darkroom printing AT HOME - super easy black and white image on ilford pearl paper

[@htt2707]

Thanks for the video. It was great and shows how it doesnt have to be too complicated to make a print. I finally made myself a little darkroom facility few month ago in my home. Was my dream to do darkroom printing since I did darkroom class as a teenager - 3 decades ago 😀. It just brings a whole new dimension to my photography process. I work all day in front of computer so I just love to do all my photography and printing without the use of computers.

[@ribsy]

agreed. its fantastic to a fully analog process!

[@dalehammond1749]

I'm amazed! I never did this because I thought it was too difficult. I mean even just low level darkroom. Actually, this is all I need. I'm encouraged. Thanks

[@ribsy]

yea its not too bad

[@plasticwrapofdoom]

I thoroughly appreciate your videos because you make film photography sound fun. I feel like a lot of other film photography KZbinrs err on the side of pretentious or overly intense in a way that's not as enjoyable. So I appreciate how you show that none of this is all that hard and that it should be something fun and enjoyable. I'm currently cobbling together the bits and bobs I need to make my own little baby dark room in my kitchen, and I'm super excited. So thanks for helping me feed my excitement until I can get everything together and try it for myself!

[@ribsy]

Thank you for the comment. Film is fun!

[@theoldfilmbloke]

A WHOLE SHEET for a TEST Print ! WoW !! You must be RICH - I cut a narrow strip about i inch wide --

[@aantonic]

I dont even print test sheet, i guess or estimate my exposure,hehe. Many times i am right on the money,if not make it right second time. I know its not right,but i am impatient

[@ribsy]

i used a total of 2 sheets including the final print. this image had quite a dynamic range so i thought it was worth the full sheet so i could assess

[@ribsy]

im all for that too! i don't chase any kind of perfection

[@whiteframe2745]

My advice: listen what Peter Elgar says!!! He's walking photo encyclopedia! Greetings from Liverpool!

[@finn.p8745]

A WHOLE INCH !!! YOU MUST BE RICH i use off cuts from my big prints lol i love your videos by the way peter ive learned more from you then ive learned from my teachers

[@MadKingRPS]

I have been printing independently for quite a while now, using a Durst enlarger. I am generally quite familiar with the development and printing process, but I still watch similar videos with interest. I am glad that film photography and analog printing are still alive - I hope it lasts as long as possible. Wish you success!

[@russellsprout2223]

Wow! Excellent video and beautiful image exactly how you left it. Atb 👍

[@ribsy]

thanks for watching

[@gui4j]

good demo, learning the darkroom printing is such an important part of the complete process , it helps so much with your photography once you have an idea how to make a print .. everyone who shoots film should have a go , you will love it , love the results and start understand more deeply why you shoot film.. digitizing your work doesn't really help to the same extent darkroom printing does , as per your demo .. its one of the most satisfying experience's you can have in photography is making your own successful print .. for those in London the b/w basement in St johns wood is a good old fashioned working studio to go ,great knowledge in printing and photography in general , the guys that teach have 40 years professional printing experience, probably there is nothing they can not teach you as far as printing is concerned, and have great enthusiasm keeping film alive they have one to one learning days or half days and darkrooms to hire ..

[@ribsy]

thanks for sharing the info!

[@marlon.iraheta]

Great vid !! I haven't use my home darkroom in awhile, your vid just gave me the motivation to do so 👍👍

[@ribsy]

Great! That’s what I like to hear

[@danthomson9340]

Thanks for this, super inspiring and informative! Can I ask how you dispose of the chemicals once they are depleted?

[@ribsy]

you should see if you local waste center will take them

[@Peanutdinos3000]

My local waste center took mine for free, kinda a hassle but with great power comes great responsibility.

[@joeprete7424]

What brand easel is that with the double hinge?

[@nevillewatkins4997]

That was great. I really did think it was something I could do.

[@ribsy]

you def can. doesn't take tons to get started

[@davecarrera]

Excellent walk through of which I have just started on my path to printing my 35mm and 120's. May I ask a couple of things that I know will be valuable to others reading. Which dev and fix are you using and at a rough guess, how many prints have you used it for? I ask because being very new to printing negs I to feel like I am wasting a lot of chemicals unnecessarily. Also the vinegar stop is intriguing. White or Malt vinegar and what dilution. Sorry for the list of questions and I hope to be confident soon to share a video of my efforts. I wish you well.

[@whiteframe2745]

Well, Ilford got what you need - Multigrade Dev.(keep bottle airtight), Rapid Fixer. Affordable, last quite long. When it comes to vinegar - spirit vinegar (I guess it's the white one?) Or citric acid (5teaspoons per litre) works ok. Ilfostop by Ilford is odourless however, so if you don't like that acidic fragrance it's great option

[@ribsy]

i don't have measurements for you but you should just use the cheapest ilford paper developer. it gets ALOT of prints when mixed fresh. and even after a week or two in a bottle (after being used) it will have some strength left

[@davecarrera]

@@ribsy Thank you Ribsy. I had a peak at Ilfords data sheets and it looks like around 50 10x8's seems feasible across the MC dev and fix. It really is an enjoyable and frustrating new path for me so 2022 is going to be interesting & thank you and others for the inspiration & encouragement. Happy New year to you and yours

[@davecarrera]

@@whiteframe2745 yes Ilford is my start out path as they seem to cover what I need. Many thanks and wishing you a happy new year.

[@davecarrera]

@@violet_world9385 Thank you for the encouragement & chemistry advice. Wishing you and yours a happy new year.

[@richball3260]

Great intro to darkroom work. It should make printing more accessible to more people. One Point not often mentioned is that a water bath will work in place of the stop bath for both film and print developing. I can't even remember how I learned to print my negatives - I think a friend showed me a very long time ago when I was in the navy (late 60's). I have one question. Have you ever processed your own black and white work in the drum you use for color work? It would use very little chemistry and one could one shot the chemicals.

[@ribsy]

Thanks! Nope never done BW with the drum, I like the tray action

[@SauliusJukn]

"...this is gonna be me, at home, having a good time in the bathroom" LOL

[@ribsy]

Hahaha yup

[@marknolen9363]

Hi 👋 My name is Mark! I just finished watching your video, and am interested in building my own dark room. I want a great enlarger, at a used price, that will do 35mm, and medium format with ease. At this point I’m getting into black and white, medium format, from a antique Mamiya RB67 Professional S. Do you have any equipment suggestions for a guy that doesn’t mind buying good used equipment? Thanks for your time 👍😊

[@ribsy]

durst enlargers are a good entry

[@trulsdirio]

That is a prime negative for split grade printing. It would benefit so much from it!

[@ribsy]

yea i think so! i wanted the quick and dirty version

[@trulsdirio]

@@ribsy and that is totally valid, I have lots of prints like that. As someone once said, getting a good print takes minutes, getting a great one takes hours, getting a perfect one a lifetime. I have negatives I did three or four session on and still believe there is more in them haha.

[@elplaysgames]

Hello, I just want to say thank you for providing so many informational videos on darkroom printing. I'm currently thinking about buying the intrepid compact englarger for color and b&w prints. I wanted to know if you could you the jobodrum (or any drum tank) tanks to develop b&w prints. I don't have enough room to have 3 trays. Also what does RA-4 print, C-type Print and ECN2 print mean?

[@ribsy]

yea you def can. give it a shot

[@ChrisJB84]

Awesome video!!!

[@ribsy]

Thanks!!

[@ChrisJB84]

@@ribsy where do you purchase all of your dark room equipment at?

[@randypipper92]

I have a questions about red light and darkroom printing. Does it. Have to be a dark room dedicated red light? Is there any relation between red light and Pan or Ortho BW film at the time of printing?

[@ribsy]

can be any red light

[@SinaFarhat]

Nice! Have a good Sweden trip! :)

[@ribsy]

thanks 😁

[@ytuberization]

Thanks for the informative video. You have not switched permanently to the Intrepid enlarger? Would you recommend it for newbie?

[@ribsy]

nope i have not switched at all. and yes, i think its a good tool for beginners (or anyone)

[@segzeeman7356]

Thanks man! That looks like fun. I’m not sure if I think it’s worth it to darkroom print. So, I’m curious if there’s a qualitative difference between making a darkroom print and printing from a digitized negative? I ask because of the space and time requirements.

[@ribsy]

It’s not the output. It’s the process 😃

[@Kitsaplorax]

Vinegar is acetic acid.

[@ribsy]

thanks

[@ZOMBIELUIS666]

Ribs, I would appreciate it if you let me know what kind of easel you use. I hate the one I have

[@ribsy]

i don't own one anymore. sold all my stuff

[@ZOMBIELUIS666]

@@ribsy Oh yeah makes sense since moved back to the states. You haven't started printing in the new place yet?

[@jameslane3846]

Easier to print when it's negatives developed with 510 Pyro due to the inbuilt low contrast filter for the highlights! 😉

[@ribsy]

yea! i've got a roll of EZ400 ready to be developed in pyro when i get back to london

[@claudiotaras1289]

Bravo

[@ribsy]

😀

[@lnewks]

🙏

[@ribsy]

😁

[@robinsievers2756]

Oh, I imagine vinegar works just fine, but citric acid isn’t actually what’s in vinegar, vinegar is actually acetic acid (CH3COOH)

[@ribsy]

thanks for the info!

[@IvarsDayLab]

Awesome, deleted my comment for suggesting to do the right thing. Applause👏 Continue to teach newbies to print blindly without understanding how to get a perfect result that can be showed or even sold to make some money back. Good luck 🍀

[@ribsy]

not sure i understand what you are saying here. but yea, i believe people should just jump in and just try. not everyone wants to be Anselm Adams or make money off their photography

[@ribsy]

i didn't delete anything btw ... in case that's what you are suggesting

[@IvarsDayLab]

@Ribsy I'm sorry Ribsy, I guess someone saw something bad in my comment and reported it. I wanted to point that you are missing a use of internal color filter yellow and magenta. Yellow is giving a gray tonality and magenta filter gives you contrast. So all you need to do is to make first test strip only with yellow filter by 2 or 3 second steps. Choose best that fits. Turn down yellow, turn up magenta and test it the same way. Choose best and on final strip test Best yellow filter time + best magenta filter time. So you will get the most perfect result. After that you can play with dodging and burning in spots that would need to work on like on models skin - burn a bit more yellow filter. On her skirt - dodge magenta and maybe a bit yellow so you have a bit more details in it. The same with skys and everything that is in the background. I suggest to look for n a k e d photographer videos here on KZbin. He is awesome dude and does great prints. Ohhh... Now I get it! N-a-k-e-d is the word that is the Illegal here 😆 Sorry for misunderstanding.

[@IvarsDayLab]

@@violet_world9385 here I agree just partially. Only after months in darkroom you can understand how you should be exposing your film the best to spend less hours in the darkroom. I don't think that Ribsy made a mistake in taking a photo, I think there must be made much more in the darkroom than just exposing paper as is without filters and developing it as is. I see that many guys on KZbin does the same and never use color head or Ilford filters to get correct gray tones and correct contrast in they prints. I have heard a painful answer on that: "i shot it this way so I print it this way" but in the meantime if you check the negative or scanned jpeg - you will see that there is way more details than you got on the paper. Yes from one side this is old school printing like our grandparents and parents were printing without thinking about all those details and perfection but from other side do we really want to spend this super expensive paper for mediocre results? I personally have one print on the wall - the very first one and I know that I will reprint this in the new year as soon as I will have a bit more free time. I know my mistakes and I will definitely try not to make them next time. So I think that if you want to do a darkroom prints - learn the hard way, do them in the best way possible. Spend more time on preparing and testing and when you are sure it is going to perfect - print it in full size.