Guidance Needed for Color Enlarging Setup for Multiple Users

[isocero]

Hi All,

As some of you are aware, I am in the process of creating a community darkroom in Santiago, Chile, and I am looking for guidance on color enlarging for multiple people.

I am aware that RA-4 paper is extremely sensitive and requires complete darkness during color enlarging. Therefore, if I want to have a color darkroom that has multiple color enlargers where people can work simultaneously without impacting others with light, how could I construct individual light-tight enlarger bays within the same room?

Also, one of my darkroom mentors in NYC mentioned that she has a Thomas Duplex Super Safelight with the color darkroom FCD filter. Therefore, my next question is: Can this safelight with the correct FCD filters truly be used in a color darkroom and not affect/fog the RA-4 paper?

Any help will be greatly appreciated.

Best,
Christian

 

[btaylor]

I can’t be any help on the multiple enlarger set up, but in terms of safelight, my brief experience has been disappointing. I used a Kodak beehive safelight with the appropriate filter for color paper. It was so dim as to be useless so I never bothered to try the filter set up in my Thomas safelight. I would love to hear if anyone had success with the Thomas color safelight filters.
You don’t say how the paper will be processed, if it’s in drums everything after the exposure can be in room light after the drum is loaded. If using a roller processor mount it in a wall, one side dark the other in daylight. Hopefully someone who worked in a lab making custom darkroom RA4 prints will chime in.

 

[koraks]

Can this safelight with the correct FCD filters truly be used in a color darkroom and not affect/fog the RA-4 paper?

I can only recommend in the strongest possible terms to not even consider this.

As to the bays: you can make booths with with a vertical dividers; as long as one baseboard does not directly "see" any of the other enlargers and you ensure that the large surfaces in the area aren't too reflective, this will be sufficient.

If using a roller processor mount it in a wall, one side dark the other in daylight.

This is hands down the best option for a community/group darkroom. I would frankly not recommend any other approach, whether trays or tanks, for a group facility. For an individual space those would be OK, but for a group space they would .make things horrendously slow, inconvenient and ineffective.

 

[Pieter12]

The community college nearby has individual dark "closets" for color enlarging. Maybe 1.5 meter by 2 meters.

 

[isocero]

I can only recommend in the strongest possible terms to not even consider this.

As to the bays: you can make booths with with a vertical dividers; as long as one baseboard does not directly "see" any of the other enlargers and you ensure that the large surfaces in the area aren't too reflective, this will be sufficient.



This is hands down the best option for a community/group darkroom. I would frankly not recommend any other approach, whether trays or tanks, for a group facility. For an individual space those would be OK, but for a group space they would .make things horrendously slow, inconvenient and ineffective.

Hi Koraks,

I have a Fujimoto CP-51 as my RA-4 processor for reference. I am going to provide a little hypothetical scenario to try to explain my concern.

Let's say that you are in the darkroom, using 1 of the 4 color enlargers. Then, another person comes into the color darkroom, using a revolving door. How would this person be able to see enough to go one of the empty enlargers? Then, let's say that you are finished with your print, and you are going to take it to the Fujimoto CP-51 inside this room, but the other person is about to expose their print which creates light. How do you manage this?

Thanks for your input.

 

[isocero]

The community college nearby has individual dark "closets" for color enlarging. Maybe 1.5 meter by 2 meters.

Hi Pieter,

Do you know if the college has pictures of this setup on their website? If so, please could you send me the link to their school?

 

[isocero]

I can’t be any help on the multiple enlarger set up, but in terms of safelight, my brief experience has been disappointing. I used a Kodak beehive safelight with the appropriate filter for color paper. It was so dim as to be useless so I never bothered to try the filter set up in my Thomas safelight. I would love to hear if anyone had success with the Thomas color safelight filters.
You don’t say how the paper will be processed, if it’s in drums everything after the exposure can be in room light after the drum is loaded. If using a roller processor mount it in a wall, one side dark the other in daylight. Hopefully someone who worked in a lab making custom darkroom RA4 prints will chime in.

Hi btaylor,

I will be using a Fujimoto CP-51 to process the prints.

 

[Paul Howell]

Depending on space, a separate cubical that is light tight for each enlarge. If each enlarger is to be used for both color and black and white there should be standard amber safe-light when used for black and white work. If you can find enough drums you can a set for color and set for black and white so exposed print is put in light tight film drum and brought into the larger room that can be in normal lighting with a motor base and R4 or black and white chemistry.

 

[mshchem]

I have used the Thomas safelights with color. It's as you would expect. You can get away with VERY BRIEF exposure. But I have done testing and these fog color paper like crazy.

Best plan is no safelights, or have a Thomas 15-20 feet away and be careful. You need at least 10 - 15 minutes for your eyes to adjust. If you're turning room lights on and off the safelights are of no benefit.

 

[MattKing]

You can use small amounts of luminescent paint near floor level to help people find their way in the dark - just don't get the paper near it!

 

[ic-racer]

Is this for the wealthy? B&W is expensive enough for many. Easier to do too.

 

[xkaes]

Best plan is no safelights

That's the way every college student wants it. That way EVERYTHING will be in the dark. That will be the most popular class on campus. That's one way to get youngsters interested in photography -- or is that photoGRABphy?

 

[mshchem]

That's the way every college student wants it. That way EVERYTHING will be in the dark. That will be the most popular class on campus. That's one way to get youngsters interested in photography -- or is that photoGRABphy?

For boys, " If you go into a darkroom with a girl something is bound to develop!"

 

[randyB]

You have not indicated how big the room is. Ideally, each enlarger cubicle must be light tight from any other enlarger. This can be achieved with lightproof curtain material, from ceiling to floor with overlapping panels at the cubicle entry. Each student must have a lightproof transport box of the appropriate size to take the exposed paper to the processor. Small bits of glow-in-the-dark tape at key positions can guide the students to the processor. This glow tape MUST NOT be in the line of sight of the paper. This glow tape is only to show a path for the students to find their way to and from the processor. Back in the 80's I used a very similar setup for color printing in a custom lab.

 

[koraks]

Let's say that you are in the darkroom, using 1 of the 4 color enlargers. Then, another person comes into the color darkroom, using a revolving door. How would this person be able to see enough to go one of the empty enlargers?

When they first come in/sign on, you do a welcoming tour with them to show the layout of the place. Ensure it's laid out in such a way that it's relatively easy to navigate in the dark. You could attach small objects/items with a specific shape etc. to individual booths for identification.

Furthermore, for visual navigation, you could use small (!) glow-in-the-dark labels/stickers. Once in a while when nobody has paper out, turn on white light to 'recharge' them. Glow in the dark stickers (e.g. the stars you can paste over a kid's bed etc.) esp if they are kept away a few feet from sensitive paper do not emit enough light to fog, but they are quite visible.

Then, let's say that you are finished with your print, and you are going to take it to the Fujimoto CP-51 inside this room, but the other person is about to expose their print which creates light. How do you manage this?

When walking to the machine, hold the print with its front side facing away from any enlargers. Roll up the paper. Put it in a dark bag while walking around. Ask people to wait 2 seconds before hitting the exposure switch. Plenty of solutions, I think.

 

[mshchem]

Yes the glow in the dark stickers work nicely to find switches. Commonsense, no different than anything else photo. Matter of intensity x time x sensitivity. I got so I could work with a safelight but you need to be careful, like getting sunburns.

 

[pentaxuser]

Is this for the wealthy? B&W is expensive enough for many. Easier to do too.

I haven't got the respondents' posts in front of me but I feel sure that a number of respondents have said that RA4 colour printing and processing was both easier or just as easy and definitely cheaper

pentaxuser

 

[Pieter12]

Hi Pieter,

Do you know if the college has pictures of this setup on their website? If so, please could you send me the link to their school?

No photos of the color darkrooms on the website unfortunately. https://www.smc.edu/academics/academic-departments/photography-fashion/photography/facilities.php

 

[pentaxuser]

Does anyone know of existíng colour darkrooms and if so how students completely new to colour printing and processing manage to do it without physical accidents and needing help in the middle of say processing - talking all the time possibly such as saying "new person in the room walking to booth 1 so others can remain or go back to their booth until newcomer says " arrived in booth 1 ?
I suppose an easier way is for all to wear a luminescent dot on the forehead and then to navigate around the dots?


pentaxuser

 

[Pieter12]

Does anyone know of existíng colour darkrooms and if so how students completely new to colour printing and processing manage to do it without physical accidents and needing help in the middle of say processing - talking all the time possibly such as saying "new person in the room walking to booth 1 so others can remain or go back to their booth until newcomer says " arrived in booth 1 ?
I suppose an easier way is for all to wear a luminescent dot on the forehead and then to navigate around the dots?


pentaxuser

As I posted before, the local community college has 24 individual color darkrooms (more like closets). Nobody runs into anyone that way.

 

[Paul Howell]

When I taught at the local community college the darkroom had 4 or 5 dedicated enlargers for black and white and 2 color enlargers with color heads in light tight cubical s. They used Bessler paper drums and motor bases which were in the front of the space in the light room with a light trap zig zag door separating the lighted space from the darkroom. In OP's case he has a color processor that needs to be in the dark. Is R4 senstive to infered? If not then maybe 2 set of inferred goggles?

 

[pentaxuser]

As I posted before, the local community college has 24 individual color darkrooms (more like closets). Nobody runs into anyone that way.

So do I take it that the students enter the individual darkrooms in room light or some kind of light then each individual darkroom are lightproof? What happens after the student needs to process his print or does each darkroom contain processing equipment so each closet is a self sufficient darkroom?

It doesn't sound as if the OP has that kind of very good set-up

pentaxuser