newbie questions (long)

[h._shafi]

Hi,

 

I've finally taken the plunge and started setting up a color

processing darkroom. I'm going to start by developing negatives and

scanning them while I look for a suitable enlarger given my budget.

I've reviewed some of the forums for answers to some of my

questions. Here are a few that I still need help on:

 

1. Is using a Jobo film wiper/squeegee not recommended for color

negatives? I read a warning about that in Langford's book. If not,

what can I do to make sure that no water spots show up on the film?

 

2. I intend to dry developed negatives by hanging them from a shower

curtain rod. What options besides dedicated film clips do I have to

accomplish this while preventing the film from curling etc.? Any

general advice on this step would be great too.

 

3. I'm going to use the Tetenal 5 Liter kit that uses a stabilizer

step at room temp. I'm planning on taking the film out of the reel

and dipping it in a tupperware container with the stabilizer to

avoid contaminating my reels. Do I need another rinse before drying

the film? Also, I've read the rewetting agents are useful to avoid

water spots. Is that added to a rinse after or before the

stabilizer step? Is this needed/recommended?

 

4. I realize that this topic has probably been beaten to death, but

I'm still confused as to viable options. Any advice on an

enlarger/lens combination that offers the most bang for the money to

make color prints upto 8x10 or 11x14 in size?

 

Thanks in advance!

[ken_kuzenski]

I've never developed color film, only B&W, and I'm no expert. Until the smart guys show up, though, my take on it:

1. I never used a squeegee on film; after the rinsing was done I'd give it final bath in water with a bit of Photo-Flo <tm>, then SHAKE the reels very hard--up and down, several times each, to shake off excess water. Then I'd hang them to dry; never had a problem with water spots that way.

2. "Film clips" are extremely inexpensive at office-supply stores; they call them "binder clips." :-) They work great. I'd hang a wire coathanger on the curtain rod, with one medium binder clip holding the film at the top, and a large binder clip at the bottom to hold it straight.

Never having done color film, I don't have any opinions on 3 and 4, but I'm sure someone smart will be along to help RSN. :-) Good luck!

[ken_kuzenski]

Oh, about the shaking the film: Hold the reel parallel to the floor, such that the film inside the reel is perpendicular to the floor--at a right angle to the floor. Shake straight up-and-down, keeping the film at a right angle to the floor--to let the water fly off the film. About a dozen hard shakes for each reel gets most of the standing water off the film. Good luck!

[robert_dermer]

Regarding question 2: While the shower curtain may work fine you could also spend a few bucks and purchase a zippered "closet" garment bag at Target. They sell one made by Rubbermaid that is 3' long and self standing. I keep this dedicated to film drying so the only time I open it is to insert or remove film. I've had no problems with dust (to date) and I have left them hanging for as long as two weeks.

 

Also, I use office binder clips - one at the top of the film strip to hold it to the clothes hanger and one at the bottom of the strip to keep the strip straight. Some curl still occurs but after a few days inside the PrintFile sleeves they are flat as a pancake. Good luck!

[alan_gage]

Not that I want to totally discourage you; but are you sure you want to do this? You sound like you'll be doing negatives only (not E-6); and with the low cost of having the negs processed by a lab ($3 or less usually) I can hardly see how it will be cost effective, especially once you figure in your time.

 

I do my own B&W developing and printing, but I feel that's a little different (especially the developing) because so much depends on the film/developer combo; but I that shouldn't be the case with C-41. I'm still pretty new to my darkroom (less then a year) and most of the time when I'm in it I start thinking how nice it could be to be doing some of this digitally. I cringe at the thought of doing color in a wet darkroom.

 

I don't know what format(s) you're shooting, but since you mention 8X10 or 11X14 as your max sizes I'll assume it's 35mm. If that's the case I'd highly recommend buying a dedicated film scanner and having a lab process the negs for a couple bucks a roll. I shoot very little 35mm, a lot of 120, and some 4X5 (should be more 4X5 soon). A dedicated film scanner that can do all those is simply out of my price range, so I'll keep doing B&W in the darkroom for now. I do plan on buying a Epson 4870 soon though so I can do some of my own color work and then send them to a lab for prints. I'm hoping the quality of 8X10's (cross my fingers for 16X20) will be good enough from MF and LF that maybe I can shift some of my B&W work to the daylight.

 

Alan

[chad_michael]

1. I have not had a problem with the Jobo squeegee on color negatives (or any negatives for that matter). The stabilizer bath contains formaldehyde which hardens the emulsion layer. Just make sure it is clean before use, I usually just give it a quick rinse in the sink before each use.

 

2. I just stick a clothes pin or two on the bottom of my negatives to keep them from curling while drying.

 

3. After washing, I remove the film from the reels and soak for one minute in Kodak C-41 stabilizer bath that I keep in a Tupperware container. I have hard water, so I mix the stabilizer with distilled water. After the stabilizer bath, I squeegee and hang to dry. You should not rinse again after the stabilizer bath.

 

4. I use an Omega C760 with a Dichro head with 50mm and 80mm rodagon lenses. I am happy with the performance, but I have never used anything else to compare. I?m sure you will get many recommendations on this one.

[rowland_mowrey]

Chad;

 

The formalin stabilizer has a very minimal effect on hardening of a color film. It is there primarily to react with unsued coupler but not for hardening.

 

I find that processing my own color negatives is fun, I can scan them directly, I can make contact proofs and then send them out for printing my choices.

 

Ron Mowrey

[chad_michael]

Thank you for the information Ron, I have been misinformed regarding the hardening effects of stabilizer.

 

I agree, processing your own film (and prints) is very fun and rewarding. If I won the lottery tomorrow, I would still process all of my own film.

[h._shafi]

Thanks for all the great advice folks!