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#1
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Re-establishing old darkroom
Hi guys,
At uni I have discovered an old darkroom that hasn't been touched in 9 years. There is some good equipment in there, albeit a total mess. I've done B&W developing and printing but this is a great opportunity to try colour. I just don't know what some of this stuff is. I have looked online the general processes of colour and reckon I can teach myself like I did with B&W. So here are some pictures of some equipment that I would love some help with identifying please I assume Pic 2 is an easel. As you can see this is old equipment, from 94! Pic 3 is a "colour system enlarger" but looks nothing like an enlarger and seems no longer functional. I assume Pic 7 are a series of 120 (left) and 35mm (right) negative carriers. I hope you can help with some of this, any help would be greatly appreciated. Once I've got it up and running again I'll post some pictures. Thanks Theo |
#2
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I suspect that those that are obvious to me are also those that are obvious to you such as the easel which looks to be a fixed easel that does 3 sizes of prints; the darkroom timer; and what I think may be part of studio lighting system but only the shades and what looks like a contact printer for printing a set of 35mm negs onto one sheet but I have no idea what the black trail of lookalike liquid on it is.
If this place is now yours for the use of then a ready-made darkroom which I presume has water and sinks is a prize indeed but before I start waxing eloquent I take it that it simply isn't a storage cupboard into which some old equipment was thrown? Thanks Mike |
#3
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The enlarger head looks like it could be an LPL 7700:
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/353835804...MaAtiyEALw_wcB Looks pretty far gone though. Some items are labelled 'Photo society' so may well have been a real darkroom, but it has been well-scavenged with only damaged items left behind. If it has water and power though that's promising. |
#4
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Yeah that makes sense, one for making contact sheets, a darkroom timer which is new to me so will figure out how to use it.
This place is specifically a darkroom and hasn't been used for anything else, pretty sure I have sole use of it so yeah quite exciting. It has a sink and working tap. And yes, that looks like the same enlarger head, mine in bad shape. There is another entire enlarger, the head of which shown below. Will use that. A lot of the equipment is damaged but I reckon some salvageable and possible to get this darkroom going again. Thanks guys Theo |
#5
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Quote:
Last edited by John King; 19th January 2022 at 07:36 PM. |
#6
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There is a column and baseboard, shown below. If the other enlarger, omega concept 6 supreme c, fails, then I may replace the LPL7700 head for like £60.
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#7
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There is no LPL column or baseboard in the pictures. I know. because I have one myself, The LPL column is made from sections of extruded alluminium that will only fit the missing part of the LPL head. Even the close relative the 6700 will not fit.
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#8
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The Paterson contact printer in picture 4 looks as though it would clean up. It is just missing its foam mat, which provides a little pressure to keep the paper pressed against the negatives. Use 5mm open cell foam, stuck in place with contact adhesive. There's a ridge on the base board that shows you what size to cut the foam. Don't store the device with its lid clipped down, or the foam will compress permanently.
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#9
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Quote:
I'm looking into using the Super Chromega C Dichroic Enlarger that's there, it has the voltage stabiliser and timer with it. I plugged them in and the fan in the enlarger started working and the timer too. Hopefully once I replace the bulb it'll function properly. Still a lot of stuff like tanks, trays and chemicals I will need to replace. Making progress though Ta Theo Last edited by theobrown; 22nd January 2022 at 01:44 PM. |
#10
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Hi Theo,
Since you've already been told about the bits and bobs of the LPL7700 Enlarger (which I also have) and the easel (the squiggly lines on the base are just glue with foam residue attached), I can tell you that your last oddity is well out of place - it's a clip to attach a mobile phone to a tripod. 😁 Maybe you can use it to record your adventures in your new darkroom?! 😁 |
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