Group:Darkroom

Darkroom
When	TBA, from TBA
What	Darkroom
Members
Futureshape Wyan

Where is the darkroom?

The London Hackspace darkroom is located downstairs - entrance is to the right hand side of the lift door.

Who can use it?

The darkroom is open to members of London Hackspace only.

What can you use it for?

• B&W photo printing
• Film development
• Film scanning
• Screen printing (facilities still to be built)
• Painting film
• Any other activity that needs darkroom, doesn't use aggressive chemicals and is suitable can be welcome

Facilities & equipment

Enlargers & tools

• De Vere 504 diffuser enlarger with Ilford Multigrade head, works with 35mm, 120 & 5x4 sheet film (see instruction manual to understand the control panel and how to change between different film formats)
• Meopta Magnifax 4? condenser enlarger, works with 35mm & 120 film, comes with set of multigrade filters
• Durst M605 colour enlarger (status unknown, doesn't currently switch on, may need new lamp)
• Various focus finders/grain magnifiers

Printing & development tools

• B&W film development equipment (changing bag, processing tanks)
• Darkroom sink with running cold & hot water
• Print development trays (up to TBC maximum print size)
• Paterson fiber-based print washer (like this)
• Chemical mixing jugs
• Chemical storage bottles

Projection & Scanning

• Nikon Super Coolscan 5000 film scanner - scans 35mm film strips & slides
• 35mm slide projector (model TBC)

Consumables

Some paper & chemicals are available for general use thanks to previous donations from hackspace members. Quality or availability isn't guaranteed though, so best to bring your own supplies. If you use some consumables, please consider donating something back to the darkroom.

If you leave paper or chemicals in the darkroom, please label them with your name if you don't want other people to use them. If you want to keep mixed chemicals, please store them in appropriate bottles and label them with your name & date.

Typical chemicals set for B&W print development

• Ilford Multigrade Paper Developer 1L : Makes 10L at 1+9 dilution
• Ilford Ilfostop 500ml: Makes 10L at 1+19 dilution
• Ilford Rapid Fixer 1L: Makes 10L at 1+9 dilution

As of May 2016, the above can be bought at Ag Photographic for around £33 including delivery. You normally only need to mix up around 1L of each at a time, and stop bath & fixer can be stored and reused as long as they're not exhausted, see datasheets for details.

Stop bath & fixer can also be used for B&W film development, but you'll need to buy a separate developer.

Induction & training

If you plan to use the darkroom, feel free to join the mailing list and say hi or ask for help.

Subject to demand, we may be able to offer the following:

• Induction to the darkroom space (get familiar with our equipment if you're already used other darkrooms)
• B&W printing training (if you haven't printed B&W film before)
• B&W film development training (if you haven't developed B&W film before)

If you want to learn on your own, here are some tutorials available online:

• Processing your first B&W film
• Making your first B&W print

Things that still need doing

• Clean junk & organise the space
• Some way to hang prints/film to dry? And a hairdryer?
• Get/make a lightbox for previewing negatives/slides
• Get an automatic door closer so that door doesn't stay open (and dust is avoided as much as possible)
• Consider access arrangements - do we need a door lock, ACNode on the enlarger etc.
• Find a way to collect money for spares (e.g. for enlarger and safelight lamps)
• Set up screen printing area (needs a bench to be built in the small corridor outside the darkroom door)
• Schedule some induction and training sessions to get more people interested & skilled in using the darkroom