Darkroom supplies 101.

Stephanie Brim · Feb 14, 2006

I need recommendations on the things other than an enlarger that I'll need for a well-organized and tidy *bathroom* darkroom. Note two things: I'll be working with a rolling cart for the enlarger plus a folding table (or two) for the trays. How do you guys set up?

I'd also like to hear your takes on best paper/developer combinations. I'm thinking of finding some Kodak paper and using Dektol, but if there's anything else that I should try first let me know. There are a million and one ways to develop paper, a million and one papers to choose from, and a million and one things to try. I'm an experimental person so I'm willing to waste some paper for a good cause.

And one more: book recommendations. I'm going to pick up The Darkroom Cookbook, The Negative, and The Print, but are there any other things that I should read? What are your favorite books on darkroom technique? Are there any that I could read on down the line for when I start getting interested in alternative processes?

Soeren · Feb 14, 2006

Best combinations is a question of personal taste. Play it safe untill you have gained experience.
Your enlarging table should be very stable. I placed some hooks for windows in the wall and the conecting dingie on the table so it could be locked tightly and stable to the wall. My experience is that I needed far more measuring cups than I thought possible. Les Mclean, Tim Rudmann and Lee frost offers good advice and inspiration, Lee taking the lowtech keep it simple approach. Les and Tim goes through the processes very thorougly. Another book I would buy is called "The edge of darkness", I don't remember the name of the author.
Regards Søren

Nige · Feb 14, 2006

I'd hold off on the 'advanced' books for the moment and get something that explains the basics. Never read the Cookbook but the others take a bit of digesting IMO. Can't recommend one myself but others will.

For paper developer, I'd suggest a liquid concentrate to save on storage requirements. You only need one bottle instead of several. Buy Ilford (RC) paper or something else rather than Kodak.

firecracker · Feb 14, 2006

Stephanie Brim said:
I need recommendations on the things other than an enlarger that I'll need for a well-organized and tidy *bathroom* darkroom. Note two things: I'll be working with a rolling cart for the enlarger plus a folding table (or two) for the trays. How do you guys set up?

I'd also like to hear your takes on best paper/developer combinations. I'm thinking of finding some Kodak paper and using Dektol, but if there's anything else that I should try first let me know. There are a million and one ways to develop paper, a million and one papers to choose from, and a million and one things to try. I'm an experimental person so I'm willing to waste some paper for a good cause.

And one more: book recommendations. I'm going to pick up The Darkroom Cookbook, The Negative, and The Print, but are there any other things that I should read? What are your favorite books on darkroom technique? Are there any that I could read on down the line for when I start getting interested in alternative processes?

Using a bathroom as a temporary darkroom could be tricky if you really don't have much space to lay things out. Some people seem to cover their bathtubs and put the trays there, but that makes you squat or sit down everytime you use them.

If I were you, I would build a movable separate skinny wood rack with 1x4"s and 2x2"s to place the Dev., Stop, Fix, and Wash trays from top to bottom. Then keep the bathtub open and clean for the final wash.

You can cover the window(s) with black foamcore and cloth and keep the fan on while you're in there.

About the paper developer, use what's conveniently available for you first and start exploring more. Dektol is an exellent choice as a standard developer. Ilford MG liquid developer produces similar results but a bit colder than Dektol, and so on.

The last thing you want is to start to get a hook on a product that's hard to get on a regular basis.

About the books, I always recommend Henry Horenstein's "Black & White Photography A Basic manual." And post more qustions here as you go.

L Gebhardt · Feb 14, 2006

My darkroom is unfortunately still in a bathroom setup like you mention. I keep the 11x14 trays in a larger 20x24 tray to catch most spills. I have a tray washer that sits on the table and overhangs the sink so I can have a continuos flow of water for rinsing. I have a print washer in the shower.

I like ansco 130 as a paper developer. I use TF4 fixer. With this I only need two trays plus the water rinse. When I do FB I setup a second tray for a second fixing bath.

I like Forte and Ilford papers. I would start with Ilford MGIV RC as it is easy tofind and use. And the quality is good for an RC paper. Buy fresh paper to start with so you know how it should respond before buy older and cheaper papers.

The books you have will be good. Don't bother reading more than that at first or you will never get into the darkroom and actually start your real learning.

jp80874 · Feb 14, 2006

Stephanie,

Henry Horenstein's "Black & White Photography, A Basic manual." is a very popular followed by Beyond Basic Photography. Many Photo 1&2 course books in either high school or college use these books. Kodak Workshop Series has "Building a Home Darkroom". So many people have read these that they are usually available on eBay for $5 or less each.

Kodak stopped making photographic paper last fall and selling it as it ran out at the end of 2005. No sense developing skills on a product you can't replenish. Ilford and Kentmere are two sources for paper that I like. Many of us are trying to support the vendors who are attempting to stay in the business rather than those that have cut and run, or stagger in the case of Kodak.

Wander through the thread, Darkroom Portraits. At this writing it has 241 posts and 35,946 views. There is everything with pictures from bathroom and closet size darkrooms to whole basements, simple to complex. Pack a lunch though it will take a while to get through. (there was a url link here which no longer exists)

People are very generous with help and encouragement here.

Enjoy,
John Powers

Andy K · Feb 14, 2006

Somewhere to hang prints! The first time I enlarged my own photographs I was dead proud, saw that first image appear in the dev tray, stopped it fixed it, started washing it... and only then realised I had nowhere to hang prints to dry! So I had to hurriedly tie up some string!

Now I have a second hand indoor washing line bought on Ebay. When not in use the bar in the second pic can be unhooked and the line retracts into itself. See attachments.

FrankB · Feb 14, 2006

My suggestion would be to accumulate kit s l o w l y.

Use what you have, learn where there are gaps in your arsenal and, if the gap is wide enough and encountered often enough, fill it. It's very easy to fill a room with shiny kit that seldom (if ever) gets used!

There are many non-photographic alternatives to photographic products which do exactly the same job but work out much cheaper (e.g. sports stopwatches instead of process timers, kitchen measuring jugs instead of measuring cylinders). By utilising these you can save your money and invest in quality where it matters - candidates for these (I would suggest) might include a top-notch secondhand enlarger lens, a good enlarger timer and a decent easel.

If the dreaded "shiny kit syndrome" does strike (or someone wants to buy you a present!) then http://www.rhdesigns.co.uk/darkroom/index.html is a very good place to start!

As far as books go, Tim Rudman's book (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1840009446) is the best I've seen on setting up a darkroom and the actual printing process. If/when you feel you want to move in that direction, his toning book (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0817454659) is also outstanding.

I'd also strongly recommend Les's book (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0715314483) as it takes you through his thought processes for each of several lovely images. Excellent reading!

I'd second John's advice to stick with products that are still in production. I use Ilford for most of my printing supplies. And film supplies too, come to think of it! I also like Paterson Aculux 2 for a film developer... ...but now I'm straying off-topic!

All the very best with whatever you decide.

Frank

Nick Zentena · Feb 14, 2006

Start by forgetting Kodak paper. They've stopped making it haven't they? No use learning on stuff that won't be here soon enough.

I agree with looking at non-darkroom equipment for the darkroom. Just make sure it'll work in the darkroom. But the same issue comes with with stuff labeled darkroom equipment. I bought a timer once that I swear is almost impossible to use with the lights off. Drove me nuts.

Slop trays really help keep things clean. Nothing more complicated then fitting your tray in a bigger tray. This way when something slops out of the tray it falls into the bigger tray.

srs5694 · Feb 14, 2006

I'd pass on The Darkroom Cookbook for the moment; it's about formulas for mixing your own developers (and other chemistry) from scratch. For somebody just starting out, it's better to begin with commercial developers, since that'll simplify things. If you develop an interest in mixing your own chemistry from scratch, though, by all means go buy a copy of the book.

For paper, I concur with others who say to forget Kodak, since the supplies are limited and will vanish completely soon. Ditto for Agfa paper. Others' suggestions should work fine. If you're on a tight budget, check out Freestyle's Arista.EDU Ultra house brand paper. It's made by Foma and is decent, although it's not my personal favorite. I hear that Mitsubishi also makes some inexpensive paper, but it seems much harder to find, and I've not used it myself so I can't comment on it from experience. I think that Unique Photo sells it, and it may be available in brick and mortar shops near universities (apparently it's popular among students because of its low cost).

No matter what brand of paper you buy, be sure it's resin-coated (RC) paper, not fiber-based (FB) paper. Although many photographers prefer FB paper, it's much harder to work with -- it requires longer washing and it's very difficult to get it to dry flat. RC paper, by contrast, dries flat or with a slight but very regular curl, rather than the wrinkly effect of FB paper. Once you've got some experience, of course, you can try out the FB paper to see what all the fuss is about, but IMHO you'll save yourself a lot of hassle by starting with RC paper.

Kodak Dektol is a popular choice for developer, and Kodak is still making its chemistry, so you needn't worry about it vanishing in the next couple of months. If it does, I'm sure there are Dektol clones available, or at least they'd spring up pretty quickly. There are lots of other fine choices, too, but I'm not extremely familiar with them, so I can't offer advice.

As to non-photographic items that are useful in the darkroom, I dry my prints in metal racks that I bought at Staples. I think they're intended to organize papers, folders, etc. on a desk. One print per slot works well, although some papers tend to touch each other like that so I sometimes do one print every other slot. Because the prints aren't hung by clips, there are no indentations. This works well for RC paper but probably wouldn't work well with FB paper.

Stephanie Brim · Feb 14, 2006

The reason I want The Darkroom Cookbook at this time isn't for paper developers, it's for film developers. I want to mix my own Rodinal if possible because it's a heck of a lot cheaper that way. I know of one reliable source for Rodinal at this time and it's about 2 and a half hours away from me.

Also, as to getting supplies: regardless of what I want to use, *everything* is going to be decently hard to get around here. I'm going to have to order things online a lot of times. This means that I may have a running tab with Digitaltruth.com and Photographer's Formulary.

B&Wenthusiast · Feb 14, 2006

Darkroom supplies 101

We made our own film washer (saved about $60!!!) using a Rubbermade gallon picture (like mixing drinks or making tea) and ran a hose into the bottom of it. The hose came off the faucet -- works great! Also, Wal-Mart has graduated beverage holders for the fridge which stand up well and out of the way for some of the chemicals. Going to try some of the cheap alternatives to film driers we read about here, as well. Enjoy, enjoy!

jovo · Feb 14, 2006

When my darkroom was in the bathroom I used an ironing board with an old plastic tablecloth over it (to protect the ironing board cover) for the trays. The narrow end feet went in the tub which enabled me to pour chems back into bottles without too much concern about spillage on the floor since they were over the tub. The obvious advantage to this was getting double duty out of the ironing board and being able to fold it away when I returned (part of) the bathroom to its original purpose.

Nige · Feb 14, 2006

For drying RC paper I too use paper organisers available from office suppliers. RC papers dry much quicker standing up than lying down. When I've thrown some RC prints in my drying racks (which I use for FB), they seem to take much longer to dry.

One good aspect of Andy's setup is it doesn't take up any bench space, and would be useful for drying fibre prints when you get to that!

argus · Feb 14, 2006

Nige said:
For drying RC paper I too use paper organisers available from office suppliers. RC papers dry much quicker standing up than lying down.

Dish drying racks do a great job also! (for RC)

G

ggriffi · Feb 14, 2006

Stephanie Brim said:
The reason I want The Darkroom Cookbook at this time isn't for paper developers, it's for film developers. I want to mix my own Rodinal if possible because it's a heck of a lot cheaper that way. I know of one reliable source for Rodinal at this time and it's about 2 and a half hours away from me.

Also, as to getting supplies: regardless of what I want to use, *everything* is going to be decently hard to get around here. I'm going to have to order things online a lot of times. This means that I may have a running tab with Digitaltruth.com and Photographer's Formulary.

Stephanie,

I don't think that you are going to want to mix your own rodinal. I haven't tried it but it isn't just dump the powder in and dilute and mix. Here is a link to an article here:

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

Everything that everyone else said I agree with. Find one paper and developer and work with it. I am not all that experienced either but I am using PF 130 with Freestyle paper. The only real pain with a bathroom darkroom, is taking it down. Anyway shoot,develop, and print alot you will be fine. And as said before don't hesitate to ask here because you will get the answer.

g

MattKing · Feb 14, 2006

Stephanie:

In case it isn't already clear from all the posts here, there is usually no problem using one company's paper developer (such as Kodak's Dektol) with another company's paper.

PhotoPete · Feb 14, 2006

Stephanie Brim said:
I want to mix my own Rodinal if possible because it's a heck of a lot cheaper that way.

Cheaper than the Diafine you've already got? That stuff will last forever, although the results are not to everyone's tastes...

Bob F. · Feb 14, 2006

For paper I use Ilford or Kentmere in Ansco 130 (that's a mix it yourself formula if you want to go down that route). I did use Agfa Neutol WA for warm tones but will now have to find a replacement (I can feel Ilford Warmtone Developer beckoning to me ). If you want to mix your own developers you will also need a scale capable of reading down to 0.01g. Electronic ones can be had cheaply.

Books: I would not recommend The Print as I find it by far the weakest of the trilogy. I would only bother with The Negative if you are going to be using LF. Les McLean's book is probably the best beginners-to-intermediate book in print (though I also really like Larry Bartlett's Black and White Photographic Printing Workshop but I think that may be out of print - well worth looking out for if so). For an Alt-Proc guide, I have Spirit of Salts (Randall Webb and Martin Reed) which, in it's 160 pages, covers most of the common (?!) alternate processes. Not sure how available it will be in your part of the world.

Have fun, Bob.

srs5694 · Feb 14, 2006

Bob F. said:
If you want to mix your own developers you will also need a scale capable of reading down to 0.01g.

Although 0.01g accuracy is helpful for some developers, IMHO the claim that you need this sort of accuracy is overly broad. Lots of formulas specify quantities much less precisely than this, and even for those that need such precision, there are workarounds, such as creating a solution with a sufficiently large amount of the target chemical and measuring an appropriate part of that solution.

That said, one good approach is to buy two scales: One accurate to 0.01g and capable of measuring small quantities (say, up to 50g) and another with much less accuracy (say, 1g) and capable of measuring much larger quantities (say, 1kg). The first scale might be sold as a jeweler's scale and are easily found on Internet sites for under $50. For the second type, look in your local Target, Wal-Mart, or whatever, in the kitchen area. Two scales like this would probably cost less than a lab scale that's capable of both high accuracy and large capacity.

One other point for Stephanie: Here's a site by Ryuji Suzuki that describes his bathroom darkroom. It might be a helpful reference for physical setup. Note that he uses a Nova vertical slot processor for prints, which saves space. Unfortunately, these are rather pricey, even used.

Stephanie Brim · Feb 15, 2006

ggriffi said:
Stephanie,

I don't think that you are going to want to mix your own rodinal. I haven't tried it but it isn't just dump the powder in and dilute and mix. Here is a link to an article here:

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

g

I know that recipe is wrong so I plan to use the one at Digital Truth, which is correct. It's the formula for R09. I know it isn't just dump the powder in and dilute and mix...I'm not new to developing film or making my own developers. This is just something I haven't tried before. The developer I've mixed on my own is caffenol, but I know how to work with chemicals without blowing things up...I did fine in high school chem. I actually *love* the chemical side of things and am excited to do things like that myself.

I'll probably end up using Ilford Multigrade IV RC Pearl and Glossy. Glossy until I get the hang of things and then Pearl after...I prefer a more matte look to prints. Dektol will probably be the first paper developer I use because it's cheap and easily obtained by ordering online. I'm going to try and get a set of Ilford filters, but I have a set of Kodak filters coming. I've also budgeted for a digital scale...about $75 can be spent on that alone, so I should be able to find something decent on Ebay.

One other thing I'd like to mention. I've heard of people using aquarium heaters to keep chemistry the right temperature...is this really doable? If so, how much would I be spending for heaters?

Phillip P. Dimor · Feb 15, 2006

I have my enlarger on a rolling cart and use the bathroom as my temporary darkroom. It can be done. This is my third darkroom, my previous one was a dream.
Two rooms in my finished basement, a 10x25 and a 12x15.. One a wet side and one a dry side. I miss that. Now I have a 5x6 prison cell.

I bought a rolling cart with drawers on Ebay. It is cheap (cheaply made but inexpensive).. It's one of those 12 drawer rolling cart deals.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=57736&item=8238297343

It's wobbly but I love having all those drawers. I can fit a 100sht box of 8x10 in one drawer so it isn't a lot of space but it's good to keep smaller things organized.

I roll the cart into the bathroom, sit on the toilet and have my trays in the tub.
I've got a line above my tub, behind the shower curtain to hold my prints as they dry.
It works. It's not as nice and I can't print anything bigger than 11x14 with my little enlarger but I can print and i'm happy.

I've never worried about developer temperature. Aquarium heaters are fragile and heated water-bath systems are messy and take up space IMHO. There is a Unicolor thermostat controlled immersion-heater (think cheap JOBO water bath) that works well if you can find one used. I had one but I hardly ever used it.

A $75 scale is steep I think.. I bought a Mettler P1200 analytical top-loading balance on ebay for $45 shipped. A $25 digital would work fine. The Mettler will weigh the condensation of your breath or a hair, or atleast show you that it weighs something approximately. I loved that scale.

Andy, I like that indoor line idea. I'll have to find one of those!

srs5694 · Feb 15, 2006

Stephanie Brim said:
I've heard of people using aquarium heaters to keep chemistry the right temperature...is this really doable? If so, how much would I be spending for heaters?

Unless your darkroom gets very cold, it's probably not worth bothering with this, at least not for B&W work. Most accounts I've heard of using aquarium heaters use them to keep a tempering bath warm for color work. For B&W, you're usually fine at room temperature. If your darkroom gets cold, you could use space heaters to warm it up or heating pads to warm up your chemistry trays.

Stephanie Brim · Feb 15, 2006

Well...the enlarger I'm getting has a color head and Arista makes decently priced color development kits...but for small tank processing it says that the chemistry has to be at 105 degrees (and I assume that means give or take no more than a degree). Color development is a possibility, I suppose, but not right away. So no aquarium heaters needed right now.

Bob F. · Feb 15, 2006

For colour, some people use a tempering bowl of hot water (I guess you could chuck an aquarium heater in there) but if you are going in to colour big-time then have a look at the Jobo CPE2 processor (preferably one with the lift) on the auction site - a bit expensive but they do make colour processing a lot easier. I use mine mainly for B&W but have used it occasionally for colour and it makes life so much less fraught when processing colour!

Cheers, Bob.

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