🐉 Jester Climate Call (512) 297-7493
Identity · Austin and the I 35 corridor

Photographers with a darkroom

A home darkroom stays black so the paper never fogs, which also traps every bit of heat from the enlarger, the safelight, and you. Chemistry drifts, stock suffers in a muggy cabinet, and a long print session gets miserable with no window to open. Jester Climate installs ductless mini splits for that sealed space so the room can stay in the working range your baths actually need.

The flat rate

One number, materials and labor together

Standard day
$2,400
Materials and labor, installed. Six days a week sit at this rate.
Joker day
Lower, every week
One day a week costs less. It moves weekly, revealed on the homepage.

$400 materials deposit books your day. The balance is due when the work is finished and you're happy with it. Anything outside a standard install is quoted before work begins, never discovered after.

For this room

Photographers with a darkroom

Darkroom chemistry works inside a specific temperature range, and a few degrees off can change development times or stain a print. Because the room is light sealed, there is no window to crack for relief, so heat just builds. A ductless indoor unit on the wall cools the air without ducts or a window unit that would leak light.

Film and paper stock do not like a hot, humid storage space, whether that is a cabinet in the darkroom or a closet next to it. Moisture and warmth can ruin boxes you were saving for a later project. The same system that keeps the workspace livable can help hold conditions for storage once we see the room on a site visit.

Long printing sessions in a warm sealed room get uncomfortable fast, and that fatigue shows in the work. Our licensed crew installs the mini split as materials and labor together at a flat $2,400. One day each week is Joker Day at a lower price the dragon deals like a playing card, posted on the homepage rather than here.

Common questions

What people ask us about this

Can you cool a fully light sealed darkroom that has no windows?

Yes. A ductless mini split uses a small indoor unit on the wall and an outdoor condenser, with a line set through the wall. We plan that penetration so your light seals stay intact. The crew is licensed and handles materials and labor as one installation.

How do you size a mini split for my darkroom without seeing it first?

Sizing and BTU needs are always a rule of thumb that gets confirmed by an on-site visit. We never promise a specific capacity for a room in advance. That visit also lets us see tray layout, storage, and where heat actually builds during a session.

Will cooling the room protect film and paper I keep in the darkroom?

Film and paper stock do not like a hot, humid storage space. Holding the room cooler and drier than a sealed box full of equipment heat gives that stock a better chance. We confirm the storage location when we visit rather than guessing from a phone call.

What is the flat rate, the deposit, and Joker Day?

Standard installation is $2,400, materials and labor together, as a flat rate. Booking requires a $400 materials deposit to hold the day, and the remaining balance is due when the work is finished. Joker Day is one day every week at a lower price that moves and is revealed on the homepage, not on this page.

Can I keep printing for hours without the room turning into a sauna?

Long sessions in a warm sealed room get uncomfortable fast because there is nowhere for the heat to go. A mini split gives that air a way out of the space without opening a door and ruining a print. You still run your process by time and temperature, just in a room that does not fight you the whole time.

Ready when you are

Call (512) 297-7493 to talk about your darkroom. Check the homepage for the Joker Day price the dragon on the throne is dealing this week.

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