Darkroom for enlarging - How dark is dark enough?

[Jessestr]

Mhm.. All these comments are really way too much.

I use a big led strip for safelight (just red leds). Even held paper against the leds for several minutes. Then developed it... nothing. Even when there is some light coming in the room... No fogging, no problems. It's not that sensitive.
Just make it dark... but no need to velcro and use black cloth...

 

[ic-racer]

Mhm.. All these comments are really way too much.

I use a big led strip for safelight (just red leds). Even held paper against the leds for several minutes. Then developed it... nothing. Even when there is some light coming in the room... No fogging, no problems. It's not that sensitive.
Just make it dark... but no need to velcro and use black cloth...

You have to pre-expose the paper to know for sure. The image area of the paper can fog and the border can remain white.

 

[Bill Burk]

Funny, I've never put a darkroom in the kitchen, always a bedroom/bathroom/closet/basement. But I have no issue mixing chemistry and developing film in the kitchen...

I don't think my parents would have liked knowing I was using their pots so I was always a bit secretive with exactly what I was doing.

For darkness, you have plenty good advice here.

Sensory deprivation darkness is nice, I get that at night. But I have a darkroom I can use 24 hours. It's in the garage, and during the brightest parts of the day, some light inevitably gets in. If I'm careless with a curtain there can be some bright light slivers coming through gaps in the drapes or under a door.

If it's bright enough to make you think "yow" then throw a towel over the threshold.

But if you only notice the light seeping in a little after a few minutes in the dark, and it's not burning your eyes... First, whatever light it is, has to actually hit the film/paper. Sometimes it's only directed up at your eyes. Next, there is a chance it isn't enough to cause harm. If you can reduce it somehow, take the action necessary. But if you've done the best you can chances are it's good enough.

 

[RalphLambrecht]

there may be a dark 'enough'but,the point is,any non-imaging light will degrade the tonal representation of your image,starting with fogged highlightsor contrast-reduced midtones.try whatever you can to get it as dark as possible.it will avoid unnecessarry headaches in the future. they don't call it darkroom for nothing.

 

[Sirius Glass]

This. Seriously - run a safelight test with some paper and a handful of coins. Make sure your darkroom gives at least 15 or 30 minutes of "safety", if it doesn't then you need to reduce the light level. If it does, then get to printing!

If there's moonlight or streetlights and you have a window, that's definitely not dark enough. If any appliances have LEDs on them, it's not dark enough (duct tape fixes that). However you can make blockout curtains pretty easily and tape them to all of your windows and that should be sufficient. Don't forget to put door-snakes (draft excluders) down to stop light getting under the doors. Beware some tapes that stick very well can mar window-frames, but some tapes (green painters' masking tape) will leave NO residue if removed within 5 days so that might be more family friendly, but they're less sticky.

My darkroom is the laundry. It has about 2 square metres of external windows which I blockout with heavy cloths that velcro onto the window frames. I stuck self-adhesive hook-tape on the window frames and sewed loop-tape on the blockout cloths; they just slap up on the window and voila, instant light-tightness. I rip them down once done and it goes right back to being a laundry except that there's a Jobo and enlarger taking up all the bench space

+1

 

[Sirius Glass]

Funny, I've never put a darkroom in the kitchen, always a bedroom/bathroom/closet/basement. But I have no issue mixing chemistry and developing film in the kitchen...

I don't think my parents would have liked knowing I was using their pots so I was always a bit secretive with exactly what I was doing.

For darkness, you have plenty good advice here.

Sensory deprivation darkness is nice, I get that at night. But I have a darkroom I can use 24 hours. It's in the garage, and during the brightest parts of the day, some light inevitably gets in. If I'm careless with a curtain there can be some bright light slivers coming through gaps in the drapes or under a door.

If it's bright enough to make you think "yow" then throw a towel over the threshold.

But if you only notice the light seeping in a little after a few minutes in the dark, and it's not burning your eyes... First, whatever light it is, has to actually hit the film/paper. Sometimes it's only directed up at your eyes. Next, there is a chance it isn't enough to cause harm. If you can reduce it somehow, take the action necessary. But if you've done the best you can chances are it's good enough.

My dry darkroom is a bedroom [enlarger and print drier] and my wet darkroom is a bathroom.

 

[piu58]

> my darkroom has light leaks around

I have some small lightleaks, the most important ist the key hole (the little space around the key). It does not affect paper which can be determined easily. I change film in a changing back.

 

[Jessestr]

You have to pre-expose the paper to know for sure. The image area of the paper can fog and the border can remain white.

Oh, yes! It was a normal exposure, then held against the safe light. Nothing really. Paper & film is so wonderful

 

[polyglot]

Mhm.. All these comments are really way too much.

I use a big led strip for safelight (just red leds). Even held paper against the leds for several minutes. Then developed it... nothing. Even when there is some light coming in the room... No fogging, no problems. It's not that sensitive.
Just make it dark... but no need to velcro and use black cloth...

The OP's question relates to the room itself, not their safelight. It doesn't matter how safe your safelight is if there's moonlight coming in!

 

[Xmas]

My dry darkroom is a bedroom [enlarger and print drier] and my wet darkroom is a bathroom.

My first darkroom for enlarging was as unmodified bathroom cept for safelight substituted for ceiling bulb.

It still had a WWII black out window roller blind cause the town had been a target town, but any opaque fabric would have done when it was dark outside. Some enlargers will need duck tape so Id not worry about blinds first... You need to do a test strip...

But you don't need a darkroom for wet side processing, a tube for cibachrome, will do for mono as well.

Id not mix or use chemicals in a food kitchen even without females or children present in house.

They are hazchem.

Im not a organic chem major but fair copy of conversation with a stranger

"
...
ans: yes it is a VR lens I need it cause I have Parkinson's
quest: in your family?
...
ans: the second question the consultant asked after confirmation was have you handled photo chemicals?
...

"
wear rubber or nitrite gloves as well