Seeking opinions on Red darkroom bulb.

[68degrees]

So they have these things called Red darkroom bulbs and what they are is 15 watt red bulbs for darkrooms sold by adorama atc. I was wondering if they will cause any problems fogging etc when printing b&w. It would be nice to simply screw it in and go. I could even put it on the dimmer circuit I dont know what the minimum wattage a dimmer allows. Anyway do you have any experience or opinions on these thanks.

 

[nikon_sam]

I've used the Red Darkroom bulb and the Amber one...what you need to do is determine for yourself how far away you need to place it from your enlarger and or developing trays...I'm using an old darkroom light fixture that came with a dark lens (cover) but don't use the cover...it tilts side to side and I've also place a sheet of cardboard with a hole cut in it, in place of the original cover, to control the amount of light that comes out...

Place a small piece of fresh paper on your enlarger's base board and cover half of it...leave it for a minute or two then develop it...you should see no difference between the covered and uncovered side if you do the lamp is fogging your paper...

I place my lamp on top of my enlarger and point it towards the ceiling...I'll adjust it (point it) so that I know it's not fogging my paper but so that I have enough light to work in properly...

Being able to control the voltage to the lamp would be a big help too...just because it's a Darkroom Red bulb doesn't mean you can just place it anywhere and have it blast away red light...even red light will fog your paper or should I say too much red light will fog it...

 

[68degrees]

I've used the Red Darkroom bulb and the Amber one...what you need to do is determine for yourself how far away you need to place it from your enlarger and or developing trays...I'm using an old darkroom light fixture that came with a dark lens (cover) but don't use the cover...it tilts side to side and I've also place a sheet of cardboard with a hole cut in it, in place of the original cover, to control the amount of light that comes out...

Place a small piece of fresh paper on your enlarger's base board and cover half of it...leave it for a minute or two then develop it...you should see no difference between the covered and uncovered side if you do the lamp is fogging your paper...

I place my lamp on top of my enlarger and point it towards the ceiling...I'll adjust it (point it) so that I know it's not fogging my paper but so that I have enough light to work in properly...

Being able to control the voltage to the lamp would be a big help too...just because it's a Darkroom Red bulb doesn't mean you can just place it anywhere and have it blast away red light...even red light will fog your paper or should I say too much red light will fog it...

Ok I have a couple questions for you.

what color is the ceiling in your darkroom? I plan to paint mine flat black.

I have a kodak safelight with a number 13 filter in it. What size bulb and what is the best location to put it and how far away.

The enlarger is in a separate space than where the prints will be developed so I would most likely need two but I would prefer a red bulb on a dimmer in the enlarger area and the nice kodak #13 one in the tray area.

I plan to hardwire the safelight into the wall or ceiling.

I also have another kind of safelight and I am unaware of what kind of fiilter is on it. It turns side to side like you descrebed. Thnnks

 

[mrb]

The red light bulb works fine for me, about five feet away from the enlarger, dangling from the ceiling via its cord. My darkroom walls and ceiling are all dark unpainted wood.

 

[Sejanus.Aelianus]

what color is the ceiling in your darkroom? I plan to paint mine flat black.

I wouldn't do that. I've built four permanent and a couple of temporary darkrooms. I found that white, wherever possible, is best. You can use lower power safe lighting and you should find the ambience much better. I made one temporary darkroom using builders' black plastic sheeting. It was fine in terms of fogging but I didn't enjoy myself and tended to rush each print, just to finish more quickly.

I also think the dimmer may not be a good idea, unless you're sure that the bulb will be safe at maximum brilliance. Remember, your eyes will accommodate a huge range of brightness but bromide paper won't.

 

[Roger Hicks]

I wouldn't do that. I've built four permanent and a couple of temporary darkrooms. I found that white, wherever possible, is best. You can use lower power safe lighting and you should find the ambience much better. I made one temporary darkroom using builders' black plastic sheeting. It was fine in terms of fogging but I didn't enjoy myself and tended to rush each print, just to finish more quickly.

I also think the dimmer may not be a good idea, unless you're sure that the bulb will be safe at maximum brilliance. Remember, your eyes will accommodate a huge range of brightness but bromide paper won't.

Yes to all of the above, but especially to the highlight. Either the safe light is safe or it isn't. The only place you need the dead black is behind the enlargers (which may spill white light) and even then it's rarely critical unless you're careless or unlucky or (more usually) both.

Cheers,

R.

 

[nikon_sam]

My Darkroom is one of our bathrooms so the ceiling and room happen to be an off white color...my red light is something only inches away from the ceiling but it's enough to see with and not cause any fogging...





Here's what my lights look like...the second one is mounted on top of my Beseler and normally is just inches away from the ceiling...

In high school they painted the dividers between the enlargers black to reduce light bouncing around...I haven't painted anything black in mine and don't have a problem with fogging...

 

[skibeerr]

I had a big Ilford amber light and a white ceiling, dark around the enlarger.
Very nice light to work in.
Now in OZ I make do in our rental home's utility room with black builders plastic etc.

Test your safelight, leave a strip of paper lying under the safe light and develop, check for fogging. Vary time and distance from the light source if you want to be thorough.