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Back into the Dark - Printing
I wanted to take this opportunity to catalogue my darkroom set-up for those who need to pursue similar ends. The array of equipment on the used market is staggering and most of my equipment was purchased used. I've has successes and failures along the way. I am, however, in a position to share my experience so as to help others in their decision process. I will try to make salient each decision which took me down either a good path difficult path.
I found a Beseler 23CII which was being thrown out. I decided it was in good enough shape to rehabilitate. I had to glue down the bellows, align from top to bottom, and buy negative carriers for 35mm, 6x6, and 6x9 film. All the carriers I bought on ebay and even the crappiest one works well. I purchased two 35mm carriers one full frame and one regular. The full frame is nice because with some effort you can make a black boarder around the print. The alignment was a necessary and important step. I purchased a Beseler alignment tool for about $100.
Since I didn't have a bulb for the enlarger I thought about alternative light sources and I decided to go with a diffusion source specifically an Aristo V54 cold light head. This was expensive and in hind-sight I should have waited for a used one to come up on the market. Even better I should have experimented with the Beseler 75 watt tungsten source replacing the condensers with some diffusion material; which is a fancy term for white plastic like you find in a light box. The difficulty with the cold light is that their intensity fluctuates, which became apparent while printing. At first I worked around this by keeping the lamp illuminated at all times and using a metronome to keep exposure times. After a while I sought out a technical solution and found a compensating timer (RH Designs Stop Clock Vario). The timer has a sensor which is attached into the lamp housing and keeps tabs on the light intensity. As the light fluctuates the timer adjusts. I would only recommend a V54 (or other variable contrast cold light head), but get one with a built in photo sensor so you don't have to perform a diode installation. I would also recommend a cold light dimmer or perhaps a neutral density filter for 8x10 printing since output seems to be strong so exposure times tend to be short even at f22.
The RH design stop clock products are also the greatest exposure timers I've ever used. The reason? Because it is based on calculating time in terms of stops. You can increase or decrease exposure by incremental stops down to 1/12th of a stop. Prior to using the Stop Clock printing time adjustment meant adding a second, now it is increasing exposure by multiples of stops. The latter method affords more control and subsequently saves time in the dark.
After about a year I decided I was spending too much time in the dark before getting the print I wanted. I decided to look for a technical solution and once again went to RH Designs. There I found a great little box called a Zone Master. This little box saves me so much time and paper that I suspect it may already have paid for its self. The downside is that it doesn't integrate with the Stop Clock Vario.
The enlarging lenses I needed are a 50mm for 35mm, 85mm for 6x6, and a 105mm for 6x9 film. Too bad the 23C doesn't cover 4x5. The lens brands really don't seem to make much difference the standard Schneider, Rodenstock, and Nikon are fine. I picked some up cheap but with lenses you generally get what you pay for.
The only other important item (besides a safelight) is a paper carrier. Without doubt purchasing a top-of-the-line easel is a must. The cheap ones will cause more frustration then it is worth and you will reconsider ink jet printing. I opted for a Saunders 16x20 4 blade easel. I waited forever for a good price, it never came; such is the life of good equipment.
Chemistry - My traditional photo education was in Dektol and Selectol Soft. So this is what I use. Any questions should be referred to Ansel Adams' The Print, it is all in there. I decided to go with TF4 fix from Photographers Formula merely for practical reasons of storage and mixing. They sell giant bottles of concentrate which you can mix into any volume of working solution. If your like me you have a print in the tray before you realize you forgot to set out the fixer, then you realize you have no working solution!
I treat all my prints to a selenium bath as per AA's instructions. I find this process to be subtle but rewarding.
Washing Prints - This turns out to be the biggest issue. Washing, done properly, is not easy especially for large prints. Any other "quick" method is likely to render you prints unstable in the long run. There is only one proper washing method, soaking and dumping. Most washing equipment is not based on this principle and so may be inadequate. The method goes as follows:
1. Rinse - After a two bath fix place up to 12 prints in a tray larger then the prints. Shuffle the stack from bottom to top for three complete cycles. Dump the water. Repeat this process for 10 minutes. If this isn't done right the archival washing to follow will be inefficient. An alternative method would be to place the prints into a conventional print washer which can be dumped and filled quickly.
2. Archival Washing - There are two methods which attempt to make things easier on the photographer. The first is to use a standard tank that can be completely dumped in about a minute. Almost all archival washers do not have this dumping feature, there are two which I know of (Salt Hill and some Nova? washers and they are expensive! I decided to modify my 11x14 Versalab washer and build my own for 16x20 and 20x24. I purchased everything from US Plastics web site for $170 and had to do some sawing and drilling which wasn't too bad. (See Building Tank Parts List). On the Versalab tank I added a half inch outlet on the bottom and the home made tank has a 1.5 inch outlet. The Versalab tank can dump in 3 minutes now and the home made 16x20 tank dumps 23 gallons in 1.5 minutes.
If all this tank business is difficult I discovered another method which is more scientific under the surface, (I haven't tried it yet). This method is outlined by Dan:
After your last fix, rinse, [rinse should be as described above] HCA, rinse then hold. Your holding tray is also the first of two trays needed for washing. Place a hydrophobic separator sheet [sheet polyester batting material which is available from any fabric outlet], on the bottom with about 8 ounces of water. Be sure all the air is driven from the sheet. Lay on you're print, add another sheet and measure of water. You are ready to place the next print. The top of stack print must also have a sheet plus measure of water.
Allow 15 minutes for diffusion to take place after placing the last print. Do not disturb. Afterwards repeat for a second wash. Allow 30 minutes for diffusion after placing the last print. Do not disturb. A third wash is advisable. Allow 60 minutes. I try to time matters so that the third undisturbed wash is overnight. Rinse once prior to drying.
Times are flexible. Do allow enough. Above volumes are based on 8 x 10s. The deep hypo trays should be a good choice where quite a number of prints are to be washed.
Squeeze, rinse, and Squeeze the separators twixt washes. I've tested a few materials and at present have for use sheet polyester batting material which is available from any fabric outlet.
If water is in short supply very thin material can be used although a forth or more washes may be needed. As is I've archival wash results with less than a liter of H2O per 8 x 10.
Hassle? Some. But then again two trays, two bucks for the separators, and I dare say, less water by quite a margin over any other wash method. And don't forget, Do Not Disturb. I like that last part especially. Dan
Frankly, my gut tells me this is a great method. Since the "washing" action is only diffusion why is it necessary to keep space between the prints in a tank? A diffusion layer between prints (allowing the hypo to escape) and enough water to create a diffusion gradient is all that is really necessary. My only comment is that the poly material will likely absorb the hypo and perhaps fresh sheet should be used between washes, but perhaps not, squeegeeing the poly material may take care of this issue.
Drying - Another pain, especially for large fiber prints. Here I have tried everything, electric rotary dryers, flipper dryers, and air drying. The most interesting method I came across is using deep pile carpet rather then screens. My conclusion is drying screens and a dry mount press. Folks there is no cheap way around this when working with fiber paper - it curls up and you must get it flat for presentation. I currently have a 16x20 dry mount press which is essential for fiber paper mounting or flattening. For many this may be the final stumbling block from the darkroom to presentation. There are options of course, many local darkrooms have this equipment. I've printed, washed, placed my wet prints in a blotter book and went to a printing house and used their drying equipment and press. I like the mechanical rotary dryers the most but they have some pitfalls. The biggest one is sticking to the canvas. This is a recent problem which I don't yet know the cause. I suspect it is a combination of too high heat and different emulsion technology then in the past. Really old paper doesn't do this! Anyway as a result only air drying seems to work anymore.
Mounting - As I mentioned before the final process is mounting. I no longer dry mount, I use PH neutral adhesive tape, cut windows, and use double sided tape to hold both bottom board and window together. For the print I use clear mounting corners. I've found that even very curly fiber prints will flatten out if properly mounted and framed.