The mention of
equipment in a manual on photography computers or hi-fi, usually provides
the temptation for the reader to go out and indulge in an orgy of shopping.
If you are going to work with old processes you don't really immediately
need to acquire a densitometer, a mercury vapour lamp and an expensive
printing frame. They may look good on your darkroom shelf but the fact
of owning them does not automatically guarantee better results. The best
pictures are quite often produced from a couple of dishes, a sink, a few
brushes from the DIY shop and a piece of glass. If you eventually get
round to etching or gravure you will need access to an etching press,
a print studio and some other bits and pieces. You may of course be an
equipment freak. In that case buy all you feel you need. Assuming that
you are already involved in photography, you will have a camera and probably
a simple darkroom with an enlarger and the basic tools for making black
and white enlargements. This is all you will need to make the large contact
negatives used in most of the old processes