I’m considering a number of options to improve my darkroom. This is part of an attempt to direct my wish to buy new stuff to strategies that will help me to better use what I already have.
My current darkroom is rather simple. It’s a small space (1,3 by 2,3 meter) with a Durst 670 enlarger and a 20x25cm (8x10 inch) Nova black and white vertical slot processor. I wash my prints in a separate space. This suits me well. I’m happy with 13x18 cm as my main format with the option to print a bit larger.
Perhaps also relevant to state that I almost exclusively print on fiber-based paper.
These are the options I consider:
1. Replace the simple Kaiser safelight by a better 1m led-strip. This would mostly enhance comfort.
2. Replace the Durst Laborator timer (digital, but otherwise pretty basic) with something more fancy such as the RH Design Stopclock Pro. This makes sense as I miss the ability to memorise several times and do sometimes use splitgrade printing. Having a pedal would also be nice.
3. Buy a masking easel. For the past 30 years I managed with a reproduction board with magnetic strips. This works well because I always print the full negative, but prevents me from printing with clean borders.
4. Invest in an archival washer, but considering the small size of my prints this does not make all that much sense.
5. Improve the drying process of prints. Here, I could consider building / buying drying racks or getting a heating press. The latter would be used for other purposes as well.
As I see it now, option 1 offers a good balance between affordability and a tangible outcome, whereas option 2 would probably yield a more drastic improvement in productivity (easy f-stop printing) but at a much higher price. The remaining options are probably less relevant given the small size of my prints, although the drying process deserves some attention.
What are your experiences with investments in darkroom that deliver most both in pure productivity as in comfort and pleasure to use?
My current darkroom is rather simple. It’s a small space (1,3 by 2,3 meter) with a Durst 670 enlarger and a 20x25cm (8x10 inch) Nova black and white vertical slot processor. I wash my prints in a separate space. This suits me well. I’m happy with 13x18 cm as my main format with the option to print a bit larger.
Perhaps also relevant to state that I almost exclusively print on fiber-based paper.
These are the options I consider:
1. Replace the simple Kaiser safelight by a better 1m led-strip. This would mostly enhance comfort.
2. Replace the Durst Laborator timer (digital, but otherwise pretty basic) with something more fancy such as the RH Design Stopclock Pro. This makes sense as I miss the ability to memorise several times and do sometimes use splitgrade printing. Having a pedal would also be nice.
3. Buy a masking easel. For the past 30 years I managed with a reproduction board with magnetic strips. This works well because I always print the full negative, but prevents me from printing with clean borders.
4. Invest in an archival washer, but considering the small size of my prints this does not make all that much sense.
5. Improve the drying process of prints. Here, I could consider building / buying drying racks or getting a heating press. The latter would be used for other purposes as well.
As I see it now, option 1 offers a good balance between affordability and a tangible outcome, whereas option 2 would probably yield a more drastic improvement in productivity (easy f-stop printing) but at a much higher price. The remaining options are probably less relevant given the small size of my prints, although the drying process deserves some attention.
What are your experiences with investments in darkroom that deliver most both in pure productivity as in comfort and pleasure to use?
Address the worst problem first.