2) 2 bladed easels - also inexpensive, but not as accurate or easy to use. They are very flexible, because they can be adjusted to any size (up to their maximum). If you can pick one up cheap, they might be a good place to start;

3) 4 bladed easels - heavier, more accurate, but more expensive. I replaced my 2 bladed easel with one of these, and I prefer it;

4) vacuum easels - very specialized - don't worry about these at this time.

A focus finder/magnifier is very useful.

Some sort of timer is also very useful. You can use either a luminous face clock, or a metronome, but I'd recommend starting with a timer that controls your enlarger. There are some wonderful, advanced timers available through RH Designs or Darkroom Automation, but I wouldn't start with one of those unless I couldn't find a cheap, simple used one instead.

Hope this helps.

Matt

 

[Nick Zentena]

A b66 is fairly light and without the baseboard fairly small. 6x6 enlargers aren't too bad to ship.

Used is certainly the way to go.

 

[Skorzen]

A Beseler 23 or 67 should fit the bill nicely for the formats you are shooting, Omegas are nice too but I have found that Omega made more low end enlargers than Beseler (well they made more models as a whole). You could go with a 4X5 enlarger too (beseler 45 or omega D series) but it will be bigger and bulkier. The advantage is that it MAY be a little more ridged. Watch Craigslist, you can probably find someone clearing out their old darkroom and pick up everything you need equipment wise for about $200 or maybe even less. Be patient and you can find some killer deals.

 

[mikez]

Jason, it's awesome to see someone with a passion to learn about B/W printing. I don't want to start a whole you know what vs. analog discussion, but I do find many students who I mentor in the darkroom at my University tend to whine and complain about printing and many who continue in the program switch to you know what. It's a completely valid tool and process, but there is just something really special about B/W darkroom printing. My advice would be to purchase Ilford Multigrade RC paper with either a satin or pearl finish, the glossy tends to look rather cheesy and distracting.

For developer, I would buy Ilford Multigrade developer to start with. As you advance you may want to try other papers/chemistry, but Multigrade is a good standard neutral developer for RC paper.

In terms of times, your print should go through the developer for 1-2 minutes, stop for 30-60 seconds, and fixer for 1-4 minutes depending on how fresh it is. If you are printing by yourself you may not need hypocheck. If you plan to save and reuse your fixer, I would buy a small bottle of hypocheck. Washing an RC print for 10-20 minutes is a good idea before hanging it up or putting it on a drying rack.

Also some very basic advice for printing. For "normally" exposed negatives, start with a 2 or 3 filter for an 8x10 enlargement. These are all rough estimates, but I know jumping into something like this is a little intimidating. You should make test strips. That is placing a sheet (you can rip the sheets and use "strips" up as you progress in printing, but I always recommend whole sheet test strips for beginners so they can really see how time changes a print) in your easel, covering almost all of it with a piece of cardboard and exposing for 3-5 seconds. Then you move the cardboard down the sheet exposing for the same time until you have exposed the whole sheet. So for example if you make a test strip with 5 sections at 5 seconds each, your darkest strip will be 25 seconds, the lightest 5.

A good B/W print has rich blacks and brilliant whites with good shadow/highlight detail and a wide range of midtones. A big stumbling block for beginners is contrast. While it can be an aesthetic choice to have either more or less contrast, learning to print "properly" will help you make those choices later. If your blacks appear to be dark gray and your whites appear to be a muddy light gray, use a higher filter. Inversely if there seems to be a lot of blown out (pure white skin tones for example) whites and overwhelmingly dark blacks in your print, try a lower filter. When you change filters, times shouldn't change that much until you use a #4 filter. In that case you can increase the time or if you want to be safe, make another test strip.

Burning and dodging are critical dark room techniques. A good dodging tool can be made out of a coat hanger and some masking tape. I often use my hands for burning, but cardboard with a hole in it is another good choice. Dodging part of a print makes it lighter. It is done during exposure to "dodge" or block light from reaching the paper. Keep your dodging tool moving and make sure to not do it for too long or it will look too light. Burning is adding light to a print to make it darker. It is done after you expose your paper. If you do it too much, the area you are trying to burn in will become too dark. For certain applications you may want to burn in with white light (no filter) or with a #1 filter. (clouds in skies and skies in general are a good example of what often requires a little burning) I'm sure you can read up about this a little more online, but it is something you have to try.

Hey you may know a lot of this stuff already, I just thought I'd contribute a little bit of what you actually do in the darkroom because you can have all the greatest chemistry and equipment, but you wouldn't know a good print from a bad one. Good luck and keep us updated!

 

[23mjm]

Jason

Wish you lived in North Cali. I have a nice Beseler 67 with ALL the trimmings I need to get rid of. Just up graded to a Beseler 45.

By all the trimings I mean: color head, condenser head, film holders (35mm, 35mm slide, 645, 6X6, & 6X7), 35mm&6X7 light boxes, timer, 50mm&80mm lenses on boards 2 extra bulbs for the color had.

The 67 has a pretty reasonable footprint and is a solid enlarger.

 

[Neal]

Dear Jason,

Here are some more links:

http://www.kodak.com/global/en/professional/support/techPubs/aj3/aj3.pdf

http://www.kodak.com/global/en/professional/support/techPubs/ak3/ak3.pdf

http://www.kodak.com/global/en/professional/support/techPubs/e103cf/e103cf.pdf

http://www.kodak.com/global/en/professional/support/techPubs/e103cp/e103cp.pdf

http://www.kodak.com/global/en/professional/support/techPubs/f2/f2.pdf

http://www.kodak.com/global/en/professional/support/techPubs/o3/o3.pdf

http://www.kodak.com/global/en/professional/support/databanks/filmDatabankList.jhtml?

Have fun!

Neal Wydra

 

[jasonjoo]

Yikes, thanks for all the help! Each post was very, VERY helpful. I'll have to read through them at least another time just to let everything soak in!

I guess now I need to hunt for some darkroom gear on Craigslist or eBay. This should be a fun experience.

23mjm, I was just vacationing in San Francisco a few days ago. If only I had posted this earlier!

Jason

 

[jasonjoo]

Hmm, I found this on Craigslist:

http://orangecounty.craigslist.org/pho/601786737.html

Was wondering if this is a good enlarger for a beginner like me? How's the price? $30 bucks seems like a real bargain to me, though I am not sure what this enlarger is capable of doing. Would this particular Beseler 67 model have the filters that people have mentioned above? What is it's maximum print size? And lastly, does the 67 mean that the largest negative it can take is 6x7cm?

Thanks,

Jason

 

[dpurdy]

Hey Jason, since you are a beginner at darkroom stuff I think it would be a really good idea to go to a local community college or community education service and take an entry level class. That way you get watch and see question and answer stuff and you get to work in a darkroom already set up. Plus you support a local person trying to survive in photography. I think you would learn much much more much more quickly that way.
Dennis

 

[23mjm]

Jason--

That's the enlarger I have been using for the last 6 years. It is a great piece of equipment. I have no complaints at all. It's soild, simple, and works well. One of the reasons I got it in the first place was because there are lots of parts for them on the Bay. I would say get it--it's the one I want to get rid of for a good deal.

Oh the reason I got a new enlarger is because I wanted a 4X5 enlarger.

 

[Jon Shiu]

Hmm, I found this on Craigslist:

http://orangecounty.craigslist.org/pho/601786737.html

Was wondering if this is a good enlarger for a beginner like me? How's the price? $30 bucks seems like a real bargain to me, though I am not sure what this enlarger is capable of doing. Would this particular Beseler 67 model have the filters that people have mentioned above? What is it's maximum print size? And lastly, does the 67 mean that the largest negative it can take is 6x7cm?

Thanks,

Jason

Seems like a good deal, but I wouldn't buy it unless it came with the baseboard. It can do 6x7 and use filters under the lens, or inside next to the condensers. Can enlarge to approx. 16x20.

Jon

 

[Vonder]

Be careful with Beseler

My advice for anyone starting out is to avoid this company. I bought Beseler and had some questions which I emailed to them, several times, without any response. I can't speak for Omega but when I upgrade my enlarger it won't be another Beseler.

Along those lines, be careful buying used. With no instructions, even a simple enlarger can be confusing. Having improper "home added" parts or modifications can make things worse. I had a dickens of a time getting my condensor lense(s) and lens aligned properly. You may see this too - parts of your enlargements will be dark, or too light.

The rewards are great, but...

 

[CBG]

My advice for anyone starting out is to avoid this company. I bought Beseler and had some questions which I emailed to them, several times, without any response. I can't speak for Omega but when I upgrade my enlarger it won't be another Beseler.

Along those lines, be careful buying used. With no instructions, even a simple enlarger can be confusing. Having improper "home added" parts or modifications can make things worse. I had a dickens of a time getting my condensor lense(s) and lens aligned properly. You may see this too - parts of your enlargements will be dark, or too light.

The rewards are great, but...

Don't be too concerned about whether the enlarger has instuctions etc. Beseler has sold zillions of their enlargers and lots of APUGger have most all the info you need right here. The folks here are a good resource.

C

 

[Thanasis]

Hey Jason, since you are a beginner at darkroom stuff I think it would be a really good idea to go to a local community college or community education service and take an entry level class. That way you get watch and see question and answer stuff and you get to work in a darkroom already set up. Plus you support a local person trying to survive in photography. I think you would learn much much more much more quickly that way.
Dennis

Hi Jason,

From personal experience, I can vouch for Dennis' advice. This is the fastest way to overcome all those little basic problems and mistakes and it helps to avoid teaching yourself bad habits. Apug is a great resource but in a face-to-face class you are (in theory at least) instructed correctly from a very basic level. Either way, have fun printing!

 

[blade_o]

Jason, I was in your situation a year back and what i found to be of the most help was Ansel Adams basic photography series. You should go to the library and pick these up: The Camera, The Negative, The Print. You can probably just skim threw the first two but the print should be a lot of help.

 

[JBrunner]

My advice for anyone starting out is to avoid this company. I bought Beseler and had some questions which I emailed to them, several times, without any response. I can't speak for Omega but when I upgrade my enlarger it won't be another Beseler.

Along those lines, be careful buying used. With no instructions, even a simple enlarger can be confusing. Having improper "home added" parts or modifications can make things worse. I had a dickens of a time getting my condensor lense(s) and lens aligned properly. You may see this too - parts of your enlargements will be dark, or too light.

The rewards are great, but...

Interesting,

I have a personal response from a member of the company received last year detailing support and addressing questions about an enlarger they stopped producing in 1970- thats 38 years ago, folks. Of course I wrote an old fashioned letter.

Regarding that one your looking at, I'd pass, and look for a complete one.

Beseler makes fine equipment, some of the best. They make enlargers, not computers, if you can't raise them on email, pick up the phone. Also, tons of information can be found online about their equipment, its probably the most prevalent and successful line in history.

 

[Nick Zentena]

People may have not noticed this but many enlarger companies have downsized. I don't think Beseler has much in the way of support staff anymore. My understanding is much of the support has been handed off to various repair companies. Like KHB in Canada.

Lets also be honest the vast majority of enlargers being bought today are used. Beseler hasn't made any money related to my 1973 CB-7 since the intial buyer bought the thing. Thing still works. They answered my questions about fitting a new head.

To the best of my knowledge Omega isn't even selling Omega anymore. Just rebadged LPLs.

 

[Simon R Galley]

Dear Jason,

If you PM me your postal address I will send you the MULTIGRADE printing manual, it should save you a few sheets when you get started.

Simon ILFORD Photo / HARMAN technology Limited

 

[jasonjoo]

Wow, the help on APUG is overwhelming (in a good way!).

I do have access to a darkroom at my university. They charge $65 dollars every 3 months for lab fees. I am able to access the darkroom for roughly $10 dollars however, but this is only for a limited time. I should take advantage of it very soon. However, the lab is run by students. They are generally very helpful, but the last time I visited, it was very busy. Being a non-art major, I do not get priority and would have limited time in the darkroom. This was the very reason why I invested in my own darkroom chemicals and materials. I've spent roughly $150 dollars to get everything I need, but I think I'll make my money's worth very soon. Setting up my own enlarger would be ideal as it would save me money in the future and I would have very flexible hours to work, which is always a plus.

Simon, thanks for the offer! I'll PM you shortly!

Jason

 

[dancqu]

Hey folks, I will be setting up the enlarger in my bathroom and have
about a 4x4' area where I can set the enlarger permanently (does not
need to be portable). Other than the enlarger, I imagine I will need a
drying rack, some squeegees, a surface to squeegee off excess
water, safelights, trays for developer, stop, fixer, etc. Jason

If you're short on elbow room give single tray processing a try.
Very similar to rotary processing save for the use of A tray
rather than A tube. A tray for processing and A second
tray for holding. The two together for alternate tray
soak washing.

No tube loading and the print can be viewed as it
processes. Dan

 

[Whatadame]

If you have Freecycle in your area, you may well find an enlarger and the other items that you need that way. Look up freecycle.org online--you'll find an entire (local) community that is all about passing things on rather than selling or landfilling.

 

[jasonjoo]

Hey Dan, I set aside the 4x4' block of space for the enlarger because this would be in the bathroom permanently. Even with the enlarger in the bathroom, I should be able to fit a large desk to place a few trays on. This I could just pack up after an evening of work. Thanks for the suggestion though!

Thanks for the link Whatadame. I'll be checking my local areas to see if they have anything useful!

Jason