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Fire Extinguisher
Towels
Trash Can
Process Timer
Film Clips
Water filter
Temperature Control
Print Trays
Sponges
Film Squeegee
Print Tongs
Stir Sticks
Measuring Beakers
Data Sheets
Film hangers for sheet film
Kodak Tray siphon
Fire Extinguisher
Please put a fire extinguisher in your darkroom. Many of the chemicals you'll be using are flammable, most of what you have in the room will burn! I got mine from Costco or Home Depot or Home Base or something, I don't remember for certain. If you can't find one at a building supply store, call your local fire department, they'll be happy to give you information and help you make the right purchase. (Many firemen act as building inspectors in their spare time, so you can also use this resource to help in understanding local building codes)Towels
It's wet in here! It seems I'm always drying my hands, so I have a couple of coat hooks that hold towels, and a paper towel rack (purchased - cheap) for paper towels. I don't use the cloth towels to wipe up spills, because then I couldn't use them to dry my hands (chemical contamination).Trash Can
I can't believe how much trash I have! There are prints that didn't turn out the way I wanted (only 1 or 2 per year, ha ha ha ha), there are film ends, chemical packets, paper towels (I never spill, it is only when my son is helping!), and who knows what else. The point is, there are a lot of things you want to throw away, some of which can be recycled. But you can't open the door to throw them away, or empty the trash, at just any time. So get a good sized trash can.Process Timer
I have a 10" square process timer that I use on the wet side, it hangs on two screws in the
wall, and is plugged into an outlet that as a GFI outlet at the start of the circuit.
The second hand, minute hand, and numbers glow in the dark. I cut
a cardboard box to fit over the timer, to cover the glow in the dark numbers. I don't know
if this is necessary, but I don't like having any light at all if I'm loading negatives or
processing color. I got mine from a local photo store, but for mail order, I'd recommend
B&H Photo
or Porters
Film Clips
For the longest time I used clothes pins to hang film up to dry, and every once in a while the film would slip out, or the bottom clothes-pin would come off and the film would curl. One day, while reading a Porters Catalog I saw their film clips, and ordered some. Man, what a difference. They have small pins which actually puncture the film (at the ends that you are going to cut off anyhow), so they never fall off. They are weighted, so the film stays taught and straight, and they have hooks built in to loop over wire for hanging. I can not say enough about these film clips.Water filter
Some say you do, some say you don't, need a water filter. For mixing chemicals I will only use water that has been filtered. In my first darkroom, I didn't have a filter, so I purchased filtered water. I came to this after a couple of years of differences in processing results. I did some research and found that there are numerous chemicals, minerals, and organisms are allowed in varying levels in municipal water. During different times of the year, the levels will fluctuate. Some of these chemicals or minerals will affect the way darkroom processing chemicals react. Also the number of particle in water affects how well it cleanses, and how well it absorbs chemicals. When I designed my second darkroom, I wanted filtered water, so I wouldn't have the hassle of heating bottled water for mixing chemicals, and so I could rinse prints and films in filtered water. The only hot water filters I could find were extremely expensive, so I chose to filter only that water that was temperature controlled. My Plumbing supply board has a faucet with unfiltered water, and two taps with temperature controlled filtered water.Temperature Control
I have an Econo-temp thermometer in the line after I mix hot and cold in my plumbing supply board. I'd rather have a (much) more expensive thermostat that automatically adjusts the temperature, but haven't had the money for that yet. There's always Christmas I guess.Print Trays
A darkroom has to have print trays! Actually you can process color and black and white in drums, so this isn't really true, but for black and white, and some color manipulations, trays are much easier. Most of my printing is 8x10, some 11x14 and an occasional 16x20. I have 7 8x10 trays, labeled developer, stop, 1st fix, 2nd fix, pre-wash, hypo-clear, and toners. I use a print washer for 8x10's. I have 8 11x14 trays, labeled developer, stop, 1st fix, 2nd fix, wash, hypo-clear, wash, and toners. I have 4 16x20 trays, labeled developer, stop, fix, wash. I only have 4 because I don't do 16x20 very often. I wash the prints using a Kodak water siphon in a tray. They are all stored under the sink, standing on their sides, stacked together, the developer tray is always on the top of the stack, so no other tray touches its inside. The 8x10s are separated from the 11x14's and the 11x14's are separated from the 16x20's. I got mine from many different places, garage sales, relatives who quit their darkrooms, local photo supply stores, and Porters.Sponges
I have a couple of sponges, I used to use them for wiping water off the negatives when I hung them up to dry. I've switched to a film squeegee, but might switch back. There are many debates about scratches. I never let the sponges touch any chemicals, they are only for soaking up water from fully washed prints or negatives. You want the kind with the very small holes, I got mine from Porters.Film Squeegee
I have a film squeegee, which I bought at a photo store, with very soft rubber ridges.
I use it to wipe the water off of negatives when I hang them up to dry. I'm not convinced
this is better than sponges, but I have not got any scratches with these, yet.
Porters carries these.
Print Tongs
I have a half-dozen print tongs, some are plastic, some are metal. I prefer the metal, because they slide under paper easier. I have a dot of white paint on the tongs that are to be used in only developer, the other tongs I use in any tray (except developer). You can make them fairly easy, from 1/16" metal, 1/2" wide about 18" long, bend them in half around a broom stick. Or you can get them from photo supply stores, or Porters.Stir Sticks
I have stir sticks that have a small paddle with a hole in it, in the end. After many years
of use, the developer stir stick is a lighter color than the rest. I recommend getting some
that are made specifically for mixing chemicals, you could go to a local photo store, or a
chemical supply store or a mail order photo store like Porters.
Measuring Beakers
I have both glass and plastic measuring beakers, in sizes ranging from 1 ounce to 64 ounces. They have both metric and English measurements on them. I prefer the ones with markings on both sides of the beaker, and that are clear enough to see plain water in. You can get some from department stores or home supply stores, although they are not as accurate as what you sometimes need. If you can find a chemical supply store, they would be great, otherwise try Porters.Data Sheets
On the wet side, laminate them first, hole punch one corner, then use a key ring or some other ring to hold them together. You can then flip to the one you want, and don't have to worry about getting them wet. Many shipping / post office box type places have laminators. If you have children, be sure others in your household know where the data sheets are kept. It might even be a good idea to keep copies in the house medicine cabinet.Film hangers for sheet film
I shoot both 2 1/4 by 3 1/4 and 4 by 5 sheet film. I have a large steel daylight can type developing tank for the 2x3 sheets, but prefer to develop them like the 4x5, in film hangers. The hangers hang in a black daylight tank (like a box with a lid) and are easier to handle. I actually use several tanks, one for developer, one for stop, one for fix, and one for wash, so I pick up all the hangers and transfer them from tank to tank.Kodak Tray siphon
This is used to wash prints in a tray. I use it for prints that won't fit in my print washer. From the Eastman Kodak catalog (this link no longer works, and I have not been able to find the item in online at Kodak any longer)6740-00-224-9612 147-7231 KODAK AUTOMATIC TRAY SIPHONI've seen them in the Porters catalog, and on ebay.
Visitor Comments
The comments stated below are not necessarily the opinions of Andy Hughes or DarkroomSourceUsing film squeegees can scratch film.I use a soft cotton cloth called wibel wips ( found at most photo stores)that come in rolls like paper towels only smaller.Soak one in your Photoflo solution and wring out.Shake it several times to fluff out the wrinkles and fold several times in one direction.Fold this over dev.& washed film that you hang to dry and wipe from top to bottom in one smooth motion.Much safer then rubber squeegee.Contributed by on 2009-03-03 12:13:28
