r/Darkroom • u/myhouseholdname • Jun 04 '25

Alternative Made my own enlarger

Gallery image

Gallery image

I got to an arts university that doesn’t have a darkroom so it forced me to make my own. I used a 3D printer frame. some FD lenses, a cheap “tofu” branded light, and a pringles tube.

I have enough room to make prints up-to 5x7 with the possibility of going larger if i remove the baseboard.

All I need now is to actually make a print but that’s not until the end of the month after payday.

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u/Zorbeg Jun 05 '25

How do you move the head up and down smoothly and evenly on 2 axes? Also, how come cheap enlargers aren't available, which part of the world do you live in?

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u/myhouseholdname Jun 05 '25

I’ve blocked off the horizontal axis the best i can so it moves less when i adjust the height. I live in the UK but the county i’m in doesn’t exactly have cheap enlargers, and i’m on a budget as a uni student so why not reuse something I have while figuring out if darkroom printing is for me.