Why did darkroom/wet printing die?

[shadowfox]

In the eyes of the public, darkroom printing is almost as good as dead. Enlargers are being craiglisted en masse, alternative processes (wet) printing practitioners are getting fewer, paper selections are not what they used to be, schools are curbing curriculum in regards to this.

I wonder why?

I'm sure the convenience of digital printing and the less importance put on hard-copy play a huge role in this, but I am wondering why is the interest -- even among serious photography practitioners -- seem to be waning.

Going digital is not a problem because you can create digital negatives in which you have arguably more control and still use your enlarger to make prints. And it's definitely a much easier way to produce large enough negatives for contact printing and alternative processes.

Quality has nothing to do with it because a properly processed FB or RC print still has that texture and richness that few inkjet prints can match. How about contact prints using silver chloride papers that some seem to revere so much? how about platinum/palladium prints? how about carbon transfer? ziatype, argyrotype? cyanotype? bromoil?

Ease of use has nothing to do with it because at least for me, it's still easier to produce good b&w print from my enlarger in an hour session, than messing with my inkjet printer the whole afternoon. Admittedly, it takes more time for setup and tear-down a darkroom than a printer, but not to the point of deterring those who are motivated.

So what is it?

 

[delft]

It's not dead, it just smells funny, you can blame the fixer for that.

Dirk

 

[ZeissFan]

Digital. Same reason film has been marginalized.

 

[MartinP]

Marketing. That's the main reason.

The happy-snaps market was always different to the darkroom dabbler, but there is such profit to be made in the digital stuff that there has been a lot of work going on to sell it, indirectly killing off demand for the older gear. Many younger people are convinced that developer solution is more dangerous than radioactive-waste, for example. Of course, most photographers these days use small disposable ink-jet printers to make small disposable colour prints, but that is not the user group previously trying to make 'serious' darkroom prints.

They're not directly cheaper either, the serious digital products. A new inkjet printer for an A3 b+w print costs almost three times as much as a new enlarger (ignoring that there are many secondhand enlarger options) and will last twice the guarantee period, on average, instead of thirty years or more for the enlarger. The running costs are a bit less for the wet darkroom too.

At least there seems to be a little bit of stability in the level of black-and-white materials sales, but it may be seriously affected by a knock-on effect of the reduction in the happy-snaps film market.

(There is nothing derogatory with me using the term 'happy-snaps' by the way, that is where most of the money comes from to fund the whole industry and where we (mostly) started from)
🙂

 

[excellent]

I believe it's because people are so quick to forget the past. I am sure wet printing is alive and well in many countries.

 

[SuitePhoto]

All us youngsters that learned with a DSLR but are now going 'back' to film have zero experience with darkroom printing. We're already adopting the comparatively slow process of developing film, I cannot fathom investing in enlargers and other additional analog gear.

I shoot B&W film because I like the extra depth and grain - which still translates when scanned. I also don't mess with using an inkjet printer - all shots that I deem print worthy (which is a very small percentage - most are shared in digital form) are uploaded to Mpix and then delivered to my door 48 hours later. No muss, no fuss and I'm happy with the results.

 

[Livesteamer]

It's not for everyone but it's not dead and black and white wet darkrooms will be around for a long time, especially as more minilabs close. I shoot color 400 print film now but I can see the day when my darkroom is set up again when color prints have to be done mail order. There is also something magic about watching the print come out on the developer. Film and darkrooms are declining but will be around for a long time. Some time ago I passed a suv towing a big trailer and the sign on the side said "Wet Collodion Artist". Long live darkrooms of all types. Joe

 

[RF-Addict]

I'm putting a darkroom in my new home, BUT mainly for B&W work. Color inkjet prints have gotten so good that there is very little to gain from spending hours in a darkroom and trying to find the right filtration, making contrast masks, etc. etc.

 

[MartinP]

I must admit that a darkroom with a water supply would be luxurious indeed. Last time I used that sort of thing was when I worked in one. Now there is just a table in the corner of the spare bedroom. The wet bench is an old kitchen worksurface on temporary trestles. The flooring is that vinyl stuff in fake wood pattern, very practical.

The room was chosen because there is an electric security-blind thing that makes it almost lightight when closed. When I have visitors staying, a dustsheet goes over the table, and a rug on the floor. Everyone is happy.

 

[drewbarb]

Rumors of wet printing's death are greatly exaggerated...

 

[MartinP]

That's right Fred, there are certainly limitations as you might say. Largest print-size I do is only 12"x16" (30x40cm approx). The print washing is done by carrying a holding-tray in to the kitchen-workroom thing (fortunately directly opposite) and using a bigger Kodak-siphon wash-tray draining into a sink in there. One benefit is that the spare room is usually otherwise unused, so there is just a bit of cleaning to do and no setup.
🙂

 

[marcr1230]

it's pretty obvious, just as we type on computers and post messages to a common board, ask why we don't send each other hand written letters.
There is clearly a beauty to traditional darkroom prints, and there is a satisfaction of working with our hands to create something from nothing. But the overwhelming majority of the public wants quality, ease of use, minimum of effort, and digital certainly answers that for this population.
The medium of display has shifted, from photo albums and snapshots to web sites and email attachments, and digital makes it all so easy.
Don't get me wrong, I love working with film and printing, but people like us were always a small minority. Now, what has changed , is that this small minority is fractured and shrunken, as for various reasons traditionalists are pulled to digital.

 

[Erik van Straten]

The reason I still make B+W enlargements is the quality and the longelivety of them. I do not thrust the durability of those ink-jet prints. I think a well made silver-gelatin print lasts forever.

Erik.

 

[Erik van Straten]

Is there a digital way to make silver-gelatin prints?

Erik.

 

[Chuck Albertson]

It's not dead, it's resting.

 

[MartinP]

Is there a digital way to make silver-gelatin prints?

Erik.

There is/was a sytem using a light beam (laser?) to print on black-and-white paper, and there is also a company modifying De Vere enlargers to print through something like a small high-resolution digital screen in place of a negative.

Both of these options are 'non-trivial' for cost and training for labs though, so they are not so common, here at least.

 

[Michael_k]

Yes, there is a digital way to make silver-gelatin prints.
Try a search "laser" "baryt".
They burn the image from a data file onto the paper and develop it.

Michael

 

[capitalK]

Best part of the wet darkroom... I don't get any instant messages, emails, pop-up ads or crashes while I'm working.

 

[Al Kaplan]

I guess I'm lucky enough to have built a dedicated darkroom when I bought the house in 1967. Before that I used makeshift darkrooms. My easels, trays, enlargers, safelights, etc. were all purchased in the early to mid sixties, and mostly second hand aty that. They're long ago paid for. They've paid for themselves many times over. My "printer" breaking down means putting in a new bulb. I can easily produce prints up to 20x24 while listening to the stereo.

No, I can no longer hop in the truck and run down the street half a mile for a box of paper, but with three nearby photo shops I couldn't always count on getting what I wanted when I wanted it anyway. Now a toll free call and I know that I'll have what I want in a few days. Shipping is roughly what I used to pay in sales tax and gasoline. 😎

 

[Al Kaplan]

The two biggest advances in darkroom technology? The Saunders four blade masking easel so you can center the image on the paper. The bayonet base enlarger bulb for when you're too drunk or stoned to know which direction to turn an Edison base bulb.