[📷] [🟢] Darkroom Printing At Home
A dream project of mine since ~16 has always been to build a darkroom in my apartment. I’ve shot film since I was 13 and only had the opportunity to hand-print my photos a handful of times: the summer I learned b/w darkroom printing at camp, and once in a while when I found time to rent the community dark room at M50 in Shanghai (which is hardly).
I knew what I needed to make it happen, since it’s not all too different from developing your own film at home, only with the addition of an enlarger + fully light-proofing a room… which I picked my half-bath because it’s the one room without a window in my apartment (makes light-proofing much easier).
I wanted to share my shopping list when I planned out this project:
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The Collapsable Workbench - $154.50 subtotal … since I still wanted to be able to use the bathroom.
- Wall Brackets (22 inch) - $37.00 from Amazon
- Wooden Surface (1/2" birch plywood) - $35.00 from Midtown Lumber
- Mounting (TaskRabbit) - $82.50
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The Film Developing Setup - $307.06 subtotal
- Measuring Cups (3 pcs.) - $22.99 from Amazon
- Paterson Print Tongs (Set of 3) - $13.00 from Intrepid
- Paterson Developing Trays - $15.95 from BH
- Darkroom Safelight - $62.95 from BH
- Tube Squeegee - $14.99 from BH
- Cutting Mat (18x24) - $24.98 from Amazon
- CineStill Immersion Thermostat - $152.20 from Amazon
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The Enlarging Setup - $1272.63 subtotal… which I chose Intrepid, for a variety of reasons that I won’t get into here.
- Intrepid Compact Enlarger - $320.00 + $44.00 shipping from Intrepid
- Kaiser Copy Stand RS 2 - $566.00 from BH
- Enlarging Easel - $49.98 from Ebay
- Kodak Color Print Viewing Filter Kit R-25 - $124.99 from Ebay
- Nikon 50mm f/2.8 enlarging lens - $84.99 from Ebay
- Paterson Micro Focus Finder - $35.00 from Intrepid
- Archival Storage Box (8x10) - $21.99 (for photo paper after opening)
- Contact Glass (11x14) - $15.99 from Amazon (it’s really just a photo frame replacement glass)
- Red Sharpie Peel-Off China Markers - $9.69 from Amazon (for mark-ups)
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The Photo Developing Setup - $118.79 subtotal… minus IKEA shelving, since I needed that for the bathroom anyway?
- Film Squeegee - $15.67 from BH
- Pomodoro Timer - $11.99 from Amazon
- Paterson Tank - $29.49 from BH
- Thermometer - $10.69 from BH
- Changing Bag - $19.95 from BH
- Paterson Graduate Cylinders - $31.00 from Intrepid
Total: $1852.98. This is not inclusive of incremental costs associated with developing like paper + chemicals.
