What do I need to build my own darkroom?

Question

Hi,

I'm looking into the possibility of having my own darkroom at home, and I need to know the basics that are necessary. Chemicals (which kind?), enlargers, safety light, paper, etc. etc.. But I don't know where to begin looking for such items because I don't know what all I need, nor do I know the specifics about the items.

Also, would anyone be able to give me a rough estimate as to how much this would cost?

Thanks

Answer 1

The best place to start is to get a book called The new Darkroom handbook. You can find this book and many others like it on amazon.com, I provided a link below. As for the costs of setting up your own darkroom, it is actually pretty cheap these days because a lot of people are going digital. Most if not all your equiptment can be purchased at craigslist.org. The cost varies, from free (yes some people are just giving away their whole setup) to say $1000 for all the necessary equiptment.
Really you cant beat the quality and archivalness that a black and white silverprint photo can offer, not even the new Epson ink jet printers with K3 inks. In terms of cost traditional darkrooms arent all that more expensive, and especially if you do mural printing, you will find it cheaper than printing large format digital.

Answer 2

You could go cheap and find lots of used equiment online, include sources such as ebay.

Many of your local camera supply stores may also have use equiment that they've taken in as trade ins. Try, also, the newspaper's classified ads.

Your total cost could be less than $200.

Of course, this would assume you knew exactly what you need and what kind of compromises you are willing to make on features.

You are not going to get the kind of detailed information you need on a short forum such as Yahoo Answers. Pick up a book on basic photography and darkroom. You can even do some very good research on line.

In short, you will need:

An enlarger and the peripheral doo dads.

Trays, tongs, and tubs of various sizes.

A way to hang negatives and prints.

A print dryer

A film developing can

A relatively dust free room than is well ventilated and can be light sealed.

Running water and a drain

Chemicals including a developer, stop bath and fixer. (more chemicals for color processing)

A safe place to store chemicals and paper stock

A timer and "safe" light

Or, better yet, invest in a higher end digital camera and larger format printer.

Answer 3

With today's digital technology, a darkroom is a waste of time and money.

Answer 4

a scanner and Photoshop is the best darkroom you can have.
go digital

Answer 5

check ebay for used equipment, much cheaper. You can check online to find out how to get started then start looking for equipment, and black paint!

Answer 6

you can order a whole starter kit on line @ ritz camera