SPEC Utrecht — Color Darkroom

Darkroom Guide / Troubleshooting



- Lightproof bags can be re-used. Please leave them when they are empty or bring them home to store your prints
- Cardboard enveloppes come in handy, use them to bring your prints home in or leave them behind for other users
- Keep the darkroom tidy, leave it in the way that you found it and do not leave behind empty bottles/cans/foodwaste
- If something breaks, let us know ;)


- Be gentle, she's old
- Exposed side facing down when feeding the machine
- Minimum paper length: 15cm, we recommend feeding the short side first
- Use straight-cut paper only, do not tear your test-strips- they get stuck
- Make sure (!) that the paper is being pulled in by the processor before closing the lid

- 24,2x30,5 cm and 30,5x40,6cm (actual size) Fuji DPII  is in stock in MATTE and GLOSSY
- Inch sizes: 9,5 x 12 " and  12 x 16"
- If you run out of paper you can help yourself to a new set of 50 sheets. Let us know and we will send you a payment link/invoice :)
- The two middle drawers are fully lightproof, we still recommend keeping full-sheets in a lightproof bag during your session
- Want to print bigger? Give us a heads-up and we'll set you up to print up to 50x75cm


Frame size:
35mm
645 - 6x6
6x7 - 6x9
4x5"Lens:
50mm
80mm
105mm
135mm or 150mm


Focussing your image
- Filters out (for more light)
- Aperture fully open (for more light)
- Make sure illumination setting is set to 'High' (if applicable: Fuji/Omega)




Exposing your image
- Filters in (or no color correction is applied = red image)
- Aperture stopped down, ideally 3-4 stops from the max open aperture:
   > 50mm f2.8 > print @ f11    
   > 80mm f4.0 > print @ f11
   > 105mm f5.6 > print @ f16
- Exposure too long? Open the aperture one stop and halve the exposure time
- Exposure too short? Close the aperture one stop and double the exposure time
- Some lenses (pictured) have a lever to switch the aperture from fully open to stopped down




EXPOSING A TEST STRIP
- Hold the paper down with one hand/magnet
- Feed the paper into the processor with the exposed side faced down
- Make sure the paper is being pulled in by the processor before closing the lid
- Feed the short side of your paper first




Problem:
Image super red
Print too dark/black
Red edges/shapes/stains
Cyan-ish stain Likely cause:
Filters are out
Aperture left open
Paper exposed to roomlight
Paper held too close to timer/red light