chris_douglas1

<p>Thank you everyone for your comments. I appreciate the advice. It sounds like almost everyone tries a squeegee until they get burned. In a perfect world without grit or dust they are probably fine, but I will stay away for now. I can see how in a time constrained, large volume operation, a new squeegee would save time, and buying a fresh one fairly often would be worth it. I will continue to use a lean mix of photo flo and distilled water, and I'll try the diagonal trick too. Thanks again.</p>

<p>For about 14 months I've been trying various ways of drying negatives without getting water spots. I have a very dust free place to hang film so dust isn't a problem, and I've tried various concentrations of photoflo to get best results with no scum, but I never wipe the film, so there is a puddle under the film. I'd like to know if squeegeeing is a good idea, and I have read some posts that say NEVER squeegee film. The Paterson advertisement says, "Completely safe for film, with extra-soft blades that can't scratch and a handle design which prevents excess pressure on the film. That sounds like a promise a politician might make. Is it true?</p>

<p>I bought a lifetime supply, actually probably several lifetimes supply, from photoformulary. It isn't expensive. I diluted some to one liter at 28% because my formulas use that concentration. Be sure to pour the acid into the water, not the other way around. When my acetic acid arrived it was frozen solid, hence the name glacial.</p>

<p>David,</p>

<p>Kodak tech. pub. F-4043 shows 10 1/4 minutes for D-76 1:1. Kodak has changed developing time for Tmax so you need to check which film you have. Be sure to adjust the time for your style of agitation. Kodak lists agitation every 30 sec., but I agitate every minute so I add a minute or so to the Kodak times. I recently developed a roll of Tmax using the old Kodak published time ( F-4016) and it overdeveloped the film, oops!</p>

<p>Michael,</p>

<p>I am using the Unicolor kits too, and they seem to last for a long time (4 to 6 months) and don't get cloudy or muddy. I also mix the whole batch, and put it up into 16 oz bottles, less than 1/4 inch air space over liquid. I'm having no trouble getting twice the number of films developed as the instructions say, but I haven't tried more than this. I add about 5 seconds per roll developed. </p>

<p>Phil,</p>

<p>I agree with Kar, make-up 4 little bottles of 250 ml stock developer. Dilute 1:1 to get 500 ml and use one shot. This gives you 4 rolls of film per liter. I have tried this with 125 ml 1:1 to give me 250 ml which covers the reel in my tank, but it isn't recommended by Kodak or Steve Anchell. I had to add 10% development time to get the contrast I wanted. I mix my own chemicals, and the price is pennies a roll, so it doesn't make sense to scrimp on develper. Good luck.</p>

<p>Chris</p>

<p>You can get a rotary base and tube on Ebay. I have good results with Arista RA-4 kits from freestyle at 75 deg F. good luck</p>

<p>Vincenzo,</p>

<p>I am developing C-41 at 38 deg. C in a home made water bath made from a plastic dishpan and it works very well. I tried using a 150 watt fish heater but it wasn't enough heat. I am using a 1500 watt 240 volt water heater element and running it on 120 volts, which gives me a 375 watt heater which works perfectly. I am using an old waterbed thermostat to control temperature, and it holds the temp to less than 1/2 deg. C. I am using an evaporative cooler pump to circulate the water around the bottles and tank. Total cash expenditure was $30. Good luck.</p>

<p>It is unlikely that the different chemicals in the powder are uniformly mixed, so you have to use the whole can at one time. Better throw it away and get some new.</p>

<p>John,</p>

<p>I had a similar experience with c-41 in a conventional tank. The blix was passing gas, causing my normally tight tank to pop its lid and leak everywhere. I drilled a tiny hole in the cover to vent the gas. I just put my finger over the hole while inverting.</p>

<p>Caroline,<br>

I got back into photography about a year ago and quickly learned how to do a pretty good job on B&W and C-41. I have two books that helped enormously, The Basic Darkroom Book by Tom Grimm, and The Color Printing Manual by Bob Nadler. There are probably better books out there, but I stumbled on these at book fairs and sales. The second is quite old, but if you ignore the outdated materials, the techniques are the same. I like to dabble in chemistry, so I am mixing my own B&W chemicals, and got the make-ins at photoformulary.com. I am planning to make my own color chemicals too, but decided to buy the kits initially to remove one unknown from the process until I know what I am doing. I am buying the Unicolor C-41 kit, and the Arista RA-4 kits. They both work fine. I am using a Beseler tube and motor base I got on Ebay. You can get everything you need there by watching for bargains. Good luck, and have fun.</p>

<p>Andrew,</p>

<p>I have been using the Unicolor kit and it works great. I am using a home made thermostatically controlled water bath to hold the temperature plus or minus about 1/2 degree C, and add 3% developing time for each additional roll developed. I have had no trouble doubling the number of rolls the instructions recommends. I break up the liquids into small bottles and they last months. Try it you'll like it.</p>

<p>I have read that the pH of D-76 rises, and therefore the activity rises, with time after it is mixed. How long does this take, a day, a week, a month? Come on you retired Kodak engineers, someone must have this data. Thanks.</p>

<p>Jamie,<br>

In the package is, amoung other things, 8 grams of metol, and 400 grams of sodium sulfite. The chance of the metol getting evenly divided is very small. Go ahead and mix the whole batch, then fill 3 one liter bottles, and 4 250 ml bottles. Use the little bottles as one shot develpers, and when all 4 are empty, fill them from your liter bottles. Even Kodak says it will last 6 months this way, and probably more.<br>

Best regards,<br>

Chris</p>

<p>John,<br>

Is it a 4x5 enlarger? I would make the drive from Tucson if it is an upgrade from my Beseler 23. Thanks.<br>

Best regards,<br>

Chris</p>

<p>Joe, let me ask John a question because it may interest both of us.<br>

John,<br>

Can you tell me where Kodak recommends full strength D-76 for tri-x? I've been using 1:1 for everything from plus-x to Tmax, and if there are better recomendations, I'd like to read about them. I'm trying to learn everything about D-76 before trying something else, and I mix from scratch, and can make any dilution for peanuts a roll. I read Anchell's Darkroom Cookbook, and suffer from information overload. I'd like some simple suggestions. Thanks.<br>

Best regards,<br>

Chris</p>

<p>Joe,</p>

<p>I was also getting thin tri-x with D-76. I found the Kodak information you mentioned, and it applies to 1:1 dilution. Kodak is saying that if you dilute or use less developer, it affects development time. I added the 10% time and it made my negatives look much better. It also follows that 36 exposures are going to take more developer or more time than 24. The bottom line is that you have to experiment to find what works best for you, the published information is only a starting point. Have fun experimenting.</p>

<p>Best regards,<br>

Chris</p>

<p>Cut a bit of leader from a 35 mm roll and drop in each. The d72 is about 4 times faster than d76. If the bottles were stored full, they should be fine. I've kept mine longer with perfect results. You can tell by the color, clear is good, murky is bad.</p>

<p>Richard,<br>

I've been using the Unicolor kits from Freestyle with great success. I use a thermostatically controlled water bath that the chemicals and tank sit in, set at 38 degrees. I add 5 seconds development time after each roll, and results are very consistant, with no color shifts. I think the instructions are very conservative, since I have developed 8 rolls per liter with no problems. Also, the chemicals last for months and don't get murky like RA-4 does. I should shoot some test rolls to see just how far the chemicals can go. The only problem I've had is with the stabilizer. Water beads up on the film, and I don't squeege my negatives. I depend on Photoflo to "sheet off" the water on my B&W negatives, so I put some in the stabilizer. This seems to work fine, but if it is going give me problems later, I'd like to hear from someone who knows.</p>

<p>Hey guys,</p>

<p>Coffee developer is a joke, right? I mix my own MQ developers and don't see any reason to change, as they work very well.</p>

<p>Last October I got interested in photography again after waiting 40 years. Don't know why, I just knew I would get back into it sometime. I intended to only do B&W but I found a Beseler 23 with a color head, and decided to try color, which was the "holy grail" 40 years ago. Now doing C-41 and RA-4, it's easy. I'm enjoying the darkroom lots, the biggest problem is taking pictures worth printing. It's the artistry that's hardest! Will just keep trying to be better.</p>

<p>Steven,</p>

<p>Is your paper Arista multigrade? My brownie safelights fogged it badly even at reduced voltage. I changed to red LED safelights and no trouble now no matter how long under the light (up to 10 minutes tested). I like the paper too.</p>

<p>Ian,</p>

<p>I am developing C-41 with a home made water bath. I used a plastic dish pan for the container, an aquarium heater for heat, an old waterbed thermostat for control, and a cooler pump for circulation of the water. I disabled the thermostat built into the heater so it is on all the time, and the waterbed thermostat which goes up to 100 degrees F is very precise. I'm sure the thermostat built into the heater would not work because it is above the water level. I made a little platform to hold the developing tank, and the chemical bottles so they don't turn over or move around, as the current from the swirling water is fairly strong. If you don't know what a cooler pump is, here in the southwest, we use evaporative cooling as a cheap way to get our houses a little more comfortable. The pumps are available in any hardware store for about $15. It only takes a few minutes to set up this Rube Goldberg machine, but it works fine. If you try this, be sure to fill the pan with hot water, or you will be waiting a long time for the temperature to come up. Good luck<br>

Best regards,<br>

Chris</p>

<p>Mixing your own is fun and cheap. I got formulas off the web and bought bulk chemicals from photoformulary. I use a cheap digital scale and paper cups, whick works fine. I stirred the old fashoned way until my son bought me a magnetic stirrer which is nice but not necessary. I brew my own D-76, stop, fix, and D-72 for prints. In full bottles I have seen no shifting of properties over several months. I fill a bunch of little bottles with stock developer and dilute and use one shot.<br>

I have been using the kits for c-41 and RA-4 from Freestyle and they work great, but keep the RA-4 developer bottle full, it turns brown quickly. C-41 developer seems to last months with no apparent affect. If I find color formulas that everyone likes, I'll try brewing that too, but the formulas I've seen on-line seem to have many critics.</p>

<p>Karin, I am using a Beseler tube and base also. I put the tube on the base and put the level on the tube and adjust the base. I am using Arista RA-4 chemistry using the instructions provided with great success. I found out accurate level is important when using only 1 1/2 ounces of developer and blix. Otherwise I will get streaks at one end or the other. One more important thing. The tank does leak light. I exposed a sheet of paper and put it in the tube, only to wait to develop it for an hour while helping carry groceries in to the house. The tube sat in the motor base all that time, and after developing it, there was orange color near the fill end of the tube. Now I keep the tube upside down until ready to develop.</p>