grocery list of things needed to process TRI-X at home

[morocco]

i shoot color and black and white film. i am an avid amateur who

shoots roughly 100-150 rolls of film a year. since this is

expensive, and since i rarely want prints, i am trying to find

cheaper ways to develop my film. for instance, with c41 color, i've

found that i can have CVS develop for US$2.49 a roll, and 2 rolls

can fit on a picture cd for an additional $2.00 with index prints

($7.00 total for 2 rolls of 36 on a kodak picture cd).

 

black and white, on the other hand, is not handled by CVS. there is

a wonderful lab nearby with great capability, but a developed roll

of b&w is $18, while develop only is $10, without a cd or index

print.

 

so.... please give me a laundry list of items needed to process

film at home. i do have a film scanner, so i would like b&w

negatives which i can subsequently scan.

 

i shoot tri-x usually. what chemicals, equipment, etc, recommended

would be appreciated, and any links to kits would be appreciated,

too.

 

thank you.

[michael_madio]

Kodak has a guide that describes all the equipment and procedures to process your own film. It is available online at www.kodak.com.

[discpad]

Bill, are you in the USA or Europe?

 

If you're in the U.S., you can pick up the supplies at B&H:

http://www.BHPhoto.com and HazMat & fill-in chemistry at Adorama

http://www.Adorama.com

 

First off, I use Kodak C-41 fixer, which is $32.95 for enough concentrate to make 25 gallons(!) (which is 2.5 gallons of concentrate in a bag-in-box container). Many of the "problems" I've seen here revolve around erratic fixing, so at under a buck-fifty per gallon, there's no excuse for ANY kind of fix problems. BTW, this fixer will work for B&W and E-6 as well as C-41. This is Kodak part number 159 7392 and is at:

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=productlist&A=details&Q=&sku=27599&is=REG&addedTroughType=categoryNavigation

 

Next, you'll want to choose a developer. Since you shoot 2-3 rolls per week --And it will climb once you start developing your own film -- I'd start with either XTol 1:1 as single-shot; or the old faithful standby, D-76, again at 1:1 single shot. Others may recommend HC-110 syrup, again as single shot; but since your volume is pretty good, I'd just go straight to D-76 in the gallon bag size for about $5.49 (Kodak 1464817):

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=productlist&A=details&Q=&sku=26996&is=REG&addedTroughType=search

 

For the rinse aid, you can simply use a drop of liquid dishwashing deterg in a quart to gallon of water.

 

Next, go on to eBay and pick up a large changing bag for about 8-10 bucks: Even if you have a darkroom, since you're shooting Tri-X you have to make Really Sure it's VERY light-tight; so a changing bag is Very Good Way to load your reels.

 

Lastly, you'll need a couple reels and a tank, which you can either buy new at Adorama or B&H; or buy used, again, on eBay for less than half the price. You'll hear arguments both ways between plastic and stainless steel: I have both; and have found the plastic Jobo reels where you "walk" the film from the outside-in are easier to load than the inside-out of the stainless, since you don't have to bend the film to slide it in. Also, Jobo 2000 series plastic reels are the easiest, since they are 5.5" in diameter, instead of the smaller 3" of the 1500 series and all stainless reels.

[discpad]

[balance to follow in the morning, including the stuff from Wal-Mart and where to get the Ilford guide...]

[tom_jenner1]

Hi Bill,

 

I have a minimalist set up for processing Tri-X. It includes:

 

plastic 2 roll processing tank

a funnel for pouring the chemicals back into their bottles

a one litter measuring container

three 1 litter plastic bottles holding Diafine A and B and the fix

 

I use a bottle opener to open the film container and spool the film reels in the bathroom with a towel at the bottom of the door.

 

The nice thing about Diafine as a developer is that it is temperature insensitive (I've tested from 55-80F) and not to picky on time (about four minutes per bottle). The bad thing is that your stuck from iso1000-1600 with 1250 being about right and it can be kind slightly low in contrast.

 

Plus-X in Diafine at 250 is also nice.

 

-Tom<div></div>

[steve_levine]

Laundry list:

 

A suitable thermometer, a film developing tank w/ 35mm reels, a completely dark room or changing bag for loading the reels, developer, stop bath, fixer, photo-flo solution, lots of wash water, some weighted clips or clothes pins for hanging, and a clean area to hang wet films to dry.

 

 

I strongly suggest you get one of Kodak's B&W darkroom guides.

[randall ellis]

When I started I used Tri-X exclusively. My setup was the following:

 

1 changing bag (get the bigger size, trust me!), 1 two reel tank w/2 reels, Diafine, TF-4 fixer (no acid stop or HCA needed), Photo-flo, 1 cheap bag-o-clothes pins, 1 length of twine.

 

Pull the cartridge apart in the bag with your finger (spread the felts apart, it's easy), Diafine part A, then part B, then water stop, fix, photo flo, hang at an angle in the shower with clothes pins on the twine, done!

 

Once you get the feel for it, you might consider another developer. I now use Perceptol 1:3. Just pick something that sounds like the results you want and learn it rather than trying everything out there one roll at a time. You will learn more and gain a better understanding if you learn one thing fully before jumping to the next. Everyone has a favorite developer, and some people like to just jump continualy from one thing to another, but you will do fine if you do a little research before changing and only change your setup when you fully understand why you want to change. Buy a copy of the Film Development Cookbook, read it until you understand what he is saying (it's not hard to do) and then make informed decisions.

 

- Randy

 

P.S. Almost forgot, this is fun! So don't let others get you so wrapped up in the details that you forget to have fun.

[James G. Dainis]

Paterson two reel developing tank.<BR>

Kodak D-76 developer<BR>

Kodak Indicator Stop Bath<BR>

Kodak Fixer<BR>

Accurate thermometer for 68 degrees<P>

 

Anything else is optional. I used to load my reels in a dark closet before I set up my darkroom. Once the reels are loaded in the light tight Paterson tank, everything else is done at a sink in daylight.

[serge c]

The main reason I don't develop at home (I have access to school darkroom) is getting a dust-free place to dry film. How do you guys handle that? Some places might be dustier than others - mine is next to the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway...

[thomas_sullivan]

This is a <a href="http://www.nyip.com/sub_idx_pgs/referidx/ref_b2bw.php"><u>NYIP, New York Institute of Photography, Black & White multi part tutuorial</u></a> that is pretty good for B&W in general. Please note that the index I linked to STARTS at the bottom. You want the 4 part group on developing B&W film......but the rest of it is very useful also. It's a few years old, but most of it still applies.