I want to print at home, is it feasible?

[msbarnes]

How feasible/possible is it to print in a bathroom?

I haven't looked into the cost of the enlargers, chemicals, and etc. but I figured that the enlargers are almost free these days and the chemicals are comparable in price with the cost of film chemistry (some even the same).

Is it "easy" to print at home? I just want to print 35mm and 120 8x10 fiber paper...nothing ambitiously large.

 

[ZeissFan]

Aside from the enlarger, you will need an easel, grain magnifier, four trays (developer, stop, fix and wash) and tongs.

You will need a stable surface for the enlarger and a dark room. If you have those LEDs on outlets with circuit breakers, you'll want to cover them.

Plus, you should get a set of polycontrast filters, if you plan to use polycontrast film. Or you get graded paper, depending on how much contrast you want or if you are trying to compensate for a low- or high-contrast negative.

You should have an enlarging timer to time your exposures and a stopwatch to time your developing. A small camel's hair brush or Staticmaster should be standard equipment for darkrooms. Use them to remove dust from the negative. You will always have dust on your negatives.

One challenge that you might have is finding the special enlarging bulb, which is no longer made, as far as I know.

 

[Mackinaw]

If your bathroom can be made light-proof, has a place to put an enlarger, and has running water, then yes. Obviously, the more room the better, but if you can do the above, you can make prints in your bathroom.

Jim B.

 

[noisycheese]

Making silver prints at home in your bathroom is easily doable. Other than making the bathroom 100% light proof, the main issue is counter space for your enlarger and developing trays.

That is easily addressed with a little ingenuity, though. I know a guy that used to create working space in his bathroom by placing a sheet of plywood over the bath tub to create a work space for his developing trays. This sounds like a crude setup, but this guy used this makeshift darkroom for years and became a very skilled silver print maker.

Silver halide based photography scares many people away these days because all they have ever known is digital photography and printing. There is no reason to be intimidated to try developing your own film or making your own silver prints. It is not "harder" than digital printing - it is just different.

Here are a couple of books that will get you started in darkroom work, if you decide to pursue it: http://www.amazon.com/Mastering-Bla...=1369796938&sr=1-1&keywords=Bernhard+J.+Suess

And -

http://www.amazon.com/Black-White-P...=henry+horenstein+black+and+white+photography

 

[zuiko85]

As long as you can black out the bathroom well then yes, you can. This is what hobby photographers have done for years.

But it's not "quick and easy", takes a lot of practice and mistakes and work prints to come up with something good. You can spend an evening, 4 to 8 hours to come away with 1 or 2 acceptable enlargements. Personally I don't do it enough to get beyond the 'hack printer' label. Thought I would when I retired but so many things drag on my time. Got to just say no more often.

 

[nikon_sam]

My downstairs bathroom is my Darkroom whenever I print...so it can be done you just have to want it enough to do it...
Check out craigslist or just hit a bunch of garage sales looking for anyone getting rid of their equipment...
I have two enlargers and one of them was found at a garage sale along with three boxes full of darkroom stuff...

 

[zuiko85]

It is also important to be able to make the very best, full tonal range, scratch free and clean negatives you can. This and dust control in the darkroom will make printing so much easier.

 

[Fiatgusto]

This may not fit here, but have any of you compared the cost of scanning negatives and then printing in a home printer, versus printing in your own darkroom.
I am reactiviting(?) my darkroom which is well equipped for both developing film and paper. A great enlarger etc.
No problem developing film again, but I just stare at the dry side of the room and ponder...
Thank you for the help.

 

[Fawley]

Very feasible. Go for it and enjoy yourself. Afew tips.

-Since you have to set up and tear down, set aside an entire day.
-Choose well exposed easy to print negs to start with.
-Choose a small, light enlarger.
-Use RC paper to start with.
-Last time I looked good photo stores still carried enlarger bulbs. I have also used regular frosted incandescent.

 

[ChrisN]

Here's a few:

http://www.rangefinderforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=95636

 

[msbarnes]

for further clarification.

I currently print at my Univ Darkroom but they are closing....I'm no Ansel Adams or anything but I already know how to print.

I print for leisure and so this has nothing to do with attaining better results...printing in the darkroom is tedious but holding those fiber prints feels darn nice.

 

[Morry Katz]

Printing your own (wet) makes photography real. A good b&w fibre print is a joy to see,not the approximation we see on the computer screen. Printing is not difficult to learn, there is lots of published information. Be patient. Printing your own will make you a better photographer. I started when I was about 30. I'll be 80 in the fall and still enjoy the darkroom. And yes, I am a good printer. Have fun.

 

[Fiatgusto]

Thank you so much. I am 72 and leaning.

 

[nikon_sam]

This may not fit here, but have any of you compared the cost of scanning negatives and then printing in a home printer, versus printing in your own darkroom.
I am reactiviting(?) my darkroom which is well equipped for both developing film and paper. A great enlarger etc.
No problem developing film again, but I just stare at the dry side of the room and ponder...
Thank you for the help.

I would like to have a scanner for posting on-line but I will have my Darkroom because I still love developing film & prints...there's something about watching that image come up with the red light in the background...😀

 

[rodinal]

Aside from the enlarger, you will need an easel, grain magnifier, four trays (developer, stop, fix and wash) and tongs.

You will need a stable surface for the enlarger and a dark room. If you have those LEDs on outlets with circuit breakers, you'll want to cover them.

Plus, you should get a set of polycontrast filters, if you plan to use polycontrast film. Or you get graded paper, depending on how much contrast you want or if you are trying to compensate for a low- or high-contrast negative.

You should have an enlarging timer to time your exposures and a stopwatch to time your developing. A small camel's hair brush or Staticmaster should be standard equipment for darkrooms. Use them to remove dust from the negative. You will always have dust on your negatives.

One challenge that you might have is finding the special enlarging bulb, which is no longer made, as far as I know.

The more specialized gadgets you get, the better... but you can start simple without enlarging timer (a watch with a seconds hand is enough), without a stopwatch for developing (a kitchen timer is enough), without a grain magnifier (if your eyesight was ok tha's enough. you can also use a pair of reading eyeglasses or a simple magnifying glass) etc.

Also, you don't need running water inside the darkroom (as far as you have a kitchen or bathroom available close to your darkroom). I printed for many years inside a large pantry close to my kitchen.

Good ventilation is very desirable for comfort, but as far as you don't tone your prints or use exotic developers, it's not strictly a necessity (for health reasons) either...

And yes, some enlarger bulbs are somewhat difficult to find these days...

That said, today I enjoy all the mentioned gadgets (and many many more) and have an air-conditioned darkroom (and a box full of spare enlarger bulbs), but took me forty years of continuous development to get here... You don't need all that stuff to begin the play.

 

[maddoc]

My makeshift darkroom consists of a LPL3301d enlarger for 35mm (the smallest available I could find), that will be set up on a shelf put on the bathroom sink. The three trays (dev, stop, fixer) are placed on top of a foldable bathtub cover (common item in Japan to keep the water in the bath tub warm and clean) and will be dropped into the water-filled bathtub after fixing. The bathroom windows (mounted slightly recessed into the walls) are covered with slightly over-sized cardboard material. This set-up is not 100% light-tight during daytime (stray light from the door and windows) but perfectly usable at night (the only spare time I have for printing). Total cost including enlarger was maybe US$100 (icluding grain loupe, darkroom timer, Patterson red safety light, tongs, and trays).

Setup/cleanup time is maybe 40 minutes in total

 

[Roger Hicks]

Dead easy.

See for example http://www.rogerandfrances.com/subscription/ps how loo.html (turning the smallest room into a bathroom) and http://www.rogerandfrances.com/subscription/darkroom.html which also tells you about the Nova darkroom tent.

Cheers,

R.

 

[shiro_kuro]

I came up with a pretty good set up for a small bathroom darkroom that allowed it to be used while still set up or quickly taken apart and set up again ...

The bathroom layout was typical for a condo or most small bathrooms with vanity/sink and toilet on same wall with bathtub against back wall ... L shape configuration

Material needed

2 @ 2x2x8 Ipe

1 @ 2x4x4 Ipe (cut in half to the width of the sink )

4 @ 2 1/2 " screws (pre drill wood )

I was using a bessler 23c which worked just fine in the small space and the weight was perfect as counter balance to the cantilevered trays .....

Cut the 2x4 so that that it fits the width of the sink . Place 2x4 left and right side of sink attach 2x2 Ipe to the back and front of the 2x4's so they straddle the sink and extend out over the toilet into the bathtub . The 2x2's should be spaced so that the trays rest in-between the 2x2's with the lip of the trays resting on top ... this way the trays drop down between the 2x2's and cannot be knocked off. The enlarger gets placed over the vanity/sink on top of the 2x2 rails. The weight of the enlarger and 2x4's keeps everything in place and offsets the weight of the trays so there is no need for legs .... This set up allows use of the toilet ,shower and sink .. clean is easy as you just slide the trays into the tub .....take the enlarger off and put the rails in a closet .

Hope this makes sense ... it worked great for me and took about 10 minutes to make ......

Best part of the bathroom darkroom is plastering the the shower walls with test prints ... when wet they stick right to the walls 🙂

 

[Jockos]

In by previous flat the bathroom was connected to the hallway, so in order to get more space, I decided to darken the whole hallway. This was done with 2 layers of heavy cloth covering both doorways and one piece of cloth over the window in the room to which I had no door.

That gave plenty of space to keep the wet and dry areas separate + access to running water!

 

[sleepyhead]

No one has yet mentioned another factor: TIME

Do not underestimate the time required. The feasibility of doing darkroom work will depend on this.

I find I can do meaningful "digital darkroom" work here-and-there in the evenings on my laptop (even 30 minutes of free time can be fruitful, even on the sofa keeping my wife company at the same time), but to go in the darkroom 4-5 hours as a minimum is required to set up the chemicals, etc., get "into the groove", make test prints, etc. I prefer roughly 12 hour sessions, they are efficient for me in terms of getting some darkroom work done, but not get too exhausting.

Unfortunately, I can only find such long darkroom sessions a few times a year due to a busy work and family life...