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Exposure timer
Enlarger Focus Tool
Lint Free Cloth
Anti-static brushes
Data Sheets
Vacuum / compressed air
A color head enlarger
An Ionizer
Exposure timer
I have a Zone VI studios print exposure timer that has a dry down adjustment. The features that I find very useful in this timer are- it ticks every second
- the buttons glow in the dark
- it can be set for tenths of seconds and whole seconds
- the dry down percent dial
A print changes slightly when it dries. Once I've determined how much the effect is for a brand of paper, I get the print the way I want when wet, then set the dry down percent and print the final sheet.
Enlarger Focus Tool
I have two focusing tools. A mistake I used to make, until I read about it in a hints column in some darkroom magazine, was to not put paper under the focus aid. So I've taped a piece of paper unto the bottom of them now. (Hopefully I remember to change the paper when I change paper weights). I got mine, both of them, from my father-in-law, he used to have a darkroom and gave me a lot of stuff when he found out I was into darkrooms. Porters has them.Lint Free Cloth
This 'static free', 'dust attracting' cloth has been great. I can run it over the counter, the easel, the enlarger, everything, and remove dust. It just takes washing in plain water to get the dust off and re-charge the attractant. I got mine from a local photo store, but I've seen them in the Porters catalog.Anti-static brushes
I have a couple of these fine brushes with some kind of plutonium or something in them. When you have a speck of dust on a negative, sometimes this is the only thing that works. I'm not sure how I feel about using them though. I got one from my father-in-law, one from a local photo store, and I've seen them in the Porters catalog.Data Sheets
On the dry side, put the data sheets into a binder, for easy access, always put the binder in the same place - so you know by habit where it is in case you need it quick in an emergency.Vacuum / compressed air
I use a mini-vac to remove dust. I don't recommend compressed air, since all that does is scatter the dust and you'll have to deal with it again later. If you get a mini-vac, or modify a vacuum cleaner, make sure there is a 'finger hole' near the end so you can remove your finger and reduce the suction, otherwise you might get film stuck to the end of the hose! (trust me on this one)A color head enlarger
I don't have one of these, but the next time I get a bunch of money together I will probably buy one. To do color now, I have to put a filter holder under the lens and put gel filters in the holder. With a color (dicroic) head you can change the filtration through a set of nobs on the enlarger. I've used one once and it was much easier. I would not give up my cold light head for black and white work though.An Ionizer
This quote from Mark Pope, and logically it makes sense, I just might get one..."One item that my Photography teacher swears by in his darkroom is an ioniser. This (apparently) causes all of the dust in the air to fall to ground (or something like that), thereby reducing the amount of dust that ends up on your negs..."
Visitor Comments
The comments stated below are not necessarily the opinions of Andy Hughes or DarkroomSourceI have heard that the Ionic Breze works quite nicely and have one for my house.Anonymously contributed on 2008-06-13 21:32:38
I\'m still waiting to set up a darkroom though.
Also another benefit of having a color enlarger is not needing variable contrast filters you can just dial it in.
