Question about Safelights

Okay...

so i started looking a safelights so i can begin setting up my darkroom. As i was looking, thinking to myself "this is the easy part" many of the safelights said "good for 'your name here' papers" I didn't know that safelights work for certain papers, or maybe this isn't true? Please fill me in about this. Most likely i'm thinking it's a sales gimmick. but before i buy one i want to make sure.

And since i'm already here asking about safelights what are my options -- like can i just buy a red/green light bulb at wal-mart or does it have to be marked safe for the darkroom?

Thank you!

Don't buy any coloured party bulbs! Only bulbs that are suitable for darkroom use.

Hans

For most papers an OC color or its Ilford equivalent is best. There are some papers that will fog under the OC, such as the Adox that J&C advertises. If you are using Ilford, Kodak (RIP), Agfa, Kentmere, Forte, or most others, you are good with OC, which is an orange color and generally easier to see with. When I use Forte I am a little careful, it seems to fog faster than the others, but if you are prudent, it works out just fine.

I also agree that you need to use proper safelights. If your space is small, you can probably get by with a couple of premier 5X7 safelights from B&H or Freestyle. They aren't too expensive. Another option is to get a couple of old safelights in 5X7 or 5" round size on eBay or somewhere and get new filters. Since filters fade, a really old safelight filter can cause fogging of your paper.

Good luck,

Paul.

In general: red/orange is suitable for multigrade papers. Green can be used for fix graduated papers only. You have also LED light sources for darkroom use, smaller bandwith and a very long lifetime.

Always do the fog-test with a new paper. It depends on the sensitivity of the paper, intensity of the light source and the bandwith of the light source. So in practice to much parameters to predict that it will be OK. Test it!

Best regards,

Robert