Colour paper help for a beginner

[alaubera]

Hello everyone, my question is extremely repetitive but simply my final year of high school project is making colour prints using an Enlarger I bought online.

I'm using a spare room as my makeshift darkroom, and during the night it's practically 98% pitch black dark however from the edges of the blinds which would be 2 meters away from my workstation comes distant light From the neighbours.

The attached photo is of the window and the light the comes through from the edges and it uses a 3-second exposure, so it's not as bright as it appears in real life.

Would this be an issue for my Fujifilm Type II Lustre paper?

Thank you

 

[Don_ih]

So, the exposed and developed sheet is completely black? That would suggest too much exposure (aperture open too wide) or perhaps the paper was already exposed to room light. Was the paper new?

 

[alaubera]

ohh no sorry i didn’t make it clear, the picture is of the window not the paper, the paper is still brand new haven’t opened it

 

[Don_ih]

Tape cardboard over the window. To test for darkness, turn off the light, wait one or two minutes for your eyes to adjust, then check if you can see your hands moving. If you can, there's too much light for unexposed film or paper.
That's the ideal answer. The reality is, that small amount of light probably won't have any real impact unless it actually projects on your paper.

 

[alaubera]

I tried it for 2 minutes as everything is and I couldn’t see a thing other than the light from the window so i’ll assume it’s all good as it is?

 

[koraks]

It'll probably be fine. Just give it a go. You can always try to block out the remaining strip of light with towel or something.

 

[pentaxuser]

A lot depends on how far away the paper is when you open the box and for how long when transferring it to the enlarger easel for exposure. Two metres might be enough but it is surprising how much light can seep into the room over say 30 mins.You haven't said how you will process the paper, Nova slot processor, drum or open trays. If it is the latter then are the trays inside a sink with sides and how deep is the sink. You need to avoid light spilling on to the tray area.

Frankly I'd try and take steps to block that small crack of light if I could with at least a rolled up towel. Better than that might be some thick black or dark curtains that reach below the blinds if this is possible. Another alternative might be a wooden trough that you place on the window sill where the blinds end so that they go into the trough and eliminate the slit

It might help if we could see what the window is like in daylight as it might not be how I imagine it. There is no point in me suggesting things like a trough if there is not means of putting one there

pentaxuser

 

[Wayne]

If that's what it looks like to your unadjusted eye, that's a lot of light and needs to be blocked. Black visqueen, a bedsheet, a fleece blanket or just about anything can be easily hung to block it.

But if that's your window, the more important question is, where is your ventilation fan?

 

[Don_ih]

Ventilation would be nice for colour paper developing - but not a big deal if you're using a drum and a concentrated liquid kit and only doing a few sheets. Also, if you've never done colour enlarging before, you're in for a treat. It can be extremely frustrating.