Starting B & W Processing Again

<p>Hey there,<br>

I'm new here. I tried to search if someone has asked this before, but the photo.net search engine appears to be down, as it can't complete my query. If this has been asked before (and it likely has), I apologize.<br>

However, here goes. I recently acquired (for free!) a Nikon F3HP 35mm and some Nikkor primes. This was very exciting as I've always wanted to develop film and prints. The last time I did so was probably a decade ago however, so I remember almost nothing.<br>

My questions are these: Is it still possible to develop prints from B & W 35mm film? If so, will I be able to afford it? Where would I acquire the equipment?<br>

If I can, where should I go for help? Perhaps a well-written book? I'd love a detailed explanation, but most books I see today are for digital processing and cameras.<br>

Anyways, if you all can help me out, I would certainly appreciate it.<br>

Thanks all,<br>

John</p>

<p>http://www.photo.net/black-and-white-photo-printing-finishing-forum/</p>

<p>Hello and welcome back to film processing and printing. I recently rejoined the fold a few months ago. </p>

<p>There is lots and lots of information to help you on this and other sites. Try a few google searches. <br>

<br />For books, I strongly recommend Ansel Adams three book series, "The Camera", "The Negative" and "The Print". It has everything you need, and more. </p>

<p>Yes it is still possible to develop prints from B&W 35mm film. It is not expensive, but you haven't indicated your budget, so we don't know if you can afford it. Equipment can be found on this and other sites, ebay, craigslist and sources like bhphotovideo.com. If you are in or near a major metropolitan area, chances are a full service camera shop exists that can help. <br>

Good luck and have fun.</p>

 

<p>Developing film is inexpensive.</p>

<p>All you need is a tank, like this:</p>

<p>http://www.freestylephoto.biz/11516-Paterson-Universal-Film-Developing-Tank-with-1-Reel?cat_id=1603<br /> Chemistry:<br /> Developer<br /> Stop Bath<br />Fixer<br /> Good clean water to wash film helps.<br /> <br /> A way to hang up the developed film. I bought a couple of small clips that I put one on to a clothes hanger and I let my film hang on a shower rod with the coat hanger. I use two per roll as the one placed on the bottom helps keep the film from curling while drying.<br /> <br /> You could use water instead of stop bath however, stop bath neutralizes the developer allowing the fixer to last longer. <br /> From the negatives a couple of ideas. Find a darkroom to use and see if that's your cup of tea. Here in Minneapolis a few places are around where a person can use a darkroom. Fees are usually involved.<br /> Or you can scan or have scanned the negatives and work on them with a computer, print them. Or you could take the scanned negs on a CD to a retail place and have them printed. <br /> To outfit a darkroom can be expensive as quite a bit of stuff is needed. <br /> Keep asking questions on Photo Net as we are here to help you.</p>

<p>I am so sorry! I thought that it would be appropriate to post this here, but I was wrong. I hope this can be rectified.</p>

<p>It's a relief to hear that it can be done.</p>

<p>As for my budget, I'm not sure how much I'm willing to spend. I could probably spend $100-200 on printing materials alone. Is that laughably low or acceptable? I have no problem with going used. I don't want big prints or anything, even 4 x 6 prints would be great.</p>

<p>Thank you very much, I'm glad there's a helpful community that can point me in the right direction.</p>

<p>John</p>

<p>No, you've got the right forum.<br>

When you're buying film to process in B&W chems, do NOT buy XP2 Super. It's a great film, but it gets processed in color chems.<br>

Lots of good books, lots of tutorials on the web as well. Read several.<br>

No need to buy glass bottles to store your chems in; I use Fiji water bottles from my local grocer.<br>

The <a href="http://www.digitaltruth.com/devchart.php">Massive Dev Chart</a> is an excellent resource.</p>

<p>Fiji water bottles is an excellent idea.</p>

<p>I use 2 liter soda bottles. 2 liter is nice for some chemicals that are in liter increments.</p>

<p>Both are excellent.</p>

<p>I would try your hand at developing film. Get that process down. I recommend sticking to one developer, such as Kodak D-76 or Ilford ID-11. After you get used to the developer then you can wander around and use other developers.<br /> Also I would get a roll of film that can be sacrificed that you can use to get to learn how to load the reel the film goes on to and placing the tank and top in a location you know where it's at because you will eventually do all of this in the dark!. You can start out in daylight, get it down, then work in the dark. When you feel you've got it down then go and try your first film with images!<br>

<br /> Do you have available a community darkroom you could use? I would start there. Maybe a community ed class or a business catering to film photographers who need to use a darkroom.<br /> <br /> When I first started all I did was make contact prints but the camera I used took medium format film. It was my Mom's Brownie Hawkeye.<br /> <br /> Hope this helps you.</p>

<p>One item I neglected to mention is you will need a thermometer. I have one that has a circular dial on the top. </p>

<p>If I understnd your post correctly, you are asking two questions.</p>

<p>1) How to process black and white film</p>

<p>2) How to make prints.</p>

<p>Here is one source of information:<br /><a href="http://www.ilfordphoto.com/applications/page.asp?n=9">http://www.ilfordphoto.com/applications/page.asp?n=9</a></p>

<p>Here is another:<br /><a href="http://www.kodak.com/global/en/professional/support/techPubs/ak3/ak3.pdf">http://www.kodak.com/global/en/professional/support/techPubs/ak3/ak3.pdf</a></p>

<p>As to where do you get equipment, where in the world are you? I am in the United States. If you are somewhere else in the world, any answer I give might not make any sense.</p>

<p> </p>

<p>An awful lot of equipment can be had at garage sales, Craigs List, even thrift stores. (There's a photography school here in Seattle that has an annual garage sale; some good stuff can be had if I get there early enough.) Because I am a spendthrift, I bought most of my stuff new. Some good darkroom resources...<br>

<a href="http://freestylephoto.biz/">Freestyle</a><br>

<a href="http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/browse/Darkroom/ci/4942/N/4288586562">B&H</a><br>

<a href="http://www.adorama.com/catalog.tpl?op=category&cat1=Film%20%26%20Darkroom">Adorama</a><br>

(These are by no means all there are, they're just the ones I used the most. Particularly Freestyle.) Some would consider eBay; except for a loupe and a Kodak Process III thermometer, I've stayed away from eBay while accumulating crap for my playroo... er I mean darkroom. I've been afraid of paying top dollar for tanks that leak, bent spools, and so forth. I have also heard of people outfitting their darkrooms with one Craigs List find, complete with working enlarger; I have not been so lucky.</p>

<p>The cheapest way to do it these days is to develop then scan to digital. Wet printing is the most expensive part of the process. Pretty good 35mm scanners are inexpensive.</p>

<p>Printing digital is fairly inexpensive if there is a place that is close <strong><em>BUT</em></strong> there is magic in using trays and watching your image appear. <br>

For darkroom items, you can start out with a few basic items, an enlarger, some trays, a safe light, chemistry and paper. Other things will make it easier and faster, like a grain focuser, easels and a timer. I started out with a temporary darkroom in the bathroom. My first enlarger was a PrintMaker 35 and I did not have a negative carrier for it. I used it for about a year before I found one on eBay for a price that I found reasonable. I see darkroom stuff in local internet adds for high dollar but every now and again you can find reasonable stuff. I sold 2 of my enlargers rather quickly because everyone else has theirs priced so high. I should send them a note of thanks (hehehe) because neither person tried to negotiate on price. <br>

For prints, you can cut 8x10 into 4 4x5s or 2 5x7. </p>

I use an app called CraigsPro which searches multiple city CL listings.

 

Half my darkroom stuff has been purchased 90+ minutes away.

 

You can find some good deals that way, it just takes time.

 

I would not get into it believing that it is inexpensive(I did, but was wrong) compared to digital. It is a fairly expensive hobby, even doing it on the cheap. But when you produce your first wall hanger print, it is ALL yours. That is kind of priceless.

<p>I agree with Matthew. I used to love wet printing but you need space, chemicals, mess and lots of time! Of course if you can find the space then you can get stuff quite cheaply or even free if you look around.<br>

Personally, I use a changing bag, develop my films in the kitchen and then scan and print. For me it's the best compromise, as I don't have the luxury of space.</p>