Community Darkroom FAQ
What should I expect on my first booking?
Before your reservation, we will review the info you provided regarding your development/darkroom printing experience. We highly encourage you to take a workshop with us before booking DIY time. We may contact you for more information if needed, as we have to confirm that each customer can safely and independently use the chemicals and facilities.
Once you arrive, you will meet with a staff member to go over the DIY Lab's safety features, location and functionality of equipment, and answer any questions you might have. This will take approximately 15 minutes and is included in your reservation time. Make sure to plan extra time for your first visit to accommodate this.
After that, you are ready to start creating! The equipment and chemistry for your reservation will be on hand and ready to use right away.
How much time should I book for my print or film developing?
That depends on your level of experience and what you want to accomplish.
For development, we suggest a minimum of 1 to 1 1/2 hours for each batch if you are just starting out with processing.
For darkroom printing, even a pro can struggle to fine-tune a print in an hour, so we suggest around 1 1/2 to 2 hours per print.
Scanning times will vary depending on the number of rolls you must scan and the scanning resolution. For standard scans, we recommend planning for around 20 minutes. Higher-resolution scans can take up to 30 minutes per roll. The Epson can take longer to scan an entire roll of 35mm film, but if you are doing larger sizes, each pass at scanning can take anywhere from 10-15 minutes.
Can I make color prints in the darkroom?
Not at this time. We are working on getting the darkroom ready for RA4 printing. Check back with us for updates on this.
My project is taking more time than I expected - how do I add time onto my booking?
Let a staff member know! We will do our best to accommodate this.
What chemistry do you have available for use?
For the DIY Dev Lab, we offer Ilford ID-11 Developer, Kodak Fixer, and Ilfotol Wetting Agent as a final rinse.
In the DIY Darkroom, we offer Kodak Dektol and Kodak Fixer.
If you require different chemistry or have any special requests, please be sure to talk to a staff member before your reservation time.
You can bring your own chemistry, but you must notify a staff member upon arrival so that they can check in these chemicals. If you bring your own chemistry, you are responsible for taking it home for disposal.
What equipment is included in my reservation?
We have all of the developing and darkroom printing equipment you will need!
Prep area (available to all DIY customers) - Light table and large workspace, lockers (keys available upon request), gloves, aprons, dark bags
Darkroom - lenses, dodging and burning tools, easels, heat press, mat cutter, paper cutter, print drying rack, tacking iron, heated print dryer, grain focusers, contact proof printer, dichro filtering heads, print washer, GraLab timers
Film Development - film drying cabinet, Paterson tanks and reels in various sizes, metal tanks and reels in various sizes, JOBO tanks and reels in various sizes, motorized agitator, GraLab timers, film canister openers, leader retrievers
What is NOT provided with my reservation? What do I need to bring with me?
- Your own film or negatives
- Negative sleeves (available for purchase at Camera Exposure)
- Darkroom paper (available for purchase at Camera Exposure)
- The Massive Dev Timer app. This is not required, but we highly recommend using this app for both development and printing. It is available on Google Play and in the Apple App Store.
- USB or external hard drive for file storage.
If I scan my film here, how do I save my files?
You can save your digital files to a USB or external hard drive if you bring one. You will also be able to digitally upload them to the cloud using your preferred file transfer program.
Can I use my cell phone in the darkroom?
If you are using your phone to time everything, please be sure to have your brightness turned all the way down and set to the Red Display in the app.
If you need help navigating this, please ask one of our team members. If you are not using your phone for a timer in the darkroom, please keep it in your pocket or store it in one of our lockers.
Using your phone inside the darkroom can cause your paper or someone else’s paper to fog and ruin their print. Don’t forget your smartwatches and any watch that can glow in the dark! The same rules apply to smartwatches. Please be respectful to everyone around you.