I was always told: if you have to do something, do it with your own style! So here is my Italian style UV box to expose the papers coated with antique photographic processes. At the origin of photography, many technologies of printing required exposure to UV light. In those times, the sun was the perfect source and the exposure was usually made outdoor. But the quantity of UV light from the sun can vary a lot in different seasons or with different weather. Plus, baby it’s cold outside now in winter! For this reason, I decided to build a UV Box.

I was inspired by some similar project videos on YouTube but I added my personal touch. First of all, I used an old wood box for wine bottles instead of a modern plastic box. The wood box was in my cellar, free, and wood looks better and more coherent than plastic with old techniques. Second I decided to add a timer for a precise exposure instead of counting the seconds with an external timer and manually switching the lights on and off.

Check out the video to know more about the UV Box and see how it works.

I used very common components that are easy to buy online:

LED strips: UV Black Light 5m 300 LED Strips, 5050SMD Ultraviolet 395nm-405nmMicrocontroller: Arduino NanoDisplay: HDD44780 LCD1602Buttons: 12mm momentary push buttonsSwitches: 16mm latching pushbutton switchLED: 12V-24V 12mm LEDRelays: AC/DC relays with 5v triggerPower: MeanWell LRS-150-12 150W DC 12V switching power supply5V Power: DC 12v 24v to 5v step down buck converter 5A 25W

The 5V lines are derived from the 12V Power Supply with the Stepdown Converter. The relays are on the 12V power supply going to the LED strips and have the green LED in parallel. Here is the scheme of the circuit:

And here the code I wrote for the timer:   As you can see, it is easy to build. It just requires some electronics & programming skills and a lot of patience. Buying a full 6 bottles box and drinking them during the building can help the morale, but I’m not sure about the results! Update: To see how I use my DIY UV Box to create Van Dyke wet prints, be sure to read my follow up post!

About the Author

Italian born Luigi Barbano is a professional photographer since 1994, artist and author. He has written and published numerous photographic books, the most recent “Photography: The f Manual“. You can find out more about Luigi and all of his books on his website. This article was also published here and shared with permission.