SMITHSONIAN DARKROOM
One of the best darkrooms in Washington, DC, is located in the Smithsonian Institution's S. Dillon Ripley Center, below the Smithsonian Castle. It’s accessible through the entry kiosk located near the southwest corner of the Castle. It features well maintained equipment for all your developing, printing and finishing needs.

	BLACK AND WHITE FILM DEVELOPING: - stainless steel and Paterson plastic film developing tanks for 35mm and 120mm film - 4 x 5 developing tanks - (4) film changing rooms - Kodak D76 developer, Sprint Record Speed Fixer, Heico Perma Wash, Kodak Photo-Flo 200 - Arkay 3’ x 7’ sink - Arkay CD-80 film dryer
	BLACK AND WHITE PRINTING: - (10) Omega D5 XL Universal 4 x 5 Chassis, DV Condenser Lamphouse - (1) Zone VI Cold Cathode Variable Contrast Enlarger - 50mm, 80mm and 135mm enlarger lenses - 35mm, 645, 6x6, 6x7, 6x9 and 4x5 negative carriers - Kodak and Ilford contrast filters - Saunders 4 bladed easels - grain focusers - Print File contact sheet printers - GraLab 450 digital timers - Kodak Dektol Developer, Sprint Block Stop Bath, Sprint Record Speed Fixer, Heico Perma Wash, Ilford Selenium Toner, Kodak Photo-Flo 200 - Arkay 4’ x 10’ sink, Arkay 4’ x 5’ sink - (2) archival print washers
	COLOR PRINTING: - (5) Omega D5 XL Universal 4 x 5 Chassis, Super Chromega D Dichroic II Lamphouse - 50mm, 80mm and 135mm enlarger lenses - 35mm, 645, 6x6, 6x7, 6x9 and 4x5 negative carriers - Saunders 4 bladed easels - grain focusers - Print File contact sheet printers - Omega Chromegatrol timers - paper safes - Fujimoto CP-31 Automatic Image Processor, accepts paper up to 12" x 16" - Kodak Ektacolor RA Developer, Kodak Ektacolor RA Bleach-Fix - archival print washer
	FINISHING: - Arkay RC 2100 rc print dryer - Arkay Dual-Dri 150 fiber print dryer - Bienfang tacking iron - Rotatrim paper cutter - Seal Commercial 210M dry mount/laminating press - drying screens - Logan 301 mat cutter

FACILITY:
- 18’ x 82’ overall dimensions for darkroom, film developing and finishing areas
- lockers and closets available to store paper and supplies
- (4) light tables
- Wifi access

MY CLASS OFFERINGS:

CLASS	DATES	MEMBER FEE	NON-MEMBER FEE
Open Darkroom Plus	Ripley Center closed due to Covid-19.	-	-

CLASS FEES
The above fees are for “members” and “non-members.” Become a member of the Smithsonian Associates (for as little as $50/year) to receive reduced class fees and many other benefits.

All photographic chemicals are provided with the class fee. Students supply their own film, photographic paper, compressed air, dry mounting tissue and mat board.

If you become a "member", the fee is less than $11/hour for most of the above classes.

“OPEN DARKROOM PLUS”
The Ripley Center is a secured Smithsonian building, so it’s impossible to have a typical open darkroom where one can arrive whenever they want to work for whatever length of time they want. The Smithsonian’s “open darkroom” is structured like a weekly class- once enrolled, a student would be able to work in the darkroom for eight Saturday mornings, for example. Admittedly, this may be different from what you are used to, but it does have its benefits. An instructor is present in the Open Darkroom Plus sessions and will mix/dump all of the chemicals and assist with any questions you may have regarding film developing, printing and finishing.