Dark Room - Stand up or sit down

shmalec · Sep 26, 2010

Hi Folks,
I am about to set up a home darkroom in a dedicated room in my new workshop. I am trying to decided if it should be a 'stand up' or 'sit down' darkroom. I am interested in any thoughts people may have on this. Is a sit down darkroom really practical?
Thanks
Alec.

kauffman v36 · Sep 26, 2010

my vote goes to stand up with that special floor tiles that exercises your feet/calf something like that, anti fatigue mats i think theyre called. i could not imagine sitting in the darkroom, id be getting up alll the time, extremely inconvenient.

Richard Wasserman · Sep 26, 2010

I stand at the enlarger and sit while the paper is in the developer tray. I find that little bit of a rest very beneficial.

winger · Sep 26, 2010

I usually stand, though I occasionally rest my behind slightly on a tall stool. I have mats as well since it's a cement basement floor.

canuhead · Sep 26, 2010

Standing on anti fatigue mat. Helps to have a foot rest / low shelf by sink as well.

John Koehrer · Sep 26, 2010

Stand but use a bar stool every once & again. The bar stool makes me feel at home

Kevin Caulfield · Sep 26, 2010

I'm not complaining as I am very fortunate to have a dedicated darkroom, but my darkroom is too small to fit a chair into. Having said that though there are very few processes which take longer than a couple of minutes, so in some ways the sit-down option doesn't make much sense.

jgjbowen · Sep 26, 2010

I've been standing in my darkroom for almost 30 years. I use the anti-fatigue mats, but sitting down just never crossed my mind.

YMMV

Dan Henderson · Sep 26, 2010

Like some others, I typically stand, but for long lith print developing times, a stool to sit on is invaluable.

patricia de roeck · Sep 26, 2010

As someone with arthritic knees, I solved the prolem by standing at the enlarger then perching on a stool with adjustable height lever and wheels, so I just scoot around the darkroom to the wet and dry areas, sometimes managing a few 360 degree spins, depending upon which CD is playing at the time.
Patricia

Valerie · Sep 26, 2010

winger said:
I usually stand, though I occasionally rest my behind slightly on a tall stool. I have mats as well since it's a cement basement floor.

Same here....

ozphoto · Sep 26, 2010

Have always stood (20yrs) - never crossed my mind to add a stool; and anti fatigue mats as my floor is concrete also.

Funny how I can stand all day in my darkroom without even realising it, but when I was a lab manager, standing used to kill me and I loved the seat provided.

Mainecoonmaniac · Sep 27, 2010

If you stand on cement floors stand on antifatigue mats. If you're designing sinks benches and tables, make sure you could bend over comfortably for hours. If stand bent over for hours over a sink or a bench that is too low, you'll have back aches which will easily drain your energy and enthusiasm in the darkroom.

clayne · Sep 27, 2010

Mainecoonmaniac said:
If you stand on cement floors stand on antifatigue mats. If you're designing sinks benches and tables, make sure you could bend over comfortably for hours. If stand bent over for hours over a sink or a bench that is too low, you'll have back aches which will easily drain your energy and enthusiasm in the darkroom.

Definitely. When I built my sink I specifically used a height of 34" or so (I can't remember exactly). I rest my wrists on the edges.

Usually any standard desk used in a darkroom should be jacked up to the highest it can go.

Rick A · Sep 27, 2010

I've been standing for 40 plus years. I have considered a stool, but think it more a nuisance than a help. The up and down action would be harder on my arthritic knees than just standing on an anti-fatigue mat.

Dave Martiny · Sep 27, 2010

I use a combination of sit and stand. I am very tall and designed the height of my darkroom countertops to be proper when standing, but I also have an adjustable chair so that when I am sitting, I'm raised to my standing height. It has wheels so that I can roll along from the enlarger to the trays and so on. If I'm tired of standing, I sit, and vice versa.

Regards,

Dave

archer · Sep 27, 2010

Other than murals, I always print sitting down in a swivel cushioned chair with the grain focuser and dodging tools close at hand and use the focusing extension rod on my Beseler 45VXL and the height adjustment extension also handy. It beats bending over to use the grain focuser and because of the ruptured disk in my back, sitting allows me to rest my back. All my printing paper is either in a deep desk drawer next to my chair or in sizes larger than 11x14, in slots on the other side of my chair and I can easily print up to 38x30 inches on the baseboard and can reach every part of the print from the seated position. Processing is always done standing. When I first started working in a professional studio, my specialty was printing heads for yearbooks and I could print 700 heads a day and not be the least tired. I find that I can concentrate better when I'm sitting while printing and print manipulation requires the most concentration. Processing is primarily mechanical and doesn't tax the concentration. I've worked this way for 5 decades and it suits me and now particularly because of the bad back.
Pick what works for you and enjoy your new darkroom.
Denise Libby

bsdunek · Sep 27, 2010

patricia de roeck said:
As someone with arthritic knees, I solved the prolem by standing at the enlarger then perching on a stool with adjustable height lever and wheels, so I just scoot around the darkroom to the wet and dry areas, sometimes managing a few 360 degree spins, depending upon which CD is playing at the time.
Patricia

Sounds like you're having way too much fun in your darkroom!

jamesgignac · Sep 27, 2010

In my last darkroom (which I've recently left behind in Canada) I had my enlarger on a fairly low table which meant that I either had to bend low or use a chair. I opted for the chair. I frequently stood though so I don't know if I'd recommend sitting - it's nice when you're waiting for things to be washed but it's not always convenient. Most of the time I would stand - it was a nice old wooden office chair from the early 60s and allowed me to wheel around the room which was a fairly large second bedroom. If you have the space it's nice to have a seat now and then - especially if you do a lot of printing in one go. Most often I would put off making prints until I had a full evening of work to do (which often lasted way into the night) so when doing 6-8 hours of printing it's reasonably nice to have a seat now and then.

Also, having my enlarger a bit lower made it easier to deal with when changing heads or doing any maintenance work. It was a Beseler 23C II in case you're interested - it's a great enlarger for negatives up to 6x7 if you happen to be considering one.

spolly74 · Sep 27, 2010

I tend to sit as much as possible. I find that when I stand I tend to rush a bit. I'm not good enough in the darkroom to rush anything I do have a VERY small darkroom and a chair on wheels, so a little scoot one way or the other and I can reach anything from basically one spot.

Mainecoonmaniac · Sep 27, 2010

Before even building the darkroom. Use a paper pad of a CAD program and draw up the darkroom space. Beside ergonnomics of your benches and sink, consider work flow. You want to make the most of every move in the darkroom so you don't waste energy. My darkroom is designed to use the minimal effort to get work done. The last but not least is health and safety. If you spend a lot of time in your darkroom, it shouldn't impact your health. Sit down and do some planning a research and it will pay off handsomely.

Thingy · Sep 27, 2010

You can sit in a darkroom???!!! I "went hybrid" because of immobility and the need to sit down. I can't imagine sitting down in a darkroom without having a fully motorised enlargener (with remote control), and everything ergonomically designed to be at hand via a very mobile office chair. All that said, I DO miss the wet method deeply!

Allen Friday · Sep 27, 2010

I take the opposite view from Mainecoonmaniac. I am now on the third design for my darkroom. My second design had everything close together; it was efficient and I barely had to move to get the print from enlarger to trays to drying rack. For my current darkroom, I spread things out. I find I feel better after a long darkroom session if I have to move about during the process. If I don't, I tend to get tight and sore. Carrying prints from enlarger to sink and then across the room to drying trays is less efficient, but it keeps me limber and loose. But then, I'm an old guy. YMMV.

paulie · Sep 27, 2010

i use a office swivel chair on wheels i glide around my darkroom. cant imagine a darkroom without one. i usually stand when printing and sit for development.

Henry Alive · Sep 27, 2010

When I was younger, I worked with a “stand up” darkroom. Four years ago, I built my own darkroom at home, and I decided to design it as a “sit down” one. It was the best decision I could have made. Without any doubt I recommend you a “sit down” darkroom.

Dark Room - Stand up or sit down

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