NEWSLETTER ARCHIVE

APRIL 2026

It's been a year since SPEClab opened it's doors and a lot has changed/improved since we started. We'll update you on a (somewhat) new processor, upcoming developing & scanning workshop and we will talk about the importance of consistent film/dev/exposure when printing in the darkroom. The place has a been bit of a mess with us moving things around these past few months and we're happy to say things are looking tidy again.

Illustration by Vincent van Petten

A ‘new’ Colenta paper processor

While helping to transport a color film-processor from Germany for Bram's Film Lab we spotted an old 50cm wide paper processor. The owner was willing to part with it and sell it as defective. We thought it would be a nice side-project (oops 😅) to try and bring the machine back to life. Though Colenta still produces brand-new machines they informed us that this particular model was over 35 years old (!) and they were unable to supply us the necessary parts.

Old & new side by side and the first 50x75cm test prints by Pierre Berthier

It took some work to find fitting replacement parts and we had to come up with some make-shift solutions but the machine is now working nicely and has replaced our 30cm wide Thermaphot processor. The result: we now offer standard 30x40cm Glossy and Matte (50) sheets in the shop and it is possible to print 40x50cm up to 50x75cm by request.

Developing & Negative Scanning Workshop

We are aware that printing takes up valuable time and money. Luckily, in the past few years digitising negatives has become good, fast and easy with the use of digital cameras. There are now various software options for converting negatives, doing your own conversions gives you a good understanding of the color control you have when printing in the darkroom. Since not everyone who wants to handprint images is interested in developing their own negatives- and not everyone interested in developing their negatives is interested in printing them. We will stop offering a Developing+printing workshop, and will switch to a separate developing+scanning and converting workshop in collaboration with CAFU. In this course we go over every aspect of the process in an effort to keep the costs of shooting film at a minimum and maximise creative control with a hybrid workflow. We will use the participants images to teach you how to bring to life some difficult negatives and achieve the exact look that you want.

We would love to hear your suggestions and requests concerning what to include

Interested in attending this workshop? let us know and we'll keep you updated.

We finally got some shelves for user boxes thanks to Emile Miedema and the marvelous people at Planemos <3
photo by Elina Nova featuring Jana Hesse

Printing technique and efficiency

SPEClab is geared towards production and we encourage our users to use multiple enlargers simultaneously to eliminate waiting in between prints. However- to each their own. About once a year Maarten VV visits for a day or two to print images from his archive and confirms for us how important consistent development, exposure and filmstock is when printing in the darkroom. All of the photographs are printed with a single enlarger, more or less the same filtration and with contact sheets consistently used as reference for exposure and small color adjustments. No test-strips, no tape, no waiting for the outcome but occasional focus-checks and back to back production. Some of you might know we have a bit of an efficiency obsession and are happy to see when the darkroom gets used to it's full potential.

Darkroom Guide & Troubleshooting

During darkroom sessions we get occasional questions about weird artefacts on prints or equipment not functioning properly. Most of these issues are easy to solve with a quick peek at the enlarger settings and the print. We're working on a page that puts problems and solutions together in a comprehensive guide. Over time we plan to add imagery and some detailed explanations of darkroom techniques such as pre-flashing and various effects and manipulations.

Visit the page Darkroom Guide here

We're very much open to community contributions! If you would like to add some techniques with descriptions and images to this guide we'll treat you with some fresh paper sheets :] - Contact us with your suggestions.

OCTOBER 2025

*NEW*  SPEClab color-darkroom Early this year, we got wind of CAFU’s neighbour at De Havenloods moving out- we had the opportunity to rent the space and build a dedicated Color-darkroom. We mulled it over, went to the drawing board and decided to do it. With the help of some handy and talented volunteers (Thank you Emile Miedema, Matthijs Geertjes, René van Heerd, Nico Molenaar and Tom Kooijman!) we managed to build something from the ground up and include most of the things on our list that would make the darkroom as convenient as possible. The darkroom is set up for efficiency and features three Fujimoto color enlargers for negatives up to 6x7cm and a Durst 1200 that prints everything up to 4x5”. All enlargers can be used simultaneously to eliminate waiting between prints and test-strips. Custom negative carriers make it possible to print all formats with borders included. Fuji DPII Matte and Glossy paper is readily available in 24x30cm sheets. Early days at CAFU Some 5 years ago we started offering color developing and printing workshops at CAFU Utrecht, which at the time was an exclusively black and white community darkroom. We also facilitated darkroom users to print color independently. Because availability was split between black and white and color printers, finding available time-slots wasn’t always easy and practical with the equipment and chemicals involved. Regardless, some persistent users found their way to the darkroom to print and build up impressive print-archives overtime. Pierre Berthier recently documented all his prints made since the beginning of our time at CAFU, exhibiting our fair share of processing related issues. Fortunately we replaced equipment and workflow over time and solved these problems. Sam van den Heuvel Now that the soup is up tot temp we're we're actively working on making it possible to print bigger sizes and look forward to bringing the film-photography-color-darkroom community together. Think: evening printing sessions, but we also want to use this newsletter to keep subscribers updated regarding related events that are taking place.  Firstcontactprint Exhibition A great way to meet some of fellow analogue printers is the upcoming second edition @firstcontactprint exhibition opening November 1st in Arnhem (At Analoog Studio Arnhem and Wolf Books), where printers were invited via an open call to submit contact prints in both color and black and white. The opening of the first edition was packed and a great opportunity discover and meet with fellow printers. Thomas Vandenberghe Lovers and Leftovers - Pseudo Diary November 1 - December 13 @wolf__books Arnhem Netherlands Opening on November 1 at 15h. Sonsbeeksingel 117, Arnhem, Nethetlands Hope to see you there! New to color-darkroom printing or need a refresher? We offer workshops where we go over every single aspect of the hand printing from your colornegatives. If you already have experience we offer an (mandatory) introduction where we go over everything once more and explain how you can use the darkroom independently. We try to keep availability as flexible as possible. That's it for now! Shoot a bit less, print a bit more.