Printing ... now wat ... ?

[West_ray]

ok, i already know how to developing my bw films, and will be doing printing soon.

Just wanna know wat essentials i will need for printing, currently i have the following:

Condenser enlarger from 35mm to 4x5
14 x 17 Easel
50mm lens
Timer
sets of filters for contrast
one thermometer

..... now wat are the things i need to get to complete the set?

wat i know is i need to have:
3 (or 4) trays; was recommended 10x12 or bigger.
Chemicals/papers
tongs
1 litre bottles for chemcials??
Safelight ???
burning and dodging tools???

anyting else? and wat are the cost for the above mentioned expect for chemicals n papers?

thanks

[tucker]

grain focuser will be fun?

an a clean set of measuring cyl will be nice.

maybe ya might want to get a light density meter to go with the enlarger?

of coz if ya are really feeling (rich &) famous, trays with temperature control
( they do exist! )

[West_ray]

Originally Posted by tucker grain focuser will be fun? an a clean set of measuring cyl will be nice. maybe ya might want to get a light density meter to go with the enlarger? of coz if ya are really feeling (rich &) famous, trays with temperature control ( they do exist! )

oh yah how much does a grain focuser roughly cost? heard it's crucial

[kex]

get some 5x7 trays for small prints,or else u will be wasting alot of chemical using those 10x12 trays..
safe light is a must...but i'm using a normal bulb with paper covering it plus a piece of dark red plastic..(cheaper)
pair of chopsticks for handling the paper while developing,or latex gloves to protect ur hands..if u printing bigger than ur tray,u need the up down methods..
Ventilation fan..

[West_ray]

Originally Posted by kex get some 5x7 trays for small prints,or else u will be wasting alot of chemical using those 10x12 trays.. safe light is a must...but i'm using a normal bulb with paper covering it plus a piece of dark red plastic..(cheaper) pair of chopsticks for handling the paper while developing,or latex gloves to protect ur hands..if u printing bigger than ur tray,u need the up down methods.. Ventilation fan..

ic ... so wats the cost for the trays? for 5x7 n 10x12.

oh yah is there any sales of papers in a few pieces (abt 5 pieces per pack)? If so i would like to purchase for trial purposes. And is there any "rules" regarding wat type of papers is only suit for condenser and so on ?

[tucker]

hmz, ya might want to take note that dust and scratches in negs shows up easily with the condenser, but there's a still some good points of a condenser but i can't recall,
only know surely and encountered the above bout it
someone knows the good of the condensor ?

[kex]

It's ChEAP~!
LoLz~!
west ray,get ur paper from fairprice in clubsnap,u will be smiling at the price.
3R 100pc i think less than $10,he sell chemicals too.

[kex]

one more thing,
get a light tight box that can open up easily to store ur small paper,it can get rather iritating taking out from the packing in the darkroom.
one more thing is the plastic string(rafia?) tied across ur darkroom with 20 small plastic clips to dry ur prints & negatives.like those u see in movies..kekekeke

[tucker]

Ooh, ya might want to check the lightings in the darkroom.
the previous I used, had an old tube.
resulting in inaccurate estimation of the tones.
it's dimmer...
some pple don't mind, but some might just do.

[Pro-New]

What about a red LED digital clock that indicates the seconds and minutes, or a timer to count your developing? Make do with as little as possible if you doing it at home. B/W chemicals is rather safe to use ur fingers in it. Jsut remember to put ur fingers in the fixer to wash off the developer and wash away the fixer so that it won't affact ur next print.

For condensor enlargers, the main advantage is that it produce very sharp image, including dust and finger prints. It is also very good for flat negatives because the contrast is higher. I suggest you start off with a range of graded paper, may be nornal and a soft paper. Using filters on condensor enlarger with multi grade paper is more problematic and its an additional source of dust.

[jes]

i was hunting for cheap safelights,

konota doesnt have, ruby sells phillips E27 screw in type red bulbs for $15,

i was on a budget, went round to look for more choices (how can a normal red bulb be so ex?)

found the following at rochor complex,

5 watt red bulbs for $0.50 each.

tested, works perfect, e27 screw base at $1 from same shop if you need

no fogging, light is just enough, if you place it well, at least 3 feet away from your enlarger..

fitted it into an ikea lamp shade/holder and there's my budget safelight



anyway, here's a useful checklist that you can run through:-

http://www.natcam.com/darkroom/checklist.asp?USID={1B78F74E-D76B-4FA9-A774-200578FC8446}

[canturn]

Get the 16X20 trays from CP Peninsula. It's on offer now. Got mine for about $54, which is really damn cheap considering it's Paterson. Would cost you even more if you buy used ones on Ebay + shipment!

[West_ray]

Originally Posted by kex It's ChEAP~! LoLz~! west ray,get ur paper from fairprice in clubsnap,u will be smiling at the price. 3R 100pc i think less than $10,he sell chemicals too.

yeah! i've been getting my sources of chemcials from him ...

[West_ray]

Originally Posted by Pro-New What about a red LED digital clock that indicates the seconds and minutes, or a timer to count your developing? Make do with as little as possible if you doing it at home. B/W chemicals is rather safe to use ur fingers in it. Jsut remember to put ur fingers in the fixer to wash off the developer and wash away the fixer so that it won't affact ur next print. For condensor enlargers, the main advantage is that it produce very sharp image, including dust and finger prints. It is also very good for flat negatives because the contrast is higher. I suggest you start off with a range of graded paper, may be nornal and a soft paper. Using filters on condensor enlarger with multi grade paper is more problematic and its an additional source of dust.

yah i have the timer to count the developing times ... so i should start with graded paper? hmm .. ok thanks!

[West_ray]

Originally Posted by jes anyway, here's a useful checklist that you can run through:- http://www.natcam.com/darkroom/checklist.asp?USID={1B78F74E-D76B-4FA9-A774-200578FC8446}

thanks for the link! roughly have an idea lioa ...

[West_ray]

Originally Posted by canturn Get the 16X20 trays from CP Peninsula. It's on offer now. Got mine for about $54, which is really damn cheap considering it's Paterson. Would cost you even more if you buy used ones on Ebay + shipment!

may i know $54 for how many trays ??? woah ... $54 seems quite a lot for me ... LOlz .. will check it out ! thanks too!

[West_ray]

As for the chemicals, there will be developer, stopper and fixer. I can use tap water for stopper as wat i (we) usually do for film developing?

And i pour the chemicals into the trays before going into the dark right?

[canturn]

For a set of 3.... Red, Grey and white.

[tucker]

stop for some I figured is kinda like a luxury, or even say fuss?
but i think it's good practice ot have them. esp for paper printing.
that ya developer STOP reacting on ya paper immdietately and ya won't exhaust ya fixer that fast.



seems like this section is getting warmer now.
maybe we can have a coffee and the prints together some time when everyone has sometime to share and ask ?
nothing beats sharing the prints isn't it ?

[West_ray]

Originally Posted by tucker stop for some I figured is kinda like a luxury, or even say fuss? but i think it's good practice ot have them. esp for paper printing. that ya developer STOP reacting on ya paper immdietately and ya won't exhaust ya fixer that fast. seems like this section is getting warmer now. maybe we can have a coffee and the prints together some time when everyone has sometime to share and ask ? nothing beats sharing the prints isn't it ?

oh tat will be coolz !! but currently having exam ~ haha ... tat will be nice if there's one ..