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Comment by pimlottc | Hacker News Reader

I get that red-on-black color scheme is a nod to the red lighting of a dark room, but the contrast is so low I can hardly read the example screenshots.

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It’s not a nod. It’s required to not ruin the paper during use. A specific yellow would also work but phone screens often output more than just the desired color. Red is the safest.

That's fine, just make the versions on the website readable for people who aren't in a darkroom.

What's the use case to use a darkroom tool outside the dark room?

I’m talking about the promotional website, not the app

Isn't it more than a nod, and actually a hard requirement to be considered for use in an active darkroom?

It hadn't occurred to me that now with OLEDs you can actually safely limit exposure to wavelengths that would be damaging to the development process - I'd imagine that is what the author is shooting for here

I upgraded to an Apple Watch Ultra because it offered a face with only red and black. It’s been long enough now that I don’t remember all the details, but I appreciated being able to monitor time in the darkroom (using DND to avoid flashes of light).

Fun fact, I planned an Apple Watch companion app as well, but the Apple Watch is just too erratic in the way it lights up randomly, no matter what app (live activity?) you run, and there is no way to put a red filter on either.

Trust me, in the dark, your eyes adapt and you will be able to read the GUI just fine. And as someone said, the reason the GUI is like this, is to not emit unnecessary light in the darkroom, thus preventing fogging the paper.

Sorry, I just meant that the example images /on the website/ should be easier to read, not that the screens in the app themselves should be changed.

Note taken. I need to re-do those screenshots anyway, and will bump the contrast on the new ones.

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