Reducing Setup Time and Working Efficiently in a Temporary Darkroom

[Richard Jepsen]

At one time I stored chems outside the dry laundry DR. Storing chems in the room reduced set-up time. I pre-position 2L of water to mix developer/stop. That reduced wasted steps to use a kitchen faucet for water. When enlarging on 11x14 paper I use a single tray method as space is limited. Tray space extended by use of thin plywood on top of a washer.

The Valoy II pictured is a high quality portable small format enlarger. The best! A Durst 600 is a quality but portable MF enlarger.

When enlarging MF I replace the Leitz Valoy II enlarger with a LPL 670.

I use the laundry DR at night. Prints are moved to a water hold tray located in the kitchen. My print washer is a 12x18 inch tray using the dump and fill method.

A complex DR can be more efficient but is unnecessary. It takes more time to make the coffee than to set up.