I have spoken to a lot of people about my work setup and have even shown it to some who are interested in constructing their own darkrooms — it’s now time to describe it here!
So when we moved to Pennsylvania I needed to build a new darkroom. This time around I wanted to construct an adjacent workroom so I could carry out non-darkroom activities outside the darkroom. Less crowded. I know not everyone has this luxury, but I looked for a house that would enable me to do this. We settled on a ranch style that had very large unfinished basement!
Both the darkroom and the workroom are about the same size – approximately 14×10 feet. This is my third — and hopefully last — darkroom I’ve built (I never had a separate workroom before), so I was able to learn from my previous experiences. Both rooms are really perfect in size for what I wanted to do. Of course you may have different requirements, and as the like to say on the Internet, YMMV.
So here’s the layout.
Workroom
You first enter the workroom. It contains a nice table that serves as a desk holding a flat screen computer monitor, or a large surface to cut mats, trim prints prior to dry mounting them, spot prints after dry mounting and view prints for spotting as necessary. Next to the table sits a small matching file cabinet, on top of which rests the Epson scanner used to scan prints for uploading to this very fine (sorry just kidding, but I couldn’t help myself!) website. Also located in the workroom is a Seal dry mount press. It sits on a stand constructed from left overs of my wooden sink project (see my previous entry about my beloved sink). There are also several bookcases to store technical books, negatives and proof sheets in binders, printing paper, mounting boards, dry mount tissue, etc. Finally, there is a cabinet to store cameras and lenses.
Most important, there’s a thin strip of wood mounted on one of the short walls. It allows me to look at mounted prints at a normal viewing height. Illumination from focused eyeballs using 150W bulbs lets me see them with good lighting. As discussed in a previous entry, this simple setup enables you sit back over a period of time and truly decide if your prints are keepers or material for the circular file. This can be painful, but valuable for several reasons: (1) you can actually see your prints as they would look when hung on a wall; most gratifying if you have never done this before; and (2) you can determine if a print needs to be improved, or whether it is better to cut your losses and toss it because it really isn’t that good after all.
Darkroom
Now let’s walk into the darkroom through the doorway on the shared wall with the workroom. As you enter, to the left is a long enlarger bench is built into the wall, complete with drawers to hold printing paper, enlarging lenses, easels, print recipe sheets, dodging and burning accouterments, etc., as well as a large storage base shelf for enlarger power supplies and other items as appropriate. Because it is securely connected to the wall and has legs resting on the floor, it is VERY sturdy, and of course LEVEL! It is painted the same black, as is the wall it is connected to.
On top of the bench sits a Leitz Focomat V35 enlarger for 35mm negatives, a Devere 504 enlarger for 35mm to 4×5 negatives, Zone VI Compensating Enlarging Timers, a print focusing device and Zone VI electronic static removal device/brush.
My 10-foot wooden sink is attached to the opposite wall. It is large enough to accommodate a number of 16×20 trays (which I have only used once!) when printing, a Zone VI washing machine for print holding at various times, and a Jobo CPP-2 processor when developing film. Attached to the sink is a Zone VI temperature-compensating timer — one of most brilliant darkroom tools ever created! The large base shelf has a built in frame with a series of slots that holds four large print drying screens that slide in and out; the base shelf also stores the Jobo when it’s not being used, as well as trays, mixing beakers, and other related items.
Next to the sink and connected to it is a wall-mounted panel with a temperature control unit and hot and cold-water filters. The panel connects on the adjacent short wall to a small utility sink used for washing trays and beakers and a 20×24 Zone VI print washer that sits on another stand constructed from the same left over wood as the dry mount press stand. Also connected to that wall is a Jobo Mistral Film Dryer. Finally, on the opposite short wall is metal bookcase containing mixed and unmixed chemicals.
A few other items of importance! Zone VI LED safelights are mounted to the ceiling, as is a 150W bulb (same as the one used in the Workroom for finished print viewing) that’s angled so I can examine print test strips, pilot prints and prints during various steps of the printing process while wet.
A vent is built into the enlarger wall that draws in fresh air from the workroom for proper ventilation when using chemicals. Above the sink on the ceiling is a powerful built in fan that draws out air and channels it outside of the house. While the enlarging wall is black, the other three walls are white. The flooring is laminate that looks like wood.
All in all, a very pleasant and useful environment to do creative work!
I hope this was helpful and perhaps interesting. Please don’t hesitate to comment or contact me by email if you would like any other information!
