Questions about dark room

[TheBruno]

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Hello everyone! I'm seeking some help/answers since i recently managed to cut some space of an old basement and set it for a dark room for printing with an enlarger and everything... For the actual dark room itself i made some curtain to attach with Velcro at the window, it's 3 layers of textile, 2 of them are to properly cut off the light and one for thicken the last bit and darker as well, the doubt i have and question is that the window still has lights by itself, it's not totally dark. Ill attach a photo of it, for context tho since done with my phone the light is not that bright but a bit more dim itself, But i don't know if for printing that's an issue or not for it, i still have to do the test where i try to adapt my eyes to the dark, but i feel this is still too much even for printing, either way, thank you for the future answers!

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[250swb]

For printing you don't literally need a darkened room, you need a room that's dark and use a red safelight. Photo paper is something like 3 ISO, and with reciprocity failure you should have enough time to make a print in a room if it has thick curtains over the windows and no bright light leaks. See if you can get some thick black plastic sheet to put over the window from the inside and the outside. I once made a large darkroom tent that people could walk in and the 'safelight' was simply the red colouring of the tarpaulin covering and inside it was possible to make long exposure portraits on reversal paper and still have plenty of time to develop the prints even on a sunny day.

[BernardC]

20 hours ago, TheBruno said:

For the actual dark room itself i made some curtain to attach with Velcro at the window, it's 3 layers of textile, 2 of them are to properly cut off the light and one for thicken the last bit and darker as well, the doubt i have and question is that the window still has lights by itself, it's not totally dark.

I use "blackout curtain fabric." It's a white fabric, commonly used in hotel rooms as a curtain liner.

The room doesn't need to be completely dark, but make sure that you light does not fall directly on your enlarger easel or developer tray. That's where paper is most vulnerable to fogging. You can add shading if the whole room isn't dark enough. A large piece of cardboard between the light source and paper is usually enough, although cardboard can introduce dust.

[M.Hilo]

How large is that window and can you show it in a picture without your curtains?

[105012]

If you also use the darkroom for handling film (for example, loading onto reels), then you will want it completely dark.

[250swb]

OP has gone dark.

 

[M.Hilo]

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Blocking out light is mostly about the material you use and the practical parameters of the window.

This applies to both the permanent or the improvised solution.

I am all for improvising because often our quick solutions lead us to better and more permanent solutions.