February has a particular meaning at DarkLab.
It was the month the darkroom was finished and became usable as a working space. Before any logos existed and before DarkLab was publicly launched in April, the darkroom itself was already in use. Film was being developed, prints were being made, and processes were being tested and refined.
This February marks one year since the red light first switched on in the lab. That moment mattered. It marked the point where DarkLab moved from an idea into a functioning photographic space. To mark this milestone, February also signals an important step forward. Three new services are being introduced, alongside significant upgrades to the lab. These changes are designed to strengthen the existing workflow and to begin testing new possibilities for the future.
New printing services
From February, DarkLab will be offering three distinct printing services: DarkLab Originals, Digital Printing , and Black and White Darkroom Printing.
DarkLab Originals
DarkLab Originals are traditional black and white silver gelatine prints made by hand in the darkroom. Each print is produced from a film negative on archival photographic paper using established darkroom techniques.
Every print is made individually. Exposure, contrast, and timing are decided in the darkroom rather than through presets or automation. Because of this, no two prints are exactly the same.
Each image released as a DarkLab Original is printed once and never reproduced again. This approach reflects how photographs were historically treated and reinforces the idea of the print as a finished photographic object rather than a repeatable output.
B&W Gelatine Prints are traditional black and white photographic prints made by hand in the darkroom using the silver gelatine process. Printed from film negatives on archival photographic paper, they offer rich blacks, smooth tonal transitions and a timeless analogue look.
Each print is individually crafted, giving every image depth, character and fine detail that digital prints cannot replicate. Ideal for fine art photography, exhibitions, framing and collectors who value authentic black and white prints.
Digital printing from film
Digital printing at DarkLab exists specifically to support analogue photography.
This service is offered only for film based work printed from scanned negatives. It is intended for photographers who shoot film and require high quality digital prints while maintaining the character, tonality, and intent of the original negative. Prints can be produced on standard photographic papers or on selected fine art papers that better reflect the surface and tonal qualities associated with fibre based darkroom prints. A fully colour managed workflow is used throughout to ensure consistency and accuracy.
This service is not available for digital only photography, phone images, or non film based work. The focus remains on film.
DarkLab Digital Printing Service offers high-quality digital printing exclusively for film scan output.
This service is designed for photographers who shoot film and require digital prints from scanned negatives, while maintaining the character, tonality, and intent of the original analogue image.
Prints can be produced on standard photographic papers or on selected fine art papers that emulate the surface and tonal response of fibre-based darkroom prints, allowing for greater depth and a closer translation of film characteristics in a digital format.
A fully colour-managed workflow is used throughout. This service is not available for general digital photography, phone images, or non-film-based work.
Black and white darkroom printing
Black and white darkroom printing remains a core part of DarkLab.
This service offers printing from film negatives using traditional enlargers, photographic papers, and chemistry. Prints are exposed under the enlarger and processed by hand, one at a time. Each print involves interpretation and decision making. Contrast, exposure, and paper choice all affect the final result. This is a slower process, but it produces prints with depth, tonal separation, and a clear material presence.
This service is available for 35mm and 120mm black and white negative film only.
This Service offers traditional black and white printing from film negatives using fully optical darkroom processes.
Prints are produced by hand under the enlarger using fibre based or resin coated photographic papers and processed individually through traditional chemistry. Each print is exposed developed and finished with care resulting in a photographic object with depth tonal separation and material presence.
This service is intended for photographers who want their film images printed properly without digital intervention and who value the discipline interpretation and craft of true darkroom printing.
This service is available for 35mm and 120mm black and white negative film only.
Why printing matters
One of the reasons DarkLab was created is because printing, particularly from film, has slowly been pushed to the margins of photographic practice. Many photographs now stop at the scan. The physical print has become optional rather than essential.
From the start, the intention at DarkLab has been to support the analogue process as a whole, and that includes printing. A photograph is not only something that is captured or scanned. It is something that is made, interpreted, and finished. Printing is where that happens.
The services being introduced this February are built around this idea.
Darkroom upgrades and testing
Alongside the new services, the darkroom itself continues to evolve in order to support consistent and reliable results.
Film processing is being upgraded through the introduction of the AGO processor. This allows for greater control over development variables such as temperature, agitation, and timing. The aim is not to remove the hands on nature of film processing, but to reduce unnecessary inconsistency and improve reliability at the negative stage.
In parallel, the colour darkroom printing workflow enters a testing phase throughout February and March. Colour printing requires a different approach to black and white printing, particularly as it is carried out in complete darkness without the use of safelights.
This testing phase focuses on familiarisation, chemistry control, and repetition. The colour darkroom printing service is expected to launch later, most likely in April, once the process meets the same standards as the rest of the darkroom.
Looking ahead
February was when the darkroom first became operational. It is also where the next phase of DarkLab begins.
The aim remains simple. To support film photography properly, to bring printing back into focus, and to treat analogue photography as a working practice rather than a trend. The Film Vault exists to document this process as it happens. The work, the decisions, and the space between shooting film and holding a finished print.
Stay tuned to see how DarkLab continues to evolve, and in the meantime send your films in for processing using the services down below 😉.
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NEW
120 B&W Film development €8.99 -
BEST SELLER
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BEST SELLER
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BEST SELLER
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