What do I need to prepare to develop my own photos?

Selection of common darkroom equipment

To establish a standardized darkroom, we should avoid seeking more and more, avoid repeated investment, choose darkroom equipment according to our own economic ability, and at the same time make clear whether the darkroom is used for personal use or business. The business should take into account the different specifications of customers' negatives and be as comprehensive as possible. If it is for personal use, refer to the film specifications taken by your own camera, but consider the future development.

Here are some commonly used equipment in darkroom, and friends can choose according to their actual situation.

A, amplification equipment:

1. amplifier

1) amplifier type:

According to the specifications of the film, it can be divided into 35 mm, 6×6 cm, 6×7 cm, 6×9 cm, 4×5 inch, 5 ×7 inch, 8× 10 inch or even larger. According to the type of light source, it can be divided into spotlight, astigmatism lamp and convergence lamp.

The condenser magnifying glass uses a set of condenser lenses in the nose to collect light, which passes through the negative and magnifying glass and then projects onto the enlarged paper. Its characteristics are: clear lines and strong contrast, but the defects on the original film will also be clearly shown. Spotlight magnifiers generally use point light sources to generate nearly parallel light, which is mostly used for black-and-white magnifiers.

The astigmatism amplifier is an astigmatism box, which consists of an astigmatism sheet built in the nose, and is used to collect light and then project it onto the substrate. It is characterized by soft light quality and weak contrast, and the scratches and stains on the original film are not obvious, because the light is reflected many times through the diffusion film in the diffusion box. Astigmatism magnifiers generally use halogen bulbs, mostly used for color magnifiers.

Convergent-divergent amplifier is a special form between convergent amplifier and divergent amplifier, which combines the advantages and disadvantages of the above two amplifiers, but lacks individuality, and there are few manufacturers now.

1939, 28-year-old scientist and photographer Andrew Azan discovered a new type of diffuse light source-fluorescent cold light source. It consists of scattered light emitted by fluorescent tubes from different directions. Because this kind of light source can produce rich tone levels, it has become the best light source for black-and-white magnifier. Andrew Azan won the "Golden Achievement Award" by 1950 in American Camera News magazine. Ansel adams spoke highly of the cold light magnifying glass, and many of his excellent photos were taken with the cold light magnifying glass.

2) Amplifier structure: Although there are many types of amplifiers, they are basically composed of three parts.

Floor: It is a solid foundation for supporting columns or supports. Generally made of metal or wood, it is used to fix the magnifying glass and support the magnifying glass ruler. The bottom plate should be flat and have a certain weight. Column: it is the pillar of the lifting track of the magnifying glass head, and it is required to be firm to reduce the vibration when enlarging the photo. There are two kinds of pillars: monorail and double-rail. The stability of double-rail support is much better than that of monorail. Machine head: It consists of lamp room, light source (cold/hot), lens or light mixing box (color amplifier and filter adjustment mechanism), negative clip, focusing device, amplifier lens and filter bracket. Its main function is to control the light and adjust the magnification of photos by lifting.

3) The installation principle of power amplifier should follow the assembly sequence of bottom plate → column → focusing mechanism → power amplifier head.

It should be noted that the contact between the bottom plate and the column should be tight and firm, and ensure that they are perpendicular to each other. The focusing part is smooth and smooth. The tension spring between the upright post and the power amplifier head should be straight without deformation. If the lifting mechanism of the nose is rack structure, attention should be paid to the smoothness of the rack plate to ensure smooth lifting. In order to ensure the stability of the power amplifier, auxiliary measures such as counterweight or fixed rope can be taken when necessary. The light source of the power amplifier should be in close contact with its lamp holder, so as to avoid short circuit or overheating caused by sparks, resulting in line or personal accidents.

4) Adjustment of amplifier:

After the magnifying glass is installed, check whether the vertical plane of the column is perpendicular to the bottom surface; Whether the negative plane, lens plate plane and focal plane are parallel to each other; The parallel relationship of the above three will directly affect the imaging quality of photos. Zoom lens is a negative with various stripes, which is used for testing after exposure and development. We put the test focus lens into the negative frame and turn the focus knob to adjust the center of the picture to the clearest. At this time, we will observe the four corners of the picture to see if it is also in the clearest state. If the four corners and centers are clear, it means that the three planes are parallel to each other; If a corner of the picture is not clear, it means that the three planes are not parallel and should be adjusted in time until the picture is clear. This process should be carried out when the lens aperture of the magnifier is fully open and the magnification is large. Adjustment of light source position: after the mechanical part of the amplifier is debugged, the light source system should be tested. When testing, take a piece of white paper and lay it flat on the scale of the amplifier, turn on the light source of the amplifier, and adjust the top mechanism of the light source to make the light spot projected on the plane of the bottom plate uniform.

5) Selection of amplifier:

For buyers, even if we only shoot 35 mm film now, we still suggest buying an enlarger that can put larger size film, because this will leave room for using different specifications of film in the future.

2. enlarger lens

Enlarger lens's design is different from photographic lens. It projects the plane negative image onto the enlarged photographic paper in the same plane, and its quality is mainly reflected in the light balance projected to the four corners of the enlarged photographic paper, the resolution of the lens, the color reproduction, the glare of the lens, the clarity of the image and so on. Magnifier lenses are divided into amateur type, standard type, professional type, wide-angle type, achromatic type and reproduction type.

The focal length of the magnifier lens is very important, because for a specific size negative, it is necessary to have a lens with a matching focal length, so that there is an optimal working distance between the magnifier head and the photographic paper. The relationship between the lens focal length of the magnifier and the film size is roughly as follows: the lens focal length of the magnifier is 35 mm, 50 mm, 6×6 cm, 80 mm, 4×5 inches, 150 mm, 8× 10 inch and 300 mm

3. Enlarge the ruler board

The magnifying ruler board is generally made of metal material and is the basic tool to support magnifying paper. It is divided into three types: frame type, two-edge type and four-edge type. Frame-type ruler plate is of fixed-frame structure, and only enlarged paper with the same specification can be placed. The two-edge ruler is easy to use and low in cost. It is suitable for putting different sizes of enlarged paper, but it has some disadvantages, such as irregular blank size and sometimes the four corners of enlarged photos are not vertical. The square ruler is designed for professionals, and the four sides of the photo can be left with equal white edges. The operation is simple and the four corners of the picture are vertical, but it is expensive.

4. Exposure timer

Amplification exposure timer is a tool to control exposure time, which can be divided into mechanical and electronic types. Mechanical type is mostly dial structure or key structure, and electronic type is mostly digital display type, which can be selected according to different exposure time. The exposure timer is connected to a device connected with a foot switch, so that you can free your hands to cover the photos during exposure.

5. Foot switch

Connect the exposure timer, and use the foot switch to control the exposure when shielding operation with both hands is needed during amplification.

6. Zoom in and focus device

In the process of magnification, it is very important to focus accurately. The function of zoom lens is to provide accurate and clear focused images with a large magnification magnifying glass.

7. Enlarge the exposure meter

The exposure meter consists of a photosensitive element, and the light reaches the photosensitive probe through the negative and then is transmitted to the control element. When the probe is placed on the magnifying scale, the light intensity of the image projected on the bottom plate can be read, and the reading given not only indicates the correct exposure time, but also indicates the contrast level of photographic paper or filter.

8. Test paper printer

It is a multi-grid open exposure testing tool, which consists of several detachable hoods. When in use, the photographic paper is put into it, and different baffles are opened for a certain time to obtain image combinations with different exposure time and density, which can provide exposure basis for magnifying the final photo with a magnifying glass.

9. Printer

Printing the original negative into a positive film in the same proportion is a practical method to detect and select the negative film, and it is also helpful to make a preliminary judgment on the exposure and contrast intensity. It is an effective tool to quickly retrieve negatives. There are three types of printers: 135, 120 and professional printers. 135 and 120 printers can print a whole roll of negative images on 8× 10 inch printing paper, and professional printers can put four 4×5 inch negative films or 1 8× 10 inch negative films.

10. Shadow tool

In the process of enlargement, local shading or polishing is often carried out, and the tool used for this work is called shading tool. The shielding tool is made of a thin metal rod connected with various irregular and opaque materials, which can meet the needs of different image shapes.

1 1. Enlarge the exposure density film

A transparent sheet with different densities produced by Kodak Company is divided into ten zones: 2, 3, 4, 6, 8, 12, 24, 32 and 48***. When in use, put a piece of 4×5 inch photo paper under it and expose it for 60 seconds. Develop the photo paper according to the standard procedure, select the most suitable image density, and use the digital indication on its periphery as the basic exposure time.

12. Safety light

Safety lights are indispensable equipment for darkroom work. In fact, for photosensitive materials, any safety lamp can't be absolutely safe. Good quality safety lights can make operators work comfortably in bright environment, while photographic paper or other photosensitive materials are not affected. In a well-designed darkroom, the light distribution of safety lights should be ideal and bright, which will be more convenient and efficient when working than in a dark darkroom. Types of safety lights:

Because all kinds of emulsions are sensitive to light in the visible spectrum, light amber between yellow and brown can be used for most safety lights used in black and white photographic paper. The positive film for plate making is red; The safety lamp suitable for colored paper is dark in color and dark in light, which is a dark amber between black and dark brown. Sodium lamp uses metal sodium vapor tube as light source, which has excellent safety and brightness and is the first choice for professional darkroom. Some professional sodium lamps have light quantity adjustment devices for easy control. Safety lights can be roughly divided into three types: portable, wall-mounted and suspended.

Because of the importance of safety lights in darkroom, it is necessary to carry out safety inspection when buying any one. The specific operation is as follows: under the condition of full darkness, take out an unexposed photographic paper, cut it in half, directly put the half into fixing solution, and fix it at normal fixing time. At this time, turn on the safety light, place the other half at a distance of 1.5 meters, and irradiate with the safety light for 5 minutes. Then develop and fix according to the routine, and observe the difference between the two photographic papers in the bright room. If there is no obvious difference, the safety light is safe. If the illuminated photographic paper produces obvious fog, you should replace the safety light or reduce the brightness of the safety light, and then repeat the experiment until you are satisfied.

Second, the washing equipment

1. Basic flushing equipment

Developing tank: It is a container for film and developing chemicals. According to the quantity of 35 mm film, it can be divided into 1 can, 2 cans …8 cans, etc. According to the materials used, it can be divided into metal cans and engineering plastic cans.

When choosing a sink, most professionals choose a sink made of engineering plastic. Because metal materials are too sensitive to temperature, its good thermal conductivity makes it extremely difficult to control the temperature in the washing process. However, engineering plastics are resistant to temperature, and the process of heating and cooling is slow. Once heated to the specified temperature, the cooling process can have enough time to control.

Axle core: it is the carrier for carrying photosensitive film, which is divided into 135 film core, 120 film core and loose-leaf film core). Professional membrane cores are all designed into a general structure, that is, 135 is used for pasting film in the folded state and used for pasting film after being pulled out. Different from amateur shaft core design, the most remarkable feature of professional shaft core winding design is that two pressed steel balls are embedded in the film inlet. After a very clever design, the steel ball tightly presses the film in the process of rotating the shaft core, so that the film is automatically wound into the shaft core.

Membrane washing tube: This is a very useful but often overlooked tool. The quality of washing will directly affect the quality and storage time of the film itself. The central axis of the cleaning tank can make water enter from the bottom of the tank and overflow from the top to form circulating water from bottom to top, thus thoroughly cleaning the film (negative).

Developing board: it is a tool for developing photos by hand, made of metal or plastic. The developing disk and the fixed disk must be separated to avoid cross-contamination between the liquid medicines. It is suggested to use different color plates to classify the liquid medicine to avoid confusion.

Thermometer: it is an indispensable tool to control the temperature of washing liquid. The accuracy of professional flushing thermometer is controlled at about 0.2℃. It is better to have a comparison between Celsius and Fahrenheit for reference to foreign formulas. Thermometers are divided into pot type, basin type, floating type and dial type according to different purposes, and mercury type and alcohol type according to materials. Mercury type is more accurate, but it is not easy to observe; Most alcohol types are rich in color and easy to observe, but the accuracy is slightly poor. For temperature measurement with high precision, digital precision thermometer can be selected.

Flushing timer: Different from exposure timer, this timer takes minutes as the unit of time and is divided into three types: mechanical, electronic and program-controlled. The mechanical structure is simple and intuitive, and the accuracy is not high; Electronic precision is high, operation is simple, and most of them are designed in single channel or multi-channel form; The programmable timer is designed for professional operation. It can pre-store the set program. When the first program ends, just press a button to start the next program.

Water washer: After photosensitive materials are developed and fixed, they need to be thoroughly cleaned. Water washer is a kind of equipment designed for this kind of work. According to the types of cleaning materials, it can be divided into plastic-coated photographic paper washing machine and century-old washing machine.

Plastic coated photographic paper cleaning machine: it is specially designed for plastic coated photographic paper. According to the characteristics of high washing efficiency and short time, it is made into a transverse structure. Water flows in from the bottom and out from the top, forming a cycle.

Centennial washing machine: it is a special equipment for cleaning negatives and photographic paper with high efficiency. When the negative or photographic paper is placed in the isolated gap, the water flows from bottom to top, and the materials to be cleaned are sprayed out through closely arranged holes, and the attached air forms upward bubbles in the water flow, which greatly saves the cleaning time, saves valuable water resources and achieves the best cleaning quality. According to ANSI requirements of American National Standards Institute, the standard residue of hypo is 0.2 micrograms per square centimeter. Generally, 95% of the hypo residue in the fixing solution in photosensitive materials can be removed in the first 5 minutes by washing. Removing the hypo residue will waste a lot of water resources, and prolonging the washing time will also cause irreparable losses such as the disappearance of highlights, the destruction of protective layer, the loosening of paper base and the separation of emulsion. In view of this, the design purpose of the century-old washing machine is to achieve the best washing efficiency and quality under certain water temperature, water pressure and flow rate. It is an essential equipment for washing paper-based photographic paper, otherwise the paper-based photographic paper will lose its significance of permanent preservation.

Water stain removal tool: it is a tool specially used to remove water stains and water stains. When using, the tool must be immersed in a stable solution with surfactant as the main component to avoid scratching the photosensitive material.

Water stain removal sponge or water stain removal clip: made of pure wood pulp or natural rubber, soft in texture, used to remove water stains on the film surface.

Wiper: Made of pure natural rubber, it is mainly used to remove water stains on the surface of photographic paper.

Dryer: After the washed photosensitive materials are washed with water, they need to be dried. Different drying equipment is used for different treatment methods. This kind of equipment is called dryer. Dryers can be divided into film dryers and photo paper dryers.

Film dryer: the developed film needs to be dried in a clean and dust-free environment, and the drying equipment used is called film dryer. It is worth noting that the drying effect in natural environment is different from that in hot air environment. The drying effect in hot air environment is bright and transparent. The dryness of the natural environment is dark and lifeless. The dryer is equipped with an air filter screen, which can reduce the chance of dust adhering to the film.

Photographic paper dryer: also known as photo dryer, it is mostly used to dry plastic-coated photographic paper. Due to the unique characteristics of plastic-coated photographic paper, metropolis is relatively flat after drying.

To dry paper-based photographic paper, it is necessary to spread the washed photographic paper film face down on clean glass, scrape off the water with a photographic paper dehydration scraper, put it into a drying net for drying, put it into a leveler after drying, and level it at a certain temperature and pressure. Paper-based photographic paper is mostly pure cotton pulp, and its thickness is several times that of ordinary plastic-coated photographic paper, so it should absorb a lot of water during washing. After the drying screen is dried, the photos will be seriously distorted due to the stress of pulp fibers. In order to make the photo smooth, high temperature and high pressure treatment must be carried out in the leveling machine. Leveling machine is a necessary equipment to enlarge paper-based paper, otherwise paper-based paper can not meet the requirements of display and collection.

Paper cutter: Paper cutter can be divided into straw cutter type and drum type according to its form.

Hay cutter paper cutter: a traditional paper cutter, which uses a steel knife to cut paper up and down. The bottom plate is mostly made of metal or wood, with simple structure, low cost and wide application.

Roller-type paper cutter: professional design, the cutter made of special steel moves in parallel along a smooth track, and the advanced paper cutter is designed as double-track type, which makes the movement more stable. The cutting blade cuts various kinds of paper in a circular manner. It has the characteristics of fine workmanship, sharp and straight cutting, durability, accuracy and safety. 2. Semi-automatic washing equipment

Semi-automatic processing equipment is an economical processing equipment, which uses machines to control the constant temperature and stirring of the processed photosensitive materials. Generally, it is a drum design, which can wash all kinds of photosensitive materials. Semi-automatic washing equipment can automatically change the stirring direction and the stirring speed can also be adjusted. At the same time, the temperature control system can easily adjust the water temperature in the water bath to keep it controlled and constant at any time. The circulating water pump ensures the constant temperature water between the washing tank and the medicine tank to circulate continuously, and the water level in the washing tank can be adjusted at will according to the type of washing tank used. The simple lifting system makes it convenient and easy to recover liquid medicine, and some types of equipment also have condensers, allowing the ambient temperature to be higher than the washing temperature.

Semi-automatic washing equipment needs a timer, preferably a programmed timer, as an auxiliary tool to control the time of each program. 3. Fully automatic cleaning equipment:

Modern automatic washing equipment is advanced in design, and the built-in microcomputer system records common standard programs, which makes the operation of increasing and decreasing sensitivity easier. Just turn the knob, the washing program can even be adjusted at will through the built-in computer system of the equipment, and you can set your own program freely. Structure of automatic cleaning equipment: Basically, the structure of automatic cleaning equipment is divided into four parts: transmission system, constant temperature system, circulation system and control system. The main function of the transmission system is to transmit the photosensitive materials that need to be processed, which is composed of mechanical devices; The constant temperature system consists of the temperature control center of the equipment, which controls the temperature of the washing liquid as required; The main function of the circulation system is to make the washing liquid or constant temperature water circulate back and forth, enhance the activity of the liquid and improve the temperature control efficiency; Control system is the core of washing equipment. It controls each system of the equipment through a computer, and can freely select and set up programs.

Types of automatic developing equipment: Automatic developing equipment can be divided into film developing equipment and photographic paper developing equipment according to developing types. Film processing equipment

Film processing equipment can be divided into drum processing equipment, drum processing equipment and hanging processing equipment according to its processing methods. Among them, the drum washing equipment has the smallest volume, drug saving, excellent washing quality, high repeatability of washing control, wide washing types and simple operation. Once the washing tank is connected with the machine, the equipment is started, and all the work is automatically completed, so that misoperation caused by mistakes is not easy to occur. Most of them are selected as quality control models by scientific research institutions, and they are also the first choice for users who require high-quality products. Drum washing equipment is suitable for ordinary commercial production and is the most used product. It has the characteristics of continuous winding, but it also has some defects such as unstable washing quality. Because of its unique design, the hanging developing equipment makes the developed film not easy to cause physical damage, and the development quality is relatively stable. It is a high-end product suitable for commercial use, but the cost is relatively expensive. Photographic paper developing equipment:

Photographic paper processing equipment can be divided into traditional processing equipment and laser digital processing equipment. Traditional processing equipment is mostly roller design. Now we use Kodak RA-4 technology, ordinary photographic paper. Laser digital processing equipment is the latest product of modern science and technology, which adopts special photosensitive materials, has a wide range of input types, exaggerated colors and is convenient and fast. Selection of cleaning equipment:

Must buy the best quality, best performance and most reliable developing equipment, especially film developing equipment. Because no matter how good the shooting is, no matter how rare the opportunity is, once the development fails, the consequences will be embarrassing.