The Darkroom

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A home for analog photography enthusiasts. Images and discussions about development, printing, darkroom techniques, and analog photo critique are all welcome.

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Beginner Darkroom Kit (self.darkroom)

submitted 2 years ago by Empyreus to c/[email protected]

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Does anyone here have a good recommendation for a starter darkroom kit? I've got an old enlarger, can't remember the model. I know it's a long shot since this community is small.

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[–] [email protected] 1 points 2 years ago (1 children)

I disagree about the developer usage.

1L of Ilford Multigrade developer is good for developing something like 2-4 square meters of paper. Most amateur users will definitly not exhaust that in a session.

Stored in proper(!) bottles, you can use it perfectly fine for multiple sessions. Thats what i do.

Proper plastic bottles for chemicals can be had very cheap and are totally worth it.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago)

That's true, but Ilford themselves recommend making only enough for each session which is how I've done it to maximise how long my concentrate lasts:

Prepare the working strength solutions of MULTIGRADE and PQ UNIVERSAL developers directly before they are needed. Determine the amount of solution needed for the processing session, making sure that it is a least enough to fill the developing dish/tray to a depth of about half full.

That said they also have specifications for storing working solution, I just don't print frequently enough or in such volume to use the solution before it spoils.

They also specify that working strength solutions may last up to 24 hours in bottles:

WORKING SOLUTION LIFE BROMOPHEN stock solution should last for up to:- 6 months in full capped containers 3 month in a half full tightly capped container. Working strength MULTIGRADE developer, PQ UNIVERSAL and BROMOPHEN left in an open dish should not be kept for more than one working day. If stored in a tightly capped bottle they may last up to 24 hours.

I suppose my reason for recommending this approach is it can be discouraging if you're new to printing if prints fail or turn out inconsistently, and without experience a new person may not recognise the developer becoming exhausted as the cause and instead think they did something wrong. At least to start, using fresh solution each time means one less point of failure while they learn the process and gain experience.