Silver Halide Darkroom Tools & Reference
3D Studio
5 tools

Finishing & Archiving

A print that is not washed will yellow. A negative stored badly will be lost. Finishing and archiving is the least glamorous and most consequential part of the process.

5Printing & Finishing
Finishing & Archiving illustration

About this category

A print that is not washed will yellow. A negative stored badly will be lost. Finishing and archiving is the least glamorous and most consequential part of the process.

How these pages are written Specifications come from published manufacturer documentation. Development times are stated for a small inversion tank at 20 °C. Always treat them as starting points and confirm against the data sheet for your own materials.
Wear PPE & Ventilate Nitrile gloves Eye protection Cross-flow air Label every bottle Dispose of fixer properly
Finishing & Archiving Finish

Print Washer

A tank that keeps fresh water moving past every print until the fixer is gone.

Printing & Finishing stage
Finishing & Archiving Finish

Print Dryer

Fibre prints curl as they dry — a dryer flattens them without cooking the emulsion.

Printing & Finishing stage
Finishing & Archiving Finish

Archival Sleeve

Inert plastic that holds a negative without touching the emulsion.

Printing & Finishing stage
Finishing & Archiving Finish

Acid-Free Box

Lignin-free board that will not slowly acidify the negatives inside it.

Printing & Finishing stage
Finishing & Archiving Finish

Anti-Static Brush

Carbon-fibre bristles that neutralise static and lift dust off a negative.

Printing & Finishing stage
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