Please turn out the light

[Andy]

I wondering how many of the dark room guru's on this forum turn off the red light when they print ?
I never have, am I missing a trick here ? What would be the advantages of doing so when printing B&W VC paper ?

Andy

[Richard Gould]

I always turn out the safelight when I make a print, I find it easier to see the image on the baseboard and find it easier to see where to dodge/burn.Richard

[B&W Neil]

Apart from during the exposure my safe light is on all the time.

Neil.

[Dave miller]

My safe lights are wired through my StopClock timer so that they are extinguished automatically whenever the enlarger light is on, whether that be for focusing or printing.

[Andy]

So far all of you switch off while printing... What is the advantage of doing this ?

A.

[Dave miller]

Originally Posted by andyreynolds

So far all of you switch off while printing... What is the advantage of doing this ?

A.

It removes any danger of fogging during long exposures, and allows a clearer view of the image when manipulating the print.

[Trevor Crone]

Like Dave mine is wired into my enlarger timer and switches off during printing exposure or focusing.

I have a second red safelight near the processing trays which is normally on all the time, however I sometimes turn this off when processing certain VC papers.

[mono]

My safelights are wired here through my Heiland Splitgrade heads, too. They switch off while printing or focusing. It is said to prevent fogging.
And judging the negative under the enlarger or focusing or manipulating like dodging or burning is much easier this way.
I have done so for years.

[Martin Aislabie]

While it is far easier to see the image on the Baseboard with the Safelight off - and this is a tremendous help when dodging and burning - the feasibility of doing this really depends on the type of bulb in your Safelight.

If you have a Safelight with a Tungsten or LED Bulb - them switching them Off & On again doesn't affect the life expectancy of the bulb very much

If you have a Fluorescent or Sodium Bulb in your Safelight, then these are designed to be switched On first thing in the morning and Off last thing at night. Repeatedly switching them Off & On again dramatically shortens the Bulbs life.

Martin

[Bob]

I have separate LED safelights which stay on all the time. However, there is a definite advantage to running safelights through your timer if possible for the aforementioned reasons. Not critical by any means, but definitely useful.