# Bathroom Darkroom 1st prints



## randerson07 (Feb 18, 2009)

Well I made my first prints last night and this morning.  Ive learned a couple things.

1. Stick to a routine, I forgot to stop down the lens after focusing on more than one occasion yielding black prints.

2. My home made negative carrier needs some tweaking, Im cutting stuff off I didnt want to, adding things that shouldnt be there.

3. I think my bathroom is too small for my safelight, all my prints are greyish or fogged I guess you could say.

4. I could use an easel

5. Printing is a whole lot harder than developing film, and certainly harder than operating a camera.

6. Even Failing was fun.


Anyway here are a couple pics
1. Notice all the greyness. This is on the cheapest paper I could find, Promaster Black and White. Dev in Ilford PQ universal. F/16 for 15 seconds i think.





2. This is the first one that actually had something on it. Cant remember the settings but its the same paper and developer.  It didnt scan well at all, so I tried to adjust it in PS to match what the print looks like, this is pretty close


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## compur (Feb 18, 2009)

Nice pics.

On the fogging -- use as little safelight as possible.  Only barely enough to
see what you have to see and only when you have to see it.

And, check for light leaks in your darkroom area.  Any faint spots of light
visible anywhere can fog prints.

Make sure your enlarger isn't leaking light (many of them do).  Drape some-
thing over the leaks until it's only shining down on the paper as it should.


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## randerson07 (Feb 18, 2009)

compur said:


> Nice pics.
> 
> On the fogging -- use as little safelight as possible.  Only barely enough to
> see what you have to see and only when you have to see it.
> ...



Well the safelight is not adjustable, so i may  put something in front or over it next time or get a new one, who knows.

Ill check for leaks, but i taped off the doors, used towels on the bottom of the doors in the bathroom which has no windows, then I closed all the blinds, doors, and turned off all the lights in the rest of the house.

My enlarger leaks like a siv(my dad uses that word allllll the time, how do you spell it?) should there be no light coming out except for through the lens? is so then I think thats my problem.

Weather I use the 35mm carrier the enlarger came with or the home made cardboard one I made, light leaks out the sides on both of them. Should I tape this up or something?

Do you think the large mirror behind the sink may also be a hinderence?

Thanks for the help.


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## compur (Feb 18, 2009)

randerson07 said:


> Well the safelight is not adjustable, so i may  put something in front or over it next time or get a new one, who knows.



Get a smaller one if you can.  Or cover it with a box or something or maybe
put it on the floor.  You really don't need much light in a darkroom.  Just
enough to see where the trays are, etc.  And, turn it off when you don't
need it.



> Ill check for leaks, but i taped off the doors, used towels on the bottom of the doors in the bathroom which has no windows, then I closed all the blinds, doors, and turned off all the lights in the rest of the house.


After you've been in there with no safe light for 5-10 minutes just look
around.  If you see any points of light, those are leaks.  Even little ones
will fog your paper.  It might help to only work at night.



> My enlarger leaks like a siv(my dad uses that word allllll the time, how do you spell it?) should there be no light coming out except for through the lens? is so then I think thats my problem.


Yes, many enlargers are poorly designed that way.  You'd think they'd
know better. 



> Weather I use the 35mm carrier the enlarger came with or the home made cardboard one I made, light leaks out the sides on both of them. Should I tape this up or something?


Yes.



> Do you think the large mirror behind the sink may also be a hinderence?


Yes.  Anything reflective should be covered.  Chrome hardware too.

The idea is total darkness except for the projection coming from the
enlarger onto the paper.  

The more fastidious you are about that the better your prints will look.
It makes a big difference.  Your prints will sparkle.


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## randerson07 (Feb 19, 2009)

Todays session showed improvements, i think i have the fogging situation under control. Now I just need to pick some better negatives and make some better prints. Made 3 prints this morning, the first being the best by far.

1. From a 35mm HP5+ neg. The 35mm Neg carrier works awesome compared to my cardboard 6x7 carrier



2.  From a Plus-X 6x7 neg




3. From a 35mm Tmax 400 neg
I tried to print at grade 3 by adjusting the magenta knob, but i think I failed.


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## Portrayed1 (Feb 19, 2009)

sweeet!!! im getting excited myself cuz my hubby is building me one downstairs asap...thanks for sharing


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## Christie Photo (Feb 24, 2009)

How long are you in the developer?

As for your safelight, it can be adjusted by using a bulb with a different wattage.

-Pete


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## randerson07 (Feb 24, 2009)

Im getting much better prints now.  I sealed up the leaks in the enlarger, got some black plastic to cover the large mirror and doors, and block the safe light partially.

Im in the developer(Ilford Universal) for 60 seconds.

I made a couple nice prints this morning.  Im almost out of developer, stuff goes fast when you only have about 1.5 hours you can devote a day, I end up only being able to make about 3 final prints before Ive got to go to work. 

Can developer be reused? 

Ive been dumping it just as I do when developing film.


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## Christie Photo (Feb 24, 2009)

randerson07 said:


> Can developer be reused?
> 
> Ive been dumping it just as I do when developing film.



Sure, if you've not exhausted it.  I would recommend covering it to minimize oxidation.  If you know you'll be back the next day, just place a piece of Masonite or the like right on top of the tray.  Of course, a stoppered bottle is much better.

-Pete


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## randerson07 (Feb 24, 2009)

I think I read somewhere you get 20-30 prints from a batch, would that be about right?

That should save a couple $ if I can re-use the stuff.


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## Christie Photo (Feb 24, 2009)

randerson07 said:


> I think I read somewhere you get 20-30 prints from a batch, would that be about right?



Well...  what's a "batch?"  If you mean a quart of working solution, I'd say that sounds about right.

If I sound a bit vague, it's because I always used the "yellow boxes" and have only limited experience with Ilford and the rest.

-Pete


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## Early (Feb 25, 2009)

randerson07 said:


> Can developer be reused?
> 
> Ive been dumping it just as I do when developing film.


When I was printing on RC papers, developer was incorporated into the emulsion, and my concoction was picking it up, making it more active than when I mixed it.

As far as film developer went, I always it used over a few times unless it was designated a one shot.


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