- Place three trays in the wet area of the darkroom.
- Mix developer to be no shallower than 1/2-inch deep in the first tray. Follow the instructions on the bottle/package. - Worth noting that there are paper developers and film developers. It's preferred to use a paper developer like Kodak Dektol, but you should be able to get away with using Kodak HC-110 (dilution A) film developer in a pinch. Film developers are weaker and make muddier prints with less intense blacks. - You can over-develop a print, but it's a rare problem.
- Mix stop bath to be no shallower than 1/2-inch deep in the middle tray. Follow the instructions on the bottle. - You can also use white vinegar, mixing 1 part vinegar to 4 parts water. - There may also be leftover stop bath from a previous session– check the containers. - You can't over-stop a print.
- Mix fixer to be no shallower than 1/2-inch deep in the middle tray. Follow the instructions on the bottle. - The bottle might indicate the number of square inches of paper that it can handle. It's somewhat worthwhile to pay attention to this. Fixer gets "spent" as it collects silver from the paper. If you fix your print with spent fixer, then some day your print could turn brown. - There may also be leftover fixer from a previous session– check the containers. - Fixer shouldn't go down the drain. - You can't over-fix a print, though time spent fixing a print might affect how long it needs to be washed.
- Set a larger tray in the sink area, and fill the tray with cold water. This will be used as a holding area for prints post-development. It will also be used to wash prints at the end of a session.
- Ensure the dry area around the enlarger is indeed dry, decluttered, and not dusty.
- Turn on the safe light and ensure the door closes tightly.
- Ensure any "printing in-progress" signage is placed on the door or otherwise visible.
- Hang loose.
- Lasts ~1 session.
- Lifetime can be estimated by reading the packaging, which should indicate how many square inches of paper can be developed per volume of developer.
- Can be simply poured down the drain.
- Lasts ~2 sessions.
- Fixer can be tested by placing a drop on an undeveloped film leader then measuring its clearing time. Stop bath can be tested by rubbing a little bit between your fingers– if it feels slightly greasy, then it's probably spent.
- Are often mixed together (stop is acidic and fixer is alkaline, so together they become more neutral). Keep spent chemicals in a plastic container, and routinely dispose of them through the city or a photo lab (ideally). Tread carefully when asking the city about chemical disposal.
- Sometimes labs will take spent fixer for free because they can recover the silver suspended in it (photo paper contains silver).
- Sometimes prints get left for a long time in the drying rack. If that's an issue, just make a pile of prints that have been in the rack for too long, and let folks sort through the pile to find their prints as needed.
- Develop (1m30s)
- Agitate continuously.
- More like 2-3m for fiber paper.
- Stop (30s)
- Agitate 20s.
- You can't over-stop a print.
- Fix (3-6min)
- Agitate the entire first 30s to 1m, then for 10s each following minute.
- You can't over-fix a print. An under-fixed print may become discolored or fade with age.
- Cold water rinse (minimum 10m)
- More washing for fiber paper.
- Either with running water or not. If not...
I take the print to the bathroom and give it an initial rinse, then I put the print into a tray and cover it with about 1/4 inch of water. I then rock the dish to and fro 10 times, pour out the water and repeat. Then I repeat with 2 x 20 agitations, then with 2 x 40 agitations. The print is now washed. FB [fiber] paper on the other hand is a different matter, but can be washed by suspending the prints in a tank of water and changing the water several times (say 6 times) during the course of a couple of hours.
From [here](http://photo.net/black-and-white-photo-printing-finishing-forum/006uAn).