Info about Kodak C-41 chemicals?

Dan, I was referring to this: "[in fact, E6 stabilizer is no more than glorified Photo-flo, now that the dye preservation is buried down in the pre-bleach step... To eliminate the formaldehyde in the final rinse for environmental reasons.]"

 

That is not exacly correct.

 

In addition, if you wash after the stabilzer or final rinse, it negates the effectiveness.

 

Ron Mowrey

Ron, thanks for the "reality check"

 

Sometimes I get ahead of myself when I assume the reader has enough sense to realize that the (formaldehyde & other preservatives) get washed off if there's a final water-only rinse.

 

------------

 

Speaking of which, I'm working on assembling a "universal" E-6 & C-41 preservative for the hobbyist. Key to making this work is the simple math that a home user is not going to have to worry as much about a couple moments of formaldehyde exposure, as opposed to five 8-hour shifts per week in a commercial lab. Basically, it will consist of formaldehyde, miconozole, and a surfactant like Photo-Flo. Given that C-41 stabilizers still have to have at least SOME formaldehyde (or other aldehyde), this seems like a good way to go.

I actually had a chance to visit Chang's Photo. The owner is a nice easy talk to guy. He runs out of a warehouse and has most popular C-41 chemicals for mini labs. I wish he was in my town so that I could buy from him.

Dan: Thank you again for all of your help.

 

I'm confused about the shipping though, because I found the chemicals on Adorama and

Calumet and shipping for everything would be $25. Granted, that's a lot more than I pay

for shipping on regular items, but $500?! Is it because these items are rather small in

quantity? I'm not looking at large bottles; the largest ones make a couple gallons.

 

Thank you for that supplier though. Even though they're about an hour + away from me

(traffic is horrible) I might just go up there and get the stuff. If it'll save on shipping the

trip might just be worth it.

Gwendolyn, the $25 HazMat charge is IN ADDITION to the shipping cost! :(

 

Dave Cheng gave Chang's Photo high marks (see above); but since they are a minilab supplier, call them to see if they have small quantities of C41-B chemicals: Most minilab processors use C41-RA; and many of these processors (such as some from Konica and Noritsu) use "cartridges" to idiot-proof the operation.

 

While you're there, keep in mind that the C41 developer bath is common across the process variants, so if your lab supplier has a discount due to an overstock, you can grab it and pocket the savings.

 

Like I said, since they are an hour away, call first: If they are like the minilab suppliers in NYC, they have a lot of items (such as E6 chemistry) on their price sheet which they can get in a day or three.

 

Hope this helps!

 

Dan

Kodak Flexicolor Developer kit 192 7698 has

 

290 ml Dev A

 

58 ml dev B

 

24.5ml Dev C

 

All combine with water to make 3.8 liters or 3800ml of developer.

 

I simply multiply 250/3800 X each of the above to make 250 ml of working developer including water to make enough for 1 film in a stainless tank. You will need equipment to measure 3.8 ml and 1.6ml which means a syringe.

 

No starter is used as this product is designed for use without, but you are supposed to mix the whole gallon which I do not.

 

There are bleach, fix and stab all in gallon sizes much less complicated to mix.

 

PM me and I will recover the cat numbers of the other components from my darkroom.

Ron,

 

You can mix up the entire gallon and pour it off into (slightly squeezed) 1 liter soda bottles; and then freeze.

 

You need to squeeze them slightly to laaow the liquid to expand: If you don't fill the bottle to the top and leave air at the top instead, that residual oxygen will be shoved down into the liquid.

 

C41 developer can be frozen and thawed at least one cycle without (apparent) harm. Same goes for E6 first & color dev.

<i>"Gwendolyn, the $25 HazMat charge is IN ADDITION to the shipping cost! :("</i>

<br><br>

Well if I go to amazon and put everything in my basket, go to the end, it says shipping is

$25. If it were a HazMat charge would it say something else?! Or do I get charge this and

then they send me something else that's another 'shipping' payment? Shouldn't that be

shown at the same time of check out though?! Why do it later?

<br><br>

Obviously I don't understand the shipping part! I've bought B&W chemicals and had them

shipped to me easily, but I know there is a difference between the two. I wouldn't think it

was THAT big of a difference though.

<br><br>

Also, the stores I'm buying from have local stores in Southern California. Could that be

why the shipping is not showing up as much, or would that be different? For instance, I'm

on Calumet's website and they have a store in San Diego, which I'm sure is where my

chemicals would ship from.

<br><br>

I'm not doubting you and I appreciate the information, I just don't get why it would not be

showing me the shipping charges! I would think that while paying for this online it would

show me what I'm going to be charged, correct? Why is it not showing me, at all, this $250

dollar charge?!

Gwendolyn,

 

Believe me, you'll get hammered with the HazMat charge one way or another. If you don't, that doesn't say very much about the business practices of the seller, does it?

 

Just because it doesn't show up in an Amazon.com basket doesn't mean you won't be charged. [Caveat: if it's a local delivery service -- especially one working for one of the local distributors -- then they may not charge the HazMat fee like UPS & FedEx Ground does.]

 

My advice: Stick to local dealers, like Chang's (or another minilab supplier), Freestyle, or Calumet, where you can pick up your chemistry.

 

Side note: You may be able to get free delivery from a minilab supplier if you meet their minimum (which will be smaller than Fuji-Hunt or Kodak's $500 minimum.)

 

Don't be afraid of dealing with a minilab supplier instead of a camera store, either: They put their pants on one leg at a time, too! :)

I just checked it again and it really doesn't say anything special about shipping. I'm so

confused. If it is $23.10 for the "HazMat" (even though it says shipping in my bill) where/

when do I get charged $250?! Should they not warn you about this BEFORE purchasing? That's

where I'm very lost and a little worried... If I had known this beforehand or SEEN it, I wouldn't

even consider purchasing the chemicals. Amazon/the other sites I'm ordering from, do not

warn me of this $250 charge <b>at all</b>. I could have very well ordered these things

already, completely oblivious to the fact that I would later be charged $250!!! That's where

I'm confused and a little disturbed.

I'm not afraid of dealing with a minilab but since all these minilabs are either 1.5-3 hours

away from me I'd much rather prefer to buy something online. The only reason why I'm

disturbed now is because I could have very well ordered these chemicals already not

realizing this at all!

 

(I just realized, I made my post up there before I read your reply above so if it sounds odd

that is why.)

 

I also don't understand why they would not warn me of this extra charge. When would I be

hit with this charge?! Now I'm weary of ordering any chemicals because that's certainly

frightening....

Actually, I just found that Calumet photo has a store in Santa Ana, which is not far at all! I

was going to try and go to the San Diego one because that's a much more pleasant trip than

to LA, but Santa Ana I can definitely manage -- and according to their website they have what

I need. I'll call in advance to make sure though. :)

 

Thank you all again for your help! Especially you Dan; you've been a HUGE help!

Gwendolyn, it's not weary -- It's aggravating!

 

Margins in C41 chemicals are thin, due to competition; so you have to watch out for "gotcha's"

 

My suggestion: Put together an order for 5 gal dev, a couple gallons of bleach, and 25 gallons (2.5 gallon cubetainer) of fixer (which works for B&W paper & film, too!); and see if Chang's will deliver.

 

Here are the B&H web pages, which have the 7 digit Kodak numbers:

 

Developer - $26.50 - http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=Search&A=details&Q=&sku=27583&is=REG&addedTroughType=search

 

Dev starter - $6.95 - http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=Search&A=details&Q=&sku=126549&is=REG&addedTroughType=search (but you can use Fuji-Hunt starter, too)

 

Fixer - $32.95 - http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=Search&A=details&Q=&sku=27599&is=REG&addedTroughType=search

[but, they may have another deal for Fuji-Hunt or Champion fixer, too!)

 

Bleach - You can pay $26.95 for one gallon; or $16.80/gallon for 5 gallons - http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=Search&A=details&Q=&sku=27567&is=REG&addedTroughType=search

 

Contact me off-list for the bleach regenerator if your supplier wants to jam you with six bottles like B&H did to me: http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=Search&A=details&Q=&sku=27568&is=REG&addedTroughType=search and http://www.photo.net/gc/view-one?classified_ad_id=675502

 

Keep in mind that well-aerated bleach lasts a couple years, so don't be afraid to buy 5 gallons worth and run a replenished line: When you realize how inexpensive replenishing & regenerating is, you'll shoot a LOT more film! :)

Calumet costs a LOT more than B&H :(

I went into the Santa Ana Calumet today and unfortunately, they were a hole in the wall.

They would have to order their chemicals from their LA store (because that was just a

teenie store of theirs) so I might as well have just gone there anyway!!

 

I did notice that Calumet seemed quite expensive in comparison to some online websites I

had been to. *sigh* I think I'm going to take a trip up to LA and try out Chang's and

Calumet.

 

The only reason why I haven't tried or bothered with BH was because they say they don't

deliver any of their items! I see they'll ship me their Fixer/Replenisher, but that's it --

everything else says that it can only be bought in their store. :-\ If only BH had a store in

LA!

The problem is that photo stores don't want to handle the chemicals because of liability: Think "cradle to grave" responsibility. That's why I recommed a minilab supplier, because they handle chemisty in volume; and are set up to handle deliveries using their own trucks or local delivery services.

 

Calumet has another problem besides high prices for their E-K chemistry: Thin selection.

Ah, that makes sense. I just realized the difference between a minilab and a big chain store.

Chang's is considered a minilab, correct? Maybe I'll skip Calumet altogether and just try

Chang's.

Chang's Photo is 400 miles from me. But I still took a chance to visit. Their business is a warehose based, no retail shop. But the guy was nice to let me go into his warehose to see everything. They have Kodak C-41 chemicals for mini labs. They have Agfa and Kodak RA-4 paper that fills up easily a thousand square feet of room. I was told all that much of paper will be gone in a couple of weeks then be filled up again.

 

I bought a couple boxes of C-41RA developer replenisher and a couple of 5-gallon bottles of C-41RA bleach replenisher. Before mixing these chemicals can last a few years. The bleach can last much longer in fact. I started out with a gallon Kodak C-41 developer bought from my town's photo supply for around $15. It makes a gallon of C-41 developer. Then I use the C-41RA developer replenisher to replenish from then on. I now always use more developer quantity then suggested in Kodak's document. I have completely solved the problems I experienced before, which was caused by not using adequate quantity of chemicals.

 

Kodak C-41RA replenisher has twice the strength of regualr C-41 replenisher. The overall cost of chemicals becomes very economical as a result. I am sure I waste a good portion of it but it ensures I don't screw up again because of the chemicals.

 

Before you call Chang's photo read Kodak's tech pub documents to make yourself familiar to different packaging of Kodak chemicals. Make a decision what you want. When you call they will feel that you know what you are asking. When you visit they will feel comfortable to show you the warehouse. It won't matter how much you buy.

 

If you buy frequently they will even deliver. I won't visit it again until a couple of years later. If you are only one hour away it may be the best source of chemicals for you. Shipping of photo chemicals is impossible to be cheap.

Thank you very much for the information. It's greatly appreciated.

Not sure if Nova is available where you are but I recently did an experiment with a very expired batch of their press kit, may be of interest:

http://alspix.blog.co.uk/2007/04/21/title~2135363

<p>Gwen...<br>

Thanks for the question. Thanks to the positive responders for good information (naysayers, get another hobby...gorilla watching might be good). Thanks for the PDF file Dan.<br>

Cheers.</p>