Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2008/09/08
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]-----Original Message----- > From: Yama Nawabi > So I am almost ready to start printing at my house.. What > information should I know to start printing? Does anyone have any useful > links I should start reading? > ------------ > Yama Nawabi ............................................................................................................................................. If you are preparing a space for printing, paint it white, or cream, NOT a dark color. That will make it much easier to work in. No fluorescent lights, just tungsten fixtures. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - The first darkroom I worked in was at the UWM Post student newspaper's basement (an old laundry room) in a house off-campus that was next to an alley. There was a ventilating fan above the sink, covered in black paper to keep the light out, but it didn't do much to stop cold air in the winter. On cold days a breeze would sweep down over the developing trays, and form a thin sheet of ice crystals on the chemicals. I used my hands to develop prints, so after a while the warmth of my fingers would melt the ice, but until then, I'd have to crunch through with each sheet of paper. The Beseler 4x5 enlarger was a a wreck, with a lower negative stage that hung down so that for each negative we would have to use a C-clamp to bring it back up tight and parallel with the lens plane. This also meant dusting metal filings off the easel every now and then. And the PAKO rotary print dryer was all rusty, could barely turn, and had a stained canvas belt. I think learning how to make decent prints under these conditions helped later when I got to use good facilities. My first job after graduation was running a public darkroom in a newly-built addition to the student union. This is where I learned of the wrong way to set up a printing room. Whoever designed this space had no clue. The walls and ceiling were dark brown, with two X-ray film safelights (!) mounted flush in the ceiling. All counters and partitions were made of black, glossy material, so with the dark walls and weak, incorrect safelights, it was impossible to see anything. If you dropped a negative within an enlarging cubicle, it would disappear on the black surface; if it fell on the floor, good luck - the floor was also black. There was also no tempered water supply. I eventually got a Thomas safelight installed, but the rest of the problems remained. When I got married, I converted my old basement bedroom at my parent's house to a darkroom. One of the features I'm thankful for is an Arkay rotary dryer that my father bought (in mint condition) at a rummage sale. Alan Alan Magayne-Roshak, Senior Photographer UPAA POY 1978 University Information Technology Services University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Office Phone: 414 229-6525 | E-mail: amr3@uwm.edu Department Phone: 414 229-4282 http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/Alan+Magayne-Roshak/