Advise for running a small college darkroom -especially chems.

[terry_stedman]

Hello everyone,

 

I've been enjoying photo.net for a while now, as I've found it to be a

great place to hear the opinions of experts and expert-level amateurs.

I have a somewhat long post here, so bare with me.

 

Come August, I'm going to be putting together a darkroom for my

college. Its a tiny college, less than 700 people, and mainly focused

on nat-sci and social sciences. However, there has been some demand

for a darkroom, and so funding was allocated for turning a room in the

student center into a darkroom. The equipment has all been ordered,

and construction is almost complete, and since I'm the one who

volunteered to do all the research into what to get, I've been charged

with setting it up and running it. The school funded construction,

but isn't going to pay for its use, so from now on, I have to be as

thrifty as possible. Furthermore, the darkroom is pretty small, and I

only ordered four enlargers, so there may be crowding, or more demand

than supply, so to speak. I'm guessing at most 30 people will be

interested in using the lab a month.

 

Now, here's the part where I'm asking for advise. I'm not sure what

chemicals to use. I'm especially worried about which developer. I

need something thats cheap, thats good for as many different

films/papers as possible, and that I can mix up as a working solution

once a week/month/every-once-in-a-while and leave out in bins for

people to use to develop film, and pour into trays to develop paper.

 

I'd also like such advise about fixer, stop bath, permawash, and

photoflo. I figure I need both stop and permawash because its easier

for beginners, and to speed people through the process (I want to

avoid lines!). I know that stop bath is just diluted vinegar. Whats

the cheapest way to get it? Buy bulk vinegar? or can it be obtained

cheaply in a more highly concentrated form?

 

I've been thinking about hand-mixing the chemicals. Will this be a

significant savings? Or is it not worth the trouble in a

gang-darkroom situation?

 

Another question is disposal. Whats the best way to get rid of all

this stuff? I remember hearing about mixing the developer with stop

bath, then pouring it down the drain. Also, fixer can be poured down

the drain if you leave it in a bucket with steel wool for a few days.

Am I getting this right?

 

I'm looking forward to hearing your opinions and experiences. In

addition to stuff about chems, if you have any advise about any aspect

of running a lab for both experienced users and brand-new beginners,

let me know!

 

Thanks,

[jeffrey_lan]

my high school and university (UW-Madison) are both pretty similar in terms of chemicals -

 

film developer - D76 1:1. one jug of stock solution; dilute to 1:1, then return to a "used D76 1:1" jug. used D76 1:1 is used once more, then discarded.

 

stop bath - just plain water. nothing wrong with it, and some people say it's better, since you don't get a pH shock between chemicals

 

fixer - standard kodak fixer, though a rapid fixer would be much appreciated ;P

 

hypo clear - don't know what brand, but not everyone uses it (i admit, i don't)

 

photo-flo - for some reason, my high school had this, but my university doesn't. *please* get photo-flo for yours, cos it saves a HELL of a lot of pain, especially if you have hard water.

 

the darkroom at my university has three options for use:

Union CraftShop membership - this goes for about $75 per semester

Free Art Fridays - on friday nights, the facilities are open to all students. free chemicals and access to equipment.

Free Art Fridays, photography focus - same as "regular" free art fridays, but with basic instruction for newbies (for the most part, they just to Rayograms, since they don't have negatives), as well as free paper (5x7 kodak glossy).

 

having the photography focus fridays gets costly due to all the extra people crowding up the darkroom, as well as newbies not being too careful about not contaminating the chemicals. with good reason, photo-focus fridays don't occur too often.

[stevierose]

I think that many school labs use Sprint Photographic Chemicals which you can see at this

URL: http://sprintsystems.com/products.html Their film developer is a liquid concentrate

that is a replacement for D76 1:1, so you don't have to mix powders. Their chemicals

come in small and large sized containers and are fairly economical. Many retailers both

local and online carry them.

[ronald_moravec1]

Once I compared the cost of scratch dektol , d72, with purchased and there was no savings.

 

I would have students purchase and use their own RC paper and film to control waste. For instructional purposes with beginners, d76 and tri-x film would be good. The schools here tell the stores what paper and film will be used for the school, the stores stock up, and the students buy their own.

[andre_noble4]

If the purpose is to educate in regard to the craft of photography, you gotta (in my opinion) give the students relevant training that they can take with them as a starting point for future "development". Therefore this means training on mainstream, name brand chemicals such as Kodak D-76, Heico Perma Wash, Kodak Photo Flo or Edwal LFN, etc.

 

If the program is just an artsy crafty type exposure to photography, perhaps o.k. to use no-name chem brands.

[phillip_p._dimor]

Our college darkroom had a large film dryer. In retrospect I think it was a lab dryer salvaged from the biology department, but your film was ready to print in 10 minutes and it saved a lot of hassle.

[bruce watson]

I'll toss in a dissenting voice. I think you should consider XTOL for film development. There are two reasons for this. First, the students will be using it "one-shot" so student A isn't effecting student B's development as might happen in a reuse and replenish situation. Second, it's about as environmentally friendly as it gets. I think training newbies in these areas is a good thing.

 

I really think you should consider a silver reclamation process for the fixer. This also is good for the environment, and something that should be taught to the newbies. The bucket-and-steelwool thing probably works, but fixer in an open bucket is smelly, and how long do you leave it to work? Especially when people are constantly adding more fixer to the bucket?

 

Finally, I think you might want to consider having a Jobo system or two around. You'll have enough students to justify it, the chemical savings are large, and the processing quality improvement is large too. Might as well teach the newbies about the value of consistent processing.

 

Just my two cents. Of course, YMMV.

[john_shriver]

Cubetainers are your friend. (A plastic collapsing bottle inside a cardboard box.)

 

Film developer should be used on a one-shot basis, no point having one fool ruin someone else's film. It's not nearly so bad when someone "stops" the paper developer, it's noticed on the next sheet of paper. But a lost roll of film is "permanent". (In every shared darkroom, there lurks at least one fool.)

 

I could see D-76, Xtol, or HC-110 as appropriate and cost-effective developers on a one-shot basis. It should be a simple enough exercise to figure out which is cheapest per roll.

 

If you use D-76, don't pre-dilute to 1:1. 1:1 doesn't save developer, you still have to use 8 ounces of stock solution per roll.

 

For HC-110, this is probably a case where making the stock solution would be appropriate. It makes the final dilution less exacting, reducing the risk of bad results.

 

Xtol does have the previously mentioned advantage of being environmentally friendly, and least likely to cause allergies. You should be using it fast enough that you don't have to worry about the shelf life of the stock solution.

 

For paper, Dektol, or any of the clones of it.

 

For film stop, water. For paper stop, buy acetic acid. Might be cheapest through the chemistry department. (However, don't leave glacial acetic acid in the darkroom, only the 28% dilution.)

 

Use a rapid fixer. Such as Kodafix, Kodak Rapid Fixer, Ilford Rapid Fixer, etc. As Anchell and Troop note, many modern films just cannot be properly fixed with non-rapid fixers.

 

If water is expensive, use a non-hardening rapid fixer. Either mix Kodak Rapid without the hardener (use part A only), or use the Ilford. (In the large sizes, Kodak sells parts A and B separately.) Saves a lot of wash water.

 

Keep two jugs of working fixer, one at film strength, one at paper strength. Do try and have the students make tick marks on the film bottle for each roll they fix. Also, teach them to test the fixer on the cut-off film leader so they know it's good.

 

Silver recovery may be a legal issue where you are -- check the state and local regulations on silver in waste water. Good news is that it can be quite profitable. You get to sell back the silver that the students have bought in the film and paper!

 

Disposal of the developers and stop baths is a non-issue.

[lex_jenkins]

Having worked in community darkrooms, including high school and college, I can confirm the danger of using a replenishment system for developer. More than once I experienced film failure because the student assigned to maintain the D-76 replenishment scheme would screw up either because they didn't understand the process or were careless and lazy because they resented the assignment.

 

That's when I started using HC-110 concentrate to mix up my own one-shot developer. There are plenty of one-shot developer brews now that are easier to mix than HC-110, tho'. Even the most severely math-challenged student can understand a 1:1 or, at worst, 1:3 ratio while their heads might spin off their necks at the mere thought of mixing the right quantity of HC-110 Dilution B to fit in a particular tank/reel system.

 

I think one reason Ilfosol-S seems to be fairly popular in community and school darkrooms is because the 1:9 ratio is easy to visualize - the total amount of liquid is based on tens: 1 ml of concentrate plus 9 ml of water = 10 ml of total developer solution; multiply that by 10 for a liter, enough developer for most multi-reel tanks. (The more economical 1:14 alternative dilution would be a bit trickier for the math challenged and, besides, produces somewhat inferior results.)

 

For my own personal use in a community darkroom I'd bring my own liquid concentrate - HC-110, Rodinal, etc. But as long as other stock solutions are brewed and mixed under careful supervision, developers that are mixed to a final one shot working solution of 1:1, such as D-76, Xtol, etc., may be the best compromise between economy and ease of use.

[jimvanson]

Terry -- there was a somewhat similar thread to yours about a month ago http://tinyurl.com/2np3a -- you may be interested in it.<P>I'd try a search on dumping chem's down the drain -- should be quite a lot of noise on that.<P>The most important things I've found during the time I've run public darkrooms is make them as friendly yet foolproof as possible, don't get too creative (things like: Stop is cheap where as highly concentrated vinegar -- glacial acetic acid -- is <U>very</u> unfriendly to those who are unsure of how it's to be handled).<P> Finally, try and set up some kind of system where someone using the darkroom is able to phone for or at least look up the answer to some trying question like "I'm doing 11x14 prints. Got the big trays, dumped in the liter of HC-110 developer that was sitting here but it's kinda thick -- would it be OK to add some water to it?"<P>If a knowledgeable volunteer isn't hanging around somewhere we supply a list of staff or volunteers who can usually solve the problem over the phone.

[terry_stedman]

Thanks everyone for the responses.

<p>

Let me run by you the idea I had for handling film development based on my experiences in highschool. The teacher mixed up the chems every once in a while (I have no idea how often - I guess whenever supply ran low), and had them stored in jugs like <a href="http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=productlist&A=details&Q=&sku=43195&is=REG">this</a>, and when student was going to develop film, he just poured, through the stopper, the chems into a plastic graduate - 8 ounces per tank, and no further mixing or dilution required - and from the graduate into a plastic cup (so that others could use the graduate). Then he'd start the process for film, pouring developer and stop bath down the drain afterwords, and fixer into a separate tank. So, one-shot with everything but the fixer.

<p>

Now, I don't know how to judge what I did in highschool, since my teacher there wasn't exactly top notch (I thought I had invented dodging and burning - he sure never told us about it!). I think its probably the most convient for everybody - darkroom users don't have to mix chemicals, and the guy in charge only has to mix them every once in a while. So, unless this is a bad system (and I'd like to hear what you think of it), I'd like to hear which developer everyone thinks is a good combination of price, working solution longevity, and compatibility with films. Bear in mind that if I -and not the students- am mixing the chems, up to the working solution, it doesn't matter how tricky the mixing is - which is why I've been thinking about mixing the chems from scratch.

<p>

Everybody seems to recommend skipping stop bath for the film - I hadn't realized it was so unpopular.

<p>

I'd like to clear up what might be a few misconceptions. This is a student-run-and-funded darkroom, meaning: no classes are associated with it. We don't even have a photography professor at my college. Mostly, the darkroom would be used by students with independent photography projects, and people who just enjoy working in a darkroom. Of necessity, I'm going to have some kind of how-to-use-the-darkroom clinic so that students who have never done it before know what to do, but the darkroom isn't really for education; its for recreation or independent projects. Of course, the fees students pay to use the darkroom would only go to paying chemicals and equipment - film and paper is their responsibility. I imagine that some of the advanced users will eschew the fee-provided chemicals at least for film development and make their own.

<P>

I'm trying to get an electronic card-lock set up on the door (that's the amazing thing about my college - they won't pay for chems but will pay 3000 bucks on a fancy card-swipe system) so that I can restrict who can go in the darkroom and when they can go in. This would mean that basic users - who I wouldn't trust to mix chems on their own - will only be able to go in during certain hours, during which I can either supervise or at least set up for them ahead of time.

[terry_stedman]

Thanks Jim for the link. I remember reading that and getting some insight on how to approach things.

 

However, I'd like to illustrate how that situation is different from mine, because I think people are seeing "college darkroom" and making assumptions based on that:

 

1) There won't be a professor/teacher/authority figure - Just me, the guy who runs the darkroom. This has several important implications. I don't necessarily know more about photography than the people using the darkroom, I'm not necessarily a "better" artist/photographer than them, and I'm not going to be able to dictate which papers or films they use (except suggest what works best), and I'm not going to have a teacher-student relationship with them.

 

2) I bet that darkroom sees more than 30 people a day. To to give you an idea of how often I expect my darkroom to be used, if you have a home darkroom that you use every other day for about five hours at a time... at the highest end of my expectation and planning, my darkroom will be used 10 times as much, and its probably more like 10 different people a week.

 

3) I mentioned this above, but again, my darkroom isn't for education so much as letting people with a photography hobby have a place to do their hobby. I'd like to help people develop an interest in photography, which means brand-new users will be using the darkroom, but I bet that most of the darkroom's use will be by more experienced people.

 

4) My college isn't going to pay for chemicals at all. So, in addition to having a system thats easy, it really needs to be cost effective as well. I really wouldn't mind mixing from scratch a no-brand developer provided: it's acceptable with most films, it's cheap, and at most I have to mix it once a week.

[colin_lee3]

I have to agree with the above statements about not re-using/replenishing film developers. We've had a few mishaps at our univeristy with somebody who screws up the film developer, and then puts it back in the bottle to hide the fact. Unfortunately, there isn't any way to recover the negatives, and some rolls of film are rather important (projects for fine arts students, weddings, etc.).

 

But the problem is keeping the stock concentrate available for general use. As a graduate student in chemistry, I can tell you right now, that somebody will screw up the stock bottle sooner or later (usually sooner). So you're going to need to aliquot out the stock into smaller portions and make it available in small doses. Liquid concentrates will be your best friend.

 

You'll need to weigh the membership fees versus the maintenance costs of the darkroom after the first year. At our university, the membership is only 45 people @ $20 per person per year. However, there are only 10 very regular users. Most people pay their fees, use the dark room twice, and never come back. Don't forget to include things like enlarger bulbs in the budget (people will leave enlargers on overnight).

 

A few members (myself included) bring our own chemicals since we hate relying on luck with regards to the freshness of chemicals, and we like to try different products. Thankfully, we have some lockers available for regular users which saves us from carrying a rubbermaid tote full of stuff every time.

 

We also sell film to the members from bulk loaders. HP5+ and FP4 are very forgiving, so alot of people like them. We sell it for minimal profit, but that is just to encourage more shooting and interest. Another idea would be to have a display board for the members to show off their work. At our university, that in itself generates more interest in the photoclub than anything else.

 

 

I hope this perspective helps.

 

 

Colin

[dean_williams]

From a post above: "If you use D-76, don't pre-dilute to 1:1. 1:1 doesn't save developer, you still have to use 8 ounces of stock solution per roll." Well, there seems to be some confusion on this point, but if you use a tank that takes 8 oz developer, and you want to use D76 1:1, you need only 4 oz of stock solution (plus the 4 oz of water). Using D76 at 1:1 cuts your developer cost in half. A more economical approach to be sure, since you have to supply the chems.

 

Here is the quote from Kodak's D76 page, concerning the 1:1 dilution:

 

"If you process one 135-36 roll in a 237 mL (8-ounce) tank or two 135-36 rolls in a 473 mL (16-ounce) tank, increase the development time by 10 percent (see the following tables)."

[tim obrien]

30 people a day?

 

I don't think so. Not unless you are talking about University of Maryland or something. What you will find is a core group of people will use the darkroom twice a week max! And that's while there are no finals, no midterms, no projects due. That core is going to be small. Occasionally you will have someone new wander in and use the darkroom for a couple of weeks then fall into the core group or discontinue use altogether.

 

I have used group darkrooms in the military rec centers, a professional photography school, and the University of Mass. in Dartmouth. Nowhere does your core group ever get to any appreciable size, especially when there is no requirement for work to be done in the darkroom.

 

That opinion uttered, if it were my darkroom, here is what I would do:

 

1.) Sign up sheets. Restrict access to a certain number at any one

time.

 

2.) Always have a monitor. You'll save a fortune in ruined chemicals. Have training classes for volunteer monitors if people complain the DR is not opened enough.

 

3.) D-76 mixed stock with instrructions on how to use it 1:1 or 1:3 with appropriate exposure/development times for each dilution. The D-76 should be in a tank that cannot be accessed by the user. I have seen more film ruined by developer contaminated by people recycling their diluted developer or fix.

 

4.) Stop bath set up for film dilution and instructions for paper dilutions. Warning that the film stop can be recycled, the paper stop should be discarded. Make sure all users know what expired stop looks like.

 

5.) Rapid fix with no hardener. Preferably at a separate development station so the fix doesn't get dumped in the stop. As part of the daily setup procedure, test the stop for activity.

 

6.) Permawash. Save the water.

 

D-72 set up stock with direction on how to mix it for one shot print use.

 

7.) Find out from local film processing houses how to dispose of fix, the rest will take care of itself.

 

tim in san jose

[patrick_osullivan1]

I agree with those who have recommended against having a "Used D-76" container. When I was in high school, more than once did someone pour fixer back into the developer bottle. I started keeping a bottle of Rodinal in my drawer and using that because I was afraid of people messing me up.

[User_502260]

I agree with the idea that film developer should be one-shot. D-76 is a good starting point for learners. I would also consider Clayton F60 film developer. It is a liquid concentrate and contains phenodine as a developing agent. The results with fast film like Tri-X and HP-5 Plus are similar to those obtained with Ilford Microphen. F60 is normally diluted 1:9 so a quart of concentrate will produce 10 quarts of working solution. With stainless steel reels that use 8 oz. per roll that's enough for 40 rolls. It comes in brown plastic bottles and I would recommend pouring it into colored glass swing top pint bottles to help it keep better. Thoroughly cleaned Grolsch beer bottles are perfect.

 

Many photographers now use regular fixers rather than acid hardning fixers for film. Clayton makes an Odorless Fixer which can be diluted for use with either film or paper. It really is odorless and that's good for any darkroom. For printing you will also need stop bath of some kind to extend the life of the fixer. Clayton makes an Odorless Stop Bath. It is diluted 1:19 and is an indicator type. It starts out yellow and turns purple when it is exhausted. You can buy these Clayton chemicals from Freestyle in California. They ship out orders prompty and carry a good selection of chemicals and other photo items. Clayton also makes Freestyle's Arista house brand of darkroom chemicals. There is an Arista brand of Odorless Stop Bath which is diluted 1:31. A pint size bottle will make 4 gallons of working solution. You can buy glacial aceitic acid and dilute it for stop bath. This is more economical but once you experience processing and printing with odorless stop bath and fixer you will not want to go back to the old smelly chemicals.

 

Some people like to use stop bath for film and some do not. That is a personal choice and depends, in part, on what film is being developed. There are many good choices for paper developer. Clayton P20 Print Developer is diluted 1:7 for use and delivers a normal to slightly warm tone on Kodak Polycontrast III RC, Polymax II RC and Ilform Multigrade RC papers. Kodak Polymax T print developer is diluted 1:9 and gives similar tones to the Clayton product. If the darkroon uses a large volume of chemicals then concentrated chemicals can be purchased in gallon or larger sizes. If the volume is not that great then purchasing the chemicals in 1 Quart size containers would be better. This way you will have a better chance of getting fresh stuff to work with.

 

The Clayton film and paper developers use phenidone as a developing agent, not Metol. Metol (Kodak calls is Elon) is used in Dektol and D-72 and other products. Some people are allergic to Metol and can get skin rashes. This is much less common with phenidone based products. With liquid concentrates you won't spend time mixing powders and getting dust in the air. When you combine this with the odorless stop bath and fixers you have a more pleasant experience and a lot more convenience. I hope you find this helpful. Jeff Adler

[dk_thompson]

as for chem ordering & cost--you haven't said whether the school is public or private. I only ask because, if you're in a public system--it may be that you can purchase your supplies through contracts. chances are if your system is like this, you'll be forced to purchase materials whether you like it or not through the contracts. it's worth checking to see if such a purchasing scheme is in place because if you look at the amount of material used on the whole within a state system for example--usually the contract prices are dirt cheap. The choices may not be as large--like maybe you're stuck with one vendor & manufacturer--but I work within such a system, and for years we've gotten stuff at as much as 80% off. our ship fee is higher then the cost in some cases...

 

btw--check out the local codes in your area as far as effluent disposal. I'm thinking you'll probably need a silver recovery unit. make sure you get all your safety stuff (hazard management) in line as well--MSDS sheets posted, eyewash stations, etc. if the school has a safety officer or osha liason, they can probably help. you need to CYA in case of emergencies- hope this helps. my opinions only/not my employers.

[terry_stedman]

Thanks everyone for all the contributions. Luckily, I don't have to make that decision yet. I think I may opt to experiment and see what everyone likes best. I think the number one thing I've learned from this thread is: One Shot Developer Only!

 

DK - My school is New College of Florida, which is public. However, its so small and non-institutional that I doubt our business manager is aware of any such contract system. However, its good to know about that possibility.

[brendan_ward]

I too am a student at UW-Madison, and an avid user of that communal darkroom/woodshop/pottery complex known as the Union Craftshop. The caveat is that I now mix my own chemistry (Developers: PMK for film, BW-65 for paper, Fixer: TF-4 for both - though separate jugs to avoid staining my paper!, water stop bath for both). I mix my own for quality control (I only have myself to blame for F*%^&%-ups), for cost (they charge hourly prices for chemistry that become exhorbitant for long users like me), and because PMK is better for my style!

 

To clarify on a previous poster's statements about the chemistry in the Craftshop - all Kodak chemistry for developer/stop/fix, purchased in large quantities for discount. Film: D-76, mixed 1:1 by each user with no return to any bottle (no wonder I stopped using their chemistry!), Kodak indicator stop bath or water for stop, Kodak standard fixer, Kodak Hypo-clear, super diluted Photo-flo periodically available. Paper: Dektol 1:2 mixed by staff, Kodak indicator stop bath, Kodak standard fixer. Used fixer is returned to a separate jug not easily confused with "fresh" chemicals and checked out by staff before being returned to "fresh" fixer bottle. All chemistry is mixed with water so hard that you could stand a brick on it! This darkroom used to have a water filtration system that fell into disrepair what looks like eons ago - likely because the director of the operation "didn't get to it" and the staff does not deal with equipment maintenance (something to think about in your situation - who maintains the plumbing/enlargers/etc through the indefinite future?). My opinions on chemistry: use water stop bath, let each user mix their 1:1 D-76 because it just doesn't get any more basic than this. Everything is clearly labelled and has its own place to avoid confusion. In my high-school darkroom, D-76 lived in a large bucket above the sink with a floating lid and a spigot - each user was only allowed to touch the spigot to get their developer - thus no risk of contamination to developer from a goofball with fixer in his hand! Mix chemistry with distilled water whenever possible - hard water sucks! If possible, find a way to get water filtration inline before the darkroom, so that all faucets are filtered (but especially important for neg. development area).

 

Other general thoughts:

1. Dust is a major problem for us. Proximity to major dust-producers in woodshop/ceramics is part of the problem. The other is that people don't clean up spilled chemistry well and the staff at best will mop the floor. Periodic, intensive cleaning of darkroom outside of use periods is essential, and is unfortunately a very rare event for us. We have a neg. drying cabinet (should protect negs from dust, right?) that hasn't been well-cleaned or had its filtration system changed in a very long time. Volunteer work parties following the orientation session are one way to deal with this - students will almost never help you clean during finals or after a semester is done. A good chance to learn where everything lives in the darkroom and contribute to a clean space!

 

2. Control of users: every darkroom has a bozo (I know mine will if I ever have my very own darkroom!). Thinking of ways to engineer the setup so that someone doesn't ruin other's work (contaminating chemicals, accidentally turning on the light, etc.) will help reduce the stress to users and you. Light switches with special covers over the switch are one way we deal with this. Lack of orientation sessions is where we likely fail. I used to teach sailing and rent boats at my undergraduate university in Washington - and I had a general policy in that I didn't care what someone told me about being able to use something - they had to prove they had the necessary skills and knowledge on the spot. Sure, I was a hard ass, but that policy also prevented several unnecessary rescues when conditions become less than ideal. To what degree would a similar system work for a darkroom?

 

3. Cost: how do you divide up the costs among users? Hourly/semester basis, etc. Hourly is great for periodic or single-project users that don't want to bite off a whole semester. But in our case, the hourly rate gets very expensive very quickly. Semester basis seems much more appropriate for a small operation, thus allowing you to conduct orientations, etc.

 

4. Accessibility: who can use the space and how many people can use it at once? One of the greatest successes of the Craftshop is that many people are able to use the space, not just people in courses, darkroom nerds, or single-project people. Occassional events to encourage greater use (such as Free Art Fridays) are a great way to get people interested & involved in the establishment and the fun of playing in a darkroom, but put major stresses on the quality of the space for regular users and those in charge of maintenance. Think about ways to balance encouraging the fun of the darkroom to lots of people with the need of regular users to have a high-quality space.

 

We have 8 enlargers, but I love having the darkroom to myself. If more than three people are in the darkroom, I feel very crowded due to bottlenecks at the chemistry (11x14 trays on counter accessible from only one side) - so think about space layout to accomate the number of people that you are planning for (e.g, central developing tanks accessible from all sides). And think of ways that the paper drying racks/lines/etc. can expand to accomodate larger numbers of users, but stay out of the way when unnecessary (or invest in a print dryer). I second the suggestion about using a sign-up sheet - I hate showing up intending to have a marathon printing session only to find the darkroom too busy for me to work.

 

5. Personal space: meager provisions for lockable spaces for users are a great plus if you don't have many users. Having a locker to store my chemistry/film tanks/graduates/paper/negative books is essential for me because there is no way I could cart it all over every time I want to use the darkroom. Folks can certainly pay a little extra to rent a drawer/small locker if they want it. Just make sure that these are well thought out so that chemistry spilled on a counter above doesn't spill into someones drawer full of expensive fiber paper...

 

6. Maintenance: this will make or break the quality of the space over the long-term. It helps to have a centralized person in charge of this sort of operation, but on a volunteer basis it is tough. Students have high turnover rates, so it is hard to coordinate upkeep of equipment through them. I don't have the answers, but this thought definitely deserves some attention.

 

That's my rant. Good luck! Kudos to you for setting up a college community darkroom!

 

Brendan Ward

 

M.S. Candidate

UW-Madison

[terry_stedman]

Whoa, Brendon, thanks for all that. I'm definately going to have to talk to the school's maintaince people to see what they can do for me so far as water and air filtration. I have no idea how I can get people to lean the place up, save pay someone (me, probably) to do it.

 

Thanks for the input!