darkroom size, is this enough?

trythis · Sep 3, 2014

I found a space I can use for a darkroom with access to water and power, but I dont know if 8ft x 8ft is sufficient for an enlarger trays, etc. It only requires one wall to build and a door has to be moved so not that much work but would rather get some input before making the plunge; no equipment yet. I would like to get a 4x5 (just in case) or minimum 6x9 machine. Now shooting 6x6, 645 and 135.

Thanks

Rick A · Sep 3, 2014

Lemme see, my DR is in a 6x8 foot space with access to a half bath. My counter is on the 6 foot wall and enlarger on its own stand.

MattKing · Sep 3, 2014

My temporary darkroom with a 4x5 enlarger is 6ft x 11ft and has all the fixtures of a fully equipped bathroom in the way, so I would say that 8ft x 8ft is definitely usable.

Try to set it up to maximize usage.

cliveh · Sep 3, 2014

Defo, nice size.

R.Gould · Sep 3, 2014

My first darkroom was a cuborud under the stairs, I could just get an enlarger 3 dishes and myself in there, 8x8 would have been a luxury, plenty big enough

snapguy · Sep 3, 2014

reel question

The only real question is -- what are you going to do with all that extra space? Creative folks have made do with a lot less.

trythis · Sep 3, 2014

Thanks guys. It been a long time since I have seen an enlarger and it was in a college darkroom with 10 ft long sinks. Any layout books you can recommend? I can layout a foundry or woodshop but this is new to me.

cliveh · Sep 3, 2014

trythis said:
Thanks guys. It been a long time since I have seen an enlarger and it was in a college darkroom with 10 ft long sinks. Any layout books you can recommend? I can layout a foundry or woodshop but this is new to me.

The Darkroom handbook by Michael Langford has a few designs in it. May I also suggest you think about the design very carefully, as this can make all the difference.

Sirius Glass · Sep 3, 2014

You can make it work for you. Darkrooms never seem to be large enough.

Casperrobo · Sep 3, 2014

I use my bedroom by blacking out the windows which is probably 10x10 feet, but I can only really use the 3 foot wide by 4 foot long desk I have trays and enlarger on and manage to print fine

paul_c5x4 · Sep 3, 2014

trythis said:
I dont know if 8ft x 8ft is sufficient for an enlarger trays, etc.

My darkroom is nominally an 8'x8' room and houses two Durst 5x4 enlargers and still has space to lay out trays to print up to 16x12. Going to do a make-over before too long and move things around as I want to print larger.

David Brown · Sep 3, 2014

Building a Home Darkroom, Kodak Workshop Series, 1991
Build Your Own Home Darkroom, Lista Duren and Will McDonald, 1990
The New Darkroom Handbook, Joe DeMaio, Roberta Worth, Dennis Curtin, 2nd edition 1998

Bill Burk · Sep 3, 2014

I recently picked up several books and I recall reading that a darkroom should not be so large as to be turned into a lumber room... Can't find the quote right now but I did find some cheerful words from Andreas Feininger in "Advanced Photography: Methods and Conclusions"

"A photographer without a darkroom is comparable to a man who loses a leg or an eye--he is not hopelessly crippled, but he is pretty badly handicapped."

"Actually, it is no more difficult to make a bad print in a fancy darkroom than it is to make a beautiful print in the make-shift set-up of an amateur working strictly on a budget."

---

Post a sketch here of what you think you might do and we can critique it, to the point of telling you what height the trays should sit at...

(there was a url link here which no longer exists)

Seriously, your darkroom will have 2 feet more on a side than mine and I have never needed more (than 6x8 feet). You will be fine.

I strongly urge you to get a 4x5 enlarger because it gives you flexibility. No better reason.

Henry Alive · Sep 4, 2014

I want to show you my actual darkroom. Look at:
(there was a url link here which no longer exists)
The dimenciones are in centimeters. I think it may be helpful.
Henry.

Henry Alive · Sep 4, 2014

Here you have something that also helps:
(there was a url link here which no longer exists)
Henry.

Gerald C Koch · Sep 4, 2014

A darkroom can actual be too large forcing the user to do a lot of walking during a print session. Ideally there should be room for a wet and dry side. Many people store chemicals and paper in a darkroom which is not really a good idea. Both should stored in a cool, dry location. Any mixing should also be done outside the darkroom. This helps to lower the amount of space required for a darkroom.

grahamp · Sep 4, 2014

Mine is 8' x 9'. See http://grahampatterson.home.comcast.net/~grahampatterson/grahamp/darkroom/darkroom.html

adelorenzo · Sep 4, 2014

My darkroom is an 8x10 room that is shared with the laundry machines and has two doors. So realistically my usable space is about 5x8 and that works fine for 8x10 . I use a 4x5 enlarger with 8x10 or 12x16 trays.

RalphLambrecht · Sep 4, 2014

trythis said:
I found a space I can use for a darkroom with access to water and power, but I dont know if 8ft x 8ft is sufficient for an enlarger trays, etc. It only requires one wall to build and a door has to be moved so not that much work but would rather get some input before making the plunge; no equipment yet. I would like to get a 4x5 (just in case) or minimum 6x9 machine. Now shooting 6x6, 645 and 135.

Thanks

that's plentyof room and without having any stat data, I bet it's more than most of us have.

Janelectro · Sep 5, 2014

The darkroom I had in my college appartment was about 2 by 1.2 metres, but I had to share it with the washing machine and the hot water boiler:
http://www.aphog.de/forum/viewtopic.php?p=218974#p218974

There might be quite some people here who print larger than that :-D

darkosaric · Sep 5, 2014

Janelectro said:
The darkroom I had in my college appartment was about 2 by 1.2 metres, but I had to share it with the washing machine and the hot water boiler:
http://www.aphog.de/forum/viewtopic.php?p=218974#p218974

There might be quite some people here who print larger than that :-D

Wow, that is small, smaller than my darkroom in my bathroom . But as they say "when there is a will - there's a way". How big prints you could print there ?

mgb74 · Sep 5, 2014

I have 4 questions for you:

How many enlargers do you plan to install and be ready for use?
How many people will be in there at one time?
How large (max) a tray size do you plan to use?
Do you want to have counter space for other activities (mounting, etc)?

fotch · Sep 5, 2014

That is a nice size, especially if it is not a shared room. Good Luck.

mdarnton · Sep 5, 2014

trythis said:
Thanks guys. It been a long time since I have seen an enlarger and it was in a college darkroom with 10 ft long sinks. Any layout books you can recommend? I can layout a foundry or woodshop but this is new to me.

One long wall with a small table (that might get water damaged and isn't strictly necessary) near the door (for instance starting with the wall on the right as you stand in the door), then a sink down to the corner. A small space, say two and a half feet, in front of the sink at the corner, then on the back wall, 90 degrees to the sink, your enlarger/stand. To the left of the enlarger, the things you have immediate use for in printing, but want dry--place for working negs and paper, for instance.

You take a neg from the left of the back wall, load it in the enlarger, then paper, make the exposure; move right to the sink, developer tray, work your way down the sink towards the door. Stop, fix, wash, then out the door, or across the doorway to a drying table that is as far from the wet chemicals as possible. The third wall, facing the sink, is for the other stuff you really want dry--where you store negs, do mounting, etc. This has pretty much been the layout in the six or so small commercial darkrooms I've worked in. Wet to the right, dry to the left, transitional from dry to wet at the back wall (also putting your enlarger farthest from the light leaking door, if necessary) between left and right.

Put the safelight over the stop where it won't spill on the enlarging area. Put another over the enlarger, but hook it to the timer so you can focus and expose with the safelight not interfering.

trythis · Sep 6, 2014

mgb74 said:
I have 4 questions for you:

How many enlargers do you plan to install and be ready for use?

Just one planned. Why would I need more aside from G.A.S.? Ignorance, not sarcasm.

mgb74 said:
How many people will be in there at one time?

Just me and maybe later when my kids can join me...The oldest is 2 but he can fire a shutter and wind film on a Konica C35 already!

mgb74 said:
How large (max) a tray size do you plan to use?

Dunno, I envision 11x14 printing as being something I would like to do, but larger might be fun. I dont know the costs of paper yet, so that will certainly curb my aspirations, I am sure.

mgb74 said:
Do you want to have counter space for other activities (mounting, etc)?

Yep, plenty of room outside the space. The future darkroom is connected to a 12 x 12 space that serves no purpose at all other than storing junk our mail slot.

Sorry didnt see your post earlier.

darkroom size, is this enough?

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