Making an LED safelight

[mehguy]

Ive got an idea. I can get a project box and rubylith and led's. I can solder leds on a pcb and stick that into the box and use electrical tape to tape the rubylith on the opening of the box. There ya go, cheap as chips safelight

 

[Rich Ullsmith]

Rich, that's interesting - I'm getting no fog with even 40 minutes of lith developing. I have one over the tray that I bounce off the ceiling, but point it down as I near completion. I also use an LED penlight with rubylith glued to the lens with black silicone. Also use them for coating canvas with Foma emulsion, 2 coats, and I angle the light very close to watch for bubbles and stray brush hairs. I haven't done a "formal" test, but I get pure white borders with lith. I overlaid the bulb's spectrum with an ilford paper spectrum in Photoshop and looked like plenty of safe area (of course, is their spectrum honest and is their manufacturing totally uniform)? I guess with long lith sessions any safelight gets dicey, but no trouble for me yet (and bright safelights are nice for lith and half-hour plus development, makes it easier to pee in the sink!)

Well you have inspired me to test again, because it sure would be nice to have that much light. Possible the paper I used was aged. I am too short to pee in my sink.

 

[mehguy]

Here is one Canadian source, who may be able to direct you to a source for retail quantities: http://www.stanleyssigns.com/RubylithPositiveFilm

And there is some on eBay that will ship to Canada at moderate cost: http://www.ebay.ca/sch/Printing-Graphic-Arts/26238/i.html?_from=R40&_nkw=rubylith&rt=nc&LH_PrefLoc=1&_trksid=p2045573.m1684&_clu=2&_fcid=2&_localstpos=V4K 2Z9&_stpos=V4K 2Z9&gbr=1

Instead of rubylith, could i just use one of those red filters that swings under enlarger lens?

 

[MattKing]

Instead of rubylith, could i just use one of those red filters that swings under enlarger lens?

It is hard to say. It depends on the light source.

I'm not sure how useful such a small source of safe light would be.

 

[NedL]

Before I had the safelight I'm using now, I kludged together something with tinfoil and an R25 camera filter. It did not pass the pre-flashed paper safelight test for 20 minutes with Foma VC paper, and it was inconvenient to use. But it did allow processing foma paper negatives without fogging ( 3 or 4 minutes before the paper gets into the fixer ) and without having to work in complete darkness. I'm sure Matt's right that it depends on the light source.

By the way, some of the posts in this thread talk about "more light" being better, but I appreciate my deep dark red dim safelight because it is easier to focus the enlarger without turning it off and waiting for my eyes to adjust....

 

[M Carter]

Well you have inspired me to test again, because it sure would be nice to have that much light. Possible the paper I used was aged. I am too short to pee in my sink.

Like many darkroom processes, long-lith-dev-sink-peeing has many adherents to specific techniques, all ending in the same result. Like pre-washing film or the use of stop bath, the discussion can become quite needlessly heated. When the parameters include a tall sink and short legs, perhaps reserving a beaker for this process (I'd like some labeling suggestions though... "sodium bath only" perhaps?)... or installing a revolving darkroom door to negate the need?? (My wife teaches yoga so I can stand on my toes for a surprising length of time...)

 

[mehguy]

It is hard to say. It depends on the light source.

I'm not sure how useful such a small source of safe light would be.

Well i was thinking of getting an enclosure and putting a few red leds in it and making a hole in the enclosure for the filter.

 

[MattKing]

Well i was thinking of getting an enclosure and putting a few red leds in it and making a hole in the enclosure for the filter.

You would still end up with a fairly small cone of light, rather than the more preferable larger source that can be effectively bounced off a ceiling.

 

[mehguy]

You would still end up with a fairly small cone of light, rather than the more preferable larger source that can be effectively bounced off a ceiling.

Well this guy was able one thats quite small but fills the entire room.

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

 

[MattKing]

That's because the source of light is already safe, and the dispersion from that source is already multi-directional.

It is hard to get that result using a small flat filter in front of an unsafe source. A filter in the shape of a globe will work.

 

[John51]

I got a strip of 12v amber leds from fleabay, easy enough to hook up to a wall wart. They failed the CD test though, could see green.

Last week I was in Wilkos (UK store) and there was a multicolour remote controlled 3w led with standard UK bayonet fitting. Only £7 so I took a chance on it. Did the cd test with it on red and red was all it was giving out. Not done a paper test yet but if it fails that it'll be a novelty for the grandkids to play with.

 

[mehguy]

This Rubylith stuff is so hard to find... that ebay listing would be great if the shipping wasn't 10x the cost of the item. If anyone has some rubylith, I'd be willing to buy a small amount of it.

 

[MattKing]

This Rubylith stuff is so hard to find... that ebay listing would be great if the shipping wasn't 1/10 the cost of the item. If anyone has some rubylith, I'd be willing to buy a small amount of it.

Here is a source in Toronto: https://www.abovegroundartsupplies....tore.php?mode=showproductdetail&product=13167

 

[ValoPeikko]

If you use rubylith, remember to chance it every once in a while. Warmth of the light source will burn the red out of it (it becomes sort of yellowish colour after a while). Using leds is better then a bulb (due to being colder) but still it's not eternal solution Keep that in mind and enjoy easy safelights. I use 20W led with six layers of rubylith and change the rubyliths once every few years. When I do, bottom ones are already yellow, top ones are not (and are thus still safe to use).

 

[M Carter]

I started with a clamp-light (the cheap clip-on lights with the big silver bowl) with a red "party" spiral flo, and a layer of cinema lighting gel in deep red taped onto it. It tested fine, but all of the solutions with rubylith and so on have the problems mentioned above (fading, price of rubylith, and tape issues). The little single LED globe mentioned in this thread is pretty killer - stick it in a cheap fixture and aim it at the ceiling. I have three in my darkroom and one in my dark-dark room (film loading) over the paper cutter for cutting paper down. No fog problems at all, and I do lith printing with some very long dev times (and some priceless old papers). I get it that some of us really enjoy soldering stuff up and having a unique solution - but I enjoy a remarkably bright darkroom that's still just-right for focusing (I tend to print pretty big so I use a corner-friendly grain scope to fine tune, but I have no adjustment issues other than you really have to stop down with the dang scope sometimes, or spend 5 minutes waiting for your eyes to recover. Finally cut a sheet of ND gel to lay over the mirror to focus at my printing stop.)

 

[mehguy]

I started with a clamp-light (the cheap clip-on lights with the big silver bowl) with a red "party" spiral flo, and a layer of cinema lighting gel in deep red taped onto it. It tested fine, but all of the solutions with rubylith and so on have the problems mentioned above (fading, price of rubylith, and tape issues). The little single LED globe mentioned in this thread is pretty killer - stick it in a cheap fixture and aim it at the ceiling. I have three in my darkroom and one in my dark-dark room (film loading) over the paper cutter for cutting paper down. No fog problems at all, and I do lith printing with some very long dev times (and some priceless old papers). I get it that some of us really enjoy soldering stuff up and having a unique solution - but I enjoy a remarkably bright darkroom that's still just-right for focusing (I tend to print pretty big so I use a corner-friendly grain scope to fine tune, but I have no adjustment issues other than you really have to stop down with the dang scope sometimes, or spend 5 minutes waiting for your eyes to recover. Finally cut a sheet of ND gel to lay over the mirror to focus at my printing stop.)

Which led's did you use?

 

[M Carter]

Which led's did you use?

This bulb in red, mentioned a few posts up. Many Apuggers using them now.

 

[M Carter]

So, this is interesting - no spectrum chart, but a buck-fifty a pop and they string as many together on order as you desire. Dimmable.

I still think the little bulb is the no-brainer, but an interesting product for LED interests:

https://www.superbrightleds.com/mor...dule-linear-sign-module-w-3-smd-leds/141/602/

 

[mehguy]

Found these that are similar to the red bulb from aliexpress.

http://www.aliexpress.com/item/LEDl...id=c8686e88-69cf-4b38-94b5-cbd6ce57b28d&tpp=1

Found these as well that go into the 660nm range.

http://www.aliexpress.com/item/10pc..._7&btsid=f05492b4-50e8-4e4c-bd0b-a31ae523016a

 

[MTGseattle]

Hello all.
I see that this post was started quite a while ago but since people are still posting I thought I would add to or confuse the issue some more. There seem to be a lot of Kodak safelight filters floating around on various internet sites. has anyone tried one of the "normal"(5-7k) led bulbs with an actual safelight filter, or just tried one in one of the round Kodak safelights? Also what about using a piece of etched glass in conjunction with the red/amber bulb in question?
I was pretty cavalier with my paper while in college, and I don't recall ever seeing safelight fog with MG paper under a Thomas duplex light. Granted, If I felt that the student/students in there before me had left the baffles a little wider than I liked I would close them down a bit, but still. So just based on personal experience the I consider that light to be the best however, it is way to big for the darkroom I would like to build, and still much more expensive than a diy safelight.
When/if I get off my behind and get my darkroom going, I'm not going to print bigger than 11x14 at home, and only on multi-grade paper. Here in Seattle we have an awesome resource (Photographic Center NW), where should I feel the need to print 16x20 or bigger, I will head there.

 

[Ai Print]

Guys... screw all the DIY and soldering guns and sheets of ruby lith and lighting gels. Go easy on yourself. Get a couple clamp lights and a few of these bulbs and your darkroom can seem like near-daylight. These have become very popular with many APUGers, their spectral output doesn't overlap photo paper. Dirt cheap and one of the best finds out there.

Awesome...but which one is it? 3100K, amber, red?

I see amber is mentioned above...

 

[M Carter]

Awesome...but which one is it? 3100K, amber, red?

I see amber is mentioned above...

Red. I even overlaid the red bulb spectrum on an ilford paper spectrum, and there's no overlap. But test any bulb you purchase to be safe!

 

[Neal]

This is very late to the party but don't forget Rosco filter sheets. They are cheap at Adorama.