 Andrew Laverghetta |
quick darkroom printing question k, i'm gonna make this short and sweet. Can prints made in the darkroom be safely washed in normal room light after fixing? Thanks!
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Michelle Lea Guinn |
Yes they can!! the fixer stops the developing of the image. mlg~
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Justin G. |
You sure can. But I think I remember my instructor saying something about not leaving the fixer on there, that it needs to be washed soon after. I'll have to check up on that. Does anyone know the effects of leaving fixer on long than the time indicated by the tech order?
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Andrew Laverghetta |
sweet, I think I've got in planned out then :) I'm trying to find a way to be able to do my own printing (I already do my own processing) apart from the university's darkroom. I have a small dressing room between my main room and my bathroom in my appartment so I shut both doors and that will make the bathroom light tight even in the early morning when sunlight streams in through the windows of the main room. I know there are people who will say that I should just use the school's facilities but I'm a tinkering kind of person, and I can't do that with things that I don't own. I sit a crate on top of the toilet to hold the chemistry and hardware needed for film, and then I'll use this crate to store my paper/test strips in when printing. I keep the chemistry under the sink and I'll probably end up putting the trays in the tub with a small water bath and the enlarger and timer on the floor, or maybe I can sit it on the sink since I've messed with that a few times. Or maybe a little cart that I have...hmmmm... then, after I finish a print, I'll take it out laying on the lid of another crate and put it in my wash tray that's hooked up to the sink, making sure to clean thouroughly afterwards. Oh it's great, I got all my darkroom stuff (most of it) from a friend of my grandparents. It's all complete with the Opemus 6x6 enlarger manufactured from 1954-1970. While I'm talking about it, does anybody happen to have a manual for this old thing? I'm trying to figure out how to work the negative holder. Thanks! Sorry about the long message, it kinda helps me think to go through the process for other people. Maybe others could make any suggestions as well.
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Philip Pankov |
Darkroom work is a lot of fun, plus you will get MUCH better Black & White prints in the darkroom as compared to digital. For color I am not sure, but then I only do Black & White… Regards,
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Andrew Laverghetta |
I've already worked on a few prints in the school's darkroom and I love what I've done so far even though it's three prints. I need to find a good scanner to get them on the computer sometime soon. I've seen some color prints from the darkroom and these didn't make me look at them as much as the black and white prints that I've seen, but then again, I think the ones I saw were done very early in this particular person's career.
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Michael H. Cothran |
Yes. Once the print is safely in the fix, the roomlights can be illuminated. No other process afterwards requires darkness. Many photographers, including myself have a room light mounted directly above the fix tray so it can be turned on easily as soon as the print is in the tray. Michael H. Cothran www.mhcphoto.net
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Justin G. |
Ok I see Michael, so I can flip on the lights the second its put in the fixer, or give it a couple minutes?
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Michael H. Cothran |
"Purists" may argue this point, but I've never had a problem (in 30 years of b&w printing) of turning on the lights a few seconds after the print is in the fix. I immerge the print COMPLETELY, give it just a little agitation, then flick on the lights. RC paper fixes faster than fiber paper. If you are unsure, just run a test - turn on the lights right away for one, and hold the lights for the full duration of the fix process for the other. You should see no difference in the prints, but in case you do, you can fine tune the test to see when you can safely turn on the lights.
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