What do I need to set up a darkroom?

Question

I am interested in setting up a dark room but am a novice. I have some dark room experience but it has been years. What equipment do I need? Anybody know of any good websites that can tell me this info?

Answer 1

I assume you mean black and white as color can be tricky and potentially dangerous.

You will obviously need an enlarger.
For the enlarger, you will need a negative holder. You can buy this or make it out of matte board, duck tape and bulldog clips.

A paper holder would also be useful, but you can use a sheet of glass if necessary. Be sure to put electrical tape over the edges to avoid cutting yourself.

You will also need access to water for rinsing your prints and mixing your chemicals.

You will need at least 3-4 plastic trays that will fit the paper size you plan on using, as well as 4 brown plastic bottles to keep all your chemicals in.

The chemicals you will need are developer, stop bath and fixer. You may also want photo flow for your film (prevents bubbles and helps them dry streak-free). You will need 2 different developers- one for film, one for paper.

For developing film you will also need a film can with reels.

Optional- safe light. If you want to go without one, you need to be very good in the dark. A timer is also a good idea as it can be tricky to see the time in the dark. Some really tricky ones can be used in conjunction with your enlarger.

If you are in New England or thereabouts, contact me as I have left the country and my mother has all my old stuff, still good, and cheap. Otherwise, there are a number of web sites you can buy all the things you need from, but I would highly reccomend getting your paper and other sensitive things from a photo store as paper is very sensitive to cold and moisture which can build up if these things are shipped. A reputable photo store should be willing to take paper back if it was 'fogged' when you bought it.

Answer 2

I'm not a huge photogragher, but my boyfriend is. He recommended the following site, it looks to have some good information as setting up permenant and temporary dark rooms from an experienced person. It also has some great links.

http://www3.telus.net/drkrm/construc.htm