Rules & Procedures

Darkroom Rules & Procedures

rev. April 2022

All Darkroom usage needs to first be booked 48 hours in advance by emailing darkroom@dupa.ie.
Drinking, eating, and smoking is banned in the Darkroom for your own safety. Anyone caught smoking will be expelled from DUPA and reported to the Junior Dean. Anyone caught eating or drinking will be liable to an appropriate fine and/or suspension from the Darkroom.
When leaving, please tidy the Darkroom by returning all usable chemicals to their correct bottles, throwing away any unsuccessful prints and washing all trays and equipment. Please follow this guide on how to open and close the Darkroom properly.
Please turn off the electrical equipment when you are finished.
Lock the door when finished, sign out, and return the key to the security office at Front Arch or the CSC office (depending on where you got it from).
All digital files created or downloaded by an individual on the DUPA computer must be removed. USB keys are available to be removed temporarily from the Darkroom and need to be returned within 48 hours.

Non-compliance with these rules can lead to individual Darkroom access curtailed and/or membership being revoked.

These rules are put in place for safe and sustainable usage of the Darkrooms.

If college security/administration see continued breaking of these rules it will put our facilities in jeopardy.

If chemicals or paper need to be refreshed, or there are any issues in the Darkroom, contact the Darkroom Officer at darkroom@dupa.ie.

If something needs to be brought to the attention of the committee, contact us at dupa@csc.tcd.ie.

Use all chemicals according to the instructions provided.
Always wash your hands afterwards with warm water and soap.
Most of the chemicals are safe to touch but ensure you do not mix chemicals between different baths. Wearing gloves for protection is suggested.

Follow instructions on the packaging.
If you are unsure how to mix or prepare new chemicals, please contact the Darkroom Officer for assistance.
If you are opening a new bottle of concentrated chemical, write “opened” followed by the current date.
Label all solutions with the name of the chemical, the dilution, and the date mixed.

DO NOT pour exhausted chemicals down the drain. Instead, pour them into the provided waste cans.
- The fixer goes into a separate container from the rest.
After emptying, wash all storage bottles with warm water and soap.

Pour usable developer, stop, and fixer back into the storage bottles.
Pour exhausted chemicals into the provided waste cans.
Wash all trays, tongs, and tanks several times with water and leave them to dry.
Tidy the Darkroom by throwing away unsuccessful prints, scraps of film, etc.
Clean up any additional water on the floor or other messes made.
Switch off all electrical equipment, such as the enlarger and the dryer.
Turn of the taps.
Switch on the extractor fan.
Switch off the lights.
Lock the door, ensuring that you are not locking the keys inside the darkroom.
Sign out using the clipboard. Write your email and the time.