Please help with a darkroom checklist

Christopher Walrath said:

Gee, be teck-nickel, why don't you. Where did you write that in your book?

Should have typed 'Or some such device to keep unexposed paper unexposed.'


Here's another one. I haven't tried it yet, probably won't until if and when, sometime in the future, I get a permanent DR going. I read where a famous photographer would nuke his working and test prints to judge drydown more quickly. Just a little microwave.

Just thought I, the eccentric one, would throw that one out there.

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Ansel Adams proposed a microwave to dry FB test strips quickly. I have done it and it works well. At 600W a 5x7 piece of photographic paper is bone-dry within 60s. If you do it with RC or for more than a minute, you risk a fire. The resulting test strip is not fully representative of the final print. Print color and surface gloss will be different from an air-dried print. Consequently, the technique has technical limits and one should use the same equipment that is used to prepare food.

By the way, I have also used a microwave to speed dry film. Again, 60s are sufficient to dry a 120 roll of film on a plastic spool. Afterwards, the film is immediately usable to make prints. I did it to win a silly bet, but I would not do it or even propose it as a reasonable alternative to a regular film drier.

I live in Hot Springs.

I like the wired shelving idea instead of plywood as it would drain drips away easily. Would it be possible to use containers like tupperware that have sealable tops on them as trays? When I'm finished developing I can just seal the container instead of pouring the chemistry back into a jug?

I originally abandoned my home darkroom long ago because the setup and teardown effort was considerable and I had room mates that just were too inconvenienced by the process. I went to the film and scanning for the benefit of everyone. Whilst digging through some stuff I found an old work print and compared it to the inkjet and there was no contest, even with just a work print that I would have normally just given away. I can't ignore how much better a wet print is and I enjoy the process so much more. I can barely stand to look at a computer anymore.

Sincerely,

Puma