Processing B&W film at home

[dmitriy_babichenko]

I recently inherited a Leica and for the first time in 5 years began to shoot

film again. I shoot primarily Kodak Tri-X and would like to start developing it

at home.

 

Can someone point me to a good guide to developing B&W film - chemicals,

development times, etc... Also, I was wondering if the chemicals are reusable -

for example, how many rolls can I develop with a batch of developer, fixer and

stop bath and can I reuse the same solutions later?

 

Thank you

[ronald_moravec1]

I recommend one shot processing and not reusing developer. 9 of 10 will agree with me. There will be more consistency and the developer will go bad before you use it full anyway.

 

D76 1:1 or full strength. HC110 works well also.

[chris_markiewicz]

hello. i like hc-110. easy to mix from the syrup, pretty easy to find, etc. i do everything as one-shot. you can re-use some stuff, but you have to re-use it pretty quickly, i believe. water makes a good stop bath. for hc-110 dilution H and tri-x at 400, i develop for somewhere around 10 or 11 minutes at 68F (i've done 11min before, but i may try 10 next time - either will give you a printable negative). note, try kodak 125px film too - i develop it for the same amt of time as tri-x, so i can do it in the same tank. for fixer, i use sprint (i use all sprint chemicals for printing - and the fixer can be used for both film and paper)

thanks

chris

[luke_ballard]

Well so much of this is covered in a simple search, but thats ok, I can offer some advice and don't matter taking a bit of time to help a new photographer out when they are wanting to get into developing film at home.

1. You need to get a canaster with reels to load your film. I reccommend stainless steel reels and can, B&H photo has all of this stuff.

2. You will need to get some bottles to hold chemicals. I have 2 brown gallon jugs, and 5 1 liter brown bottles, all ordered from B&H, they are cheap don't worry, but they are opaque and made for holding these chemicals.

3. Chemicals, you will need severeal, DEVELOPER, FIXER, WASHAID, PHOTOFLOW.

4. I use a lot of Kodak D-76, it is a all around great developer that is very forgiving and there is a TON of info on different uses and also times and dilutions, just have to do a search. But this dev is a very all around GREAT developer. I buy the packet of powder that makes 1 gallon. Very simple, mix the powder with 3 liters of water at about 120 degrees and then when all mixed add the rest of the water (800ml) to make a full gallon, then let it cool. Now you have a gallon, pour that into a 1 liter bottle and you have a working bottle (I usually develop about 8 to 10 rolls with one liter bottle, then pour it out and grab the gallon and fill it back up, no mixing, just ready to go, that will allow you to re-fill that 1 liter bottle almost 4 times. Just kinda squeeze as much air out of the gallon once you have used some of it. This will make it last longer. Mixed like I said you are looking at about 4 to 6 months before it goes bad. Just depends.

5. Fixer, same thing, I buy the pack of powder (kodak) that makes a gallon and do the same thing as explained in the developer section except the temp is not that warm! Just follow directions on packet.

6. Washaid, I use Ilford, you can get a liter bottle of the concentrate, you mix 200ml of it, with 800 ml of water and you can have a 1 liter bottle ready and to use for about 8 to 10 rolls.

7. Photoflow, I use Kodak, I bought the small 1/2 liter bottle and it has lasted me a year, I still have enough for probably another 6 months. Use distilled water and fill you liter bottle up almost all the way, then add about 20 drops out of a syringe or dropper. Its really strong stuff, so be careful, it also last for 8 to 10 rolls.

8. You will need a room to open and load your film, TOTALLY light sealed, I also buy a pack of cotton gloves, so when I am rolling my film or handleing the negatives, none of the oils on your hands will get on your negatives.

9. Use Digitaltruth.com and click on the Massive Development Chart and put in your developer (D-76) and your Film, and it will display the time for development and temp for your film. It is a good starting point, after some time you will know how to tweak those times to make it perfect.

10. If you are doing a lot of development (35mm) you might want to invest in an opener for the canaster, they have some really cool ones that you just load the canaster in and squeeze the handle and POP it opens right up, I have also seen a lot of ppl use a bottle cap opener to open the canaster.

 

So, this is a quick and dirty instruction manual for a basic develpment of a roll.

 

1. Go into your darkroom, set all your stuff up first in the light. Your reels and top, and all that, so you can do it by feel.

Pop the can open, take the film out, cut the leader off into a straight line, load the film on the reel then put that reel on the bottom and the empty reel on top and close the can. Make sure its good a sealed before cutting the lights on. Make sure there arn't any bumps or uneven spots on the reel where the film is, if there are, that means you rolled it wrong, unroll it and re-roll it until it is even and not touching.

Then take the can to the kitchen, have all your chems set up in the order you are going to use them, Dev, Fix, Washaid, Photoflow, mark the bottles also, this way you don't accidently fix when you need to be adding developer.

Pre-wash the film with tap water about 68 degrees and have your chems at the same temp or by the chart what temp they should be, but 68 is almost standard.

After a 1 or 2 min pre-wash, (which is optional) Add your developer pretty much all the way to the top, and start your stop watch, once you add the dev, agitate for 30 sec, then rap the can on the sink bottom kinda hard a few times to knock any air bubbles loose, then let sit, every 30 sec, agitate for 5 sec. This process goes for the entire development time. Once done, pour it back in the bottle, then use tap water and immediatly fill the tank and empty it about 5 times, this will stop dev. I don't use stop bath for processing negatives, I just use water and 5 rinses.

Then after pouring all the water out, fill with fixer and same agitation process. 30sec after you fill it, then 5 sec every 30 sec, for 5 min total. You only need to fix for appox 5 min.

Then rinse the same, 5 times. Then add washaid, I agitate it the entire time, 2 min. This helps get out all the chemicals that may be left in there and cleans the negatives well. Pour it back into the bottle after 2 min. Now this stuff is kinda like soap in a way, it will bubble up and make bubbles, thats normal.

After washaid, you can take the top off and just put the can under the tap and put it on full and rinse for anywhere between 12 and 20 min, just let it run. After that, pour all the water out, then fill with photoflow, kinda rap it gently and swirl the reels around, some of the chemical will pour out, thats ok, just add some more as you scrap the top scum off, or the bubbles, You want to have all of the airr bubbles out and just photoflow in there, I only leave it in there for about a min, thats all it really needs. Pour that back into the bottle then take your reel out, have some clothes pins and a way to hang it up. I took a small piece of wire and hung it on my shower curton, then use 2 pins to attach it to the wire and hang straight down, put 2 pins on the bottom also so it adds weight and makes it dry straight down so it won't curl. Let it completley dry, then cut into strips, I use 6 negs per strip cause thats what my scanner holds in each part, 2 strips of 6. But you can cut it however you want. Just don't cut into singles, cause if you are enlarging you want to be able to have some of the strip to hang out so you can adjust it while in the neg carrier when getting ready to expose.

 

Anyway, thats about all I can think of, I would also get a 1 liter clear plastic measuring jar with the marks on it for each set of liters, so you can measure out 800ml or 200ml, and such, makes it easy for mixing.

 

I think this is about all I can think of at the moment. Others may be able to add some things I might have forgotten, but that is about the basics. All of the times and such are basics, getting a good darkroom book will help A LOT! I would for sure invest in a good book on processsing negatives and darkroom procedures. Read that well and that will help a great deal. As you get more practice you can change things a bit to fit your specific needs.

Here are a few links to some of that stuff. I buy from B&H, but there are others, thats just my fav place. So here are a few links directly to the stuff you need.

 

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/26996-REG/Kodak_1464817_D_76_Developer.html

 

 

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/27603-REG/Kodak_1971746_Fixer_for_Black_.html

 

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/168234-REG/Ilford_1970902_Universal_Wash_Aid_Liquid_.html

 

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/28195-REG/Kodak_1464510_Photo_Flo_200_Solution.html

 

 

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/123607-REG/Tundra_94DT120_Stainless_Steel_Tank_with.html

 

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/71022-REG/Kalt_NP10109_35mm_Stainless_Steel_Reel.html (NEED 2 OF THOSE)

 

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/70951-REG/Kalt_NP11092_Poly_Chemical_Storage_Bottle.html (4 or 5 of These)

 

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/70862-REG/Delta_11140_Datatainer_Chemical_Storage_Bottle.html (2 of these)

 

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/271574-REG/Delta_15600_White_Darkroom_Cotton_Gloves.html

 

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/119826-REG/Hama_HA_8772_PolyPropylene_Graduate_34.html

 

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/66777-REG/Delta_12415_6_Precision_Darkroom_Thermometer.html

 

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/220455-REG/Kaiser_204125_Film_Cassette_Opener.html

 

I have this exact opener and I love it, makes opening a cassestte so simple and takes a second to do it perfectly. Well, I think that is about it. Those are links to everything I spoke of and you will see, it is not that expensive and you will surley be happy doing it yourself!

Good luck and if you need any other help, just ask!

 

Luke

[luke_ballard]

By the way, a lot of ppl say one shot developing, well I have done that, but I have also used my dev, fix, washaid, over and over, about 8 to 10 rolls and I have never in 20yrs had any problems. It seems silly to throw away developer that is used 1 time when it still has TONS of strength left. I mean, if you see a huge amount of particulate or your chemicals getting milky colored or not completley clear, change it, but using it just one time can be a waste in my opinion. I have been doing it 20 years and havn't had any problems, so I think that is enough practice and a good way to know, it is ok to use it more than once, just watch it and use best judgment as you get better. It is cheap stuff, but its almost like making one print in the developer in the darkroom and then dumping the chems and making a fresh batch for the next print, I mean it doesn't degrade that fast! But it is up to you. Ronald, you know I have a lot of respect for your post and you post a lot, but I don't think 9 out of 10 would agree that you only use developer and fix one time? But hey, whatever makes you feel better and whatever you are comfortable with is the best. I am not saying you are wrong, just saying that after this many years of re-using it to an extent, I have always got results that were just fine. Just a thought.

[bcostin]

The answers you've already gotten have probably covered all the eventualities. If you want a very smooth and easy introduction, and one that happens to work very well with Tri-X, you can also try Diafine. It's a two-step developer that doesn't require critical temperature or agitation control, and you can keep and re-use the same batch for many, many rolls. It also gives most film a bit of a speed boost. Do a search on Diafine and you'll find lots of information.

 

D76 is also a good option. It's a classic, really well documented and easy to use. FWIW, I use D76 1:1 as a one-shot developer. But Luke's got a point, you can re-use it and replenish after a while too. I'm just terrible at keeping records and know it'd screw that up, and don't develop so many rolls in D76 that expense of the developer becomes an issue.

[bobmichaels]

Ilford's pamphlet entitled "processing your first black and white film" is about as good as it gets. See http://www.ilfordphoto.com/Webfiles/200629163442455.pdf

 

Their film and chemistry is excellent. They even tell you what the competitive (i.e. Kodak) equivalent products are on their website.

[aplumpton]

I second Bill's remarks and this publication, especially as the yellow giant has given

up on the most important development materials (the papers). You might as well go

with those that will be there in future (Fuji, Ilford, the smaller companies as well).