Shopping list for home processing..

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nathanp

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I know there's loads of information around but I want to make sure I don't discover that I'm missing something part of the way through my first reel. I also don't want to make any silly mistakes by assuming things.

So far I've just got a Paterson System 4 tank & spiral. I've been trying to work out what other measuring/mixing vessels I need. I know this may depend on what developer I go for and at the moment I'm leaning towards HC110 as I like the idea of a liquid concentrate.

The tank requires 290ml for a single 35mm so I'd probably round up to 300ml. Does this look about right?
- 3 x 500ml beakers for mixing developer, stop and fixer
- 1 x 10ml syringe for HC110 concentrate (kodak suggest 9ml concentrate for a dilution B 300ml working solution)
- 1 x 50ml beaker for measuring stop & fixer

How important is it to keep separate measuring jugs/cylinders for each chemical? Can I get away with just using 1 jug and rinsing it out between stages, or is that a stupid idea?

Apart from that i think I just need the chemicals, changing bag and some sleeves to put the finished negatives in. I'll make do with bulldog clips/clothes pegs initially and squeegee with my fingers.

One more thing (I'm turning into Columbo!) - I've heard mixed opinions using a drop of dishwashing soap (fairy liquid) as a washing aid. Is it a bad idea? I live in a fairly soft-water area, with no calcium deposits in the plumbng etc so I wondered if I could skip the photo-flo, or use a tiny amount of fairy liquid to break surface tension?

Thanks in advance 😀
 
I use 3 600ml beakers when using a developer like HC 110 (I use a two-reel Paterson tank): one for the developer, one for fixer, and one for hypo clearing agent. I use tap water as a stop bath. If you use a two-bath developer (e.g., Diafine) you'll need an extra beaker.

You can re-use fixer. I made up a gallon last December, and it's still going strong. Ditto for hypo clearing agent (if you use it). That sort of answers your question about rinsing a jug between stages: no need to if you pre-mix.

I don't squeegee my negatives. Instead, I do a final wash in distilled water, then plop the reel in a solution w/ Foto-Flo or equivalent for a couple of minutes, turn on the shower w/ hot water to steam up the bathroom (cuts down on dust), and hang the negatives to dry overnight. I've had much less problem w/ scratched negs since I started doing this.

I don't know about use of dishwashing soap as a wash aid. I use the Ilford version of Foto-Flo instead; I pre-mix a quart or so, keep in a plastic bottle, and re-use until it gets grundgy.

Otherwise, your shopping list looks pretty good. Have fun, and post some results!
 
Welcome to the Brotherhood where you'll get as many answers as there are members.

One problem beginners report is insufficient developer to cover the negatives. Disaster for sure. Developer is cheap. Photos are priceless. Round up to 400ml for a single reel and 800ml for two reels. Oops, I'm assuming you have a 2 reel tank. I know Paterson made a single reel tank. I had one but I gave it away. 2 reel (35mm) tanks are more efficient. They also accept 120/220 film when you add medium format film. If you have the single reel tank, round up to 400ml.

Did I see a thermometer and timer on your list? Chances are you have a timer on an appliance in the kitchen that will work. Otherwise, I got a nice digital timer in a kitchen shop on sale. Translation: Cheap!

Good luck!
 
Photo-flo, either Kodak's or Ilford's, is so cheap and lasts so long that it doesn't really make sense to use dishwashing detergent if you aren't certain of the outcome.

Did you include a thermometer on your list?

I process b&w in my kitchen. In addition to a changing bag, I have a graduated beaker for the developer, another beaker for the stop, one for the fixer and one for the hypo wash aid. I mix the Photo-Flo solution in a jar. I could, I suppose, use only one or two beakers, washing them out and repurposing as I go. But, I think, that's the way to confusion.

Regarding dust, remember that few places are dust free. That's why folks like Intel and NASA spend big bucks on clean rooms. In addition to a room where the dust has been settled -- bathroom after shower has run, for example -- you want a space where the air isn't going to start circulating with enthusiasm. The dampest shower space might not help if the heat or AC comes on and blows dust everywhere. I dry my stuff in a little walk-in closet that's ventless. Usually comes out pretty clean. Most of my scratches happen when I remove the wet film from the reel with something other than adroitness. Wet film is delicate.

[EDIT: About timers. I use a little digital timer but do not reset it for each piece of the process. Too much hassle. I just remember when I started each segment. YMMV.]
 
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Oops - I nearly forgot the thermometer. For timing I was planning on borrowing my wife's running watch which has a nice clear stopwatch & a big button to stop/start. It sounds like it's not worth skipping the photo-flo or trying the fairy liquid idea so I'll order some.

I'm getting confused about developers now. After what Roger Said I looked into Rodinal but my first few rolls will be Tri-X 400 and I've also seen some posts suggesting that Rodinal isn't best suited for Tri-X. I realise that it's about personal taste and that some experimentation will be required but I'm having trouble deciding on a starting point.
[edit] Paterson Aculux 3 is looking tempting too now. It's listed as "Highly recommended for beginners" on the AG Photographic website and claims to be optimised for subsequent scanning/digital manipulation - sounds ideal 🙂
 
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I manage with two graduated cylinders of 1000ml & 1200ml and two funnels.

1 cylinder and funnel for fixer
1 cylinder & funnel for everything else

Oh, and a tiny 10ml graduate for Rodinal & Photo-Flo.

Rodinal works for all films. I like it. I also like D-76 1:1 and Xtol 1:3. Your eyes may disagree. It's a personal thing.
 
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Thanks for the advice everyone. I think I have everything covered now..

I've got the Paterson tank/reel and a film leader retriever and have the following ordered:
  • Changing bag
  • Kodak Max Stop bath 1L
  • Kodak Polymax Fixer 500ml
  • AGFA Rodinal 125ml
  • Tetenal Mirasol 250ml
  • 1L Plastic storage container
  • 1L measuring beaker
  • 2 x 500ml measuring beakers
  • 50ml measuring cylinder
  • Thermometer
  • Kenro 35mm 7x6 neg strips, 25 pages to store the negatives
I went for small amounts of the chemicals as I just want to see how well it all works to begin with. If it all goes wrong I'll ebay it as a kit and buy some Ilford processing envelopes 😀
 
I think initially one measuring cylinder is enough ... I don't bother measuring out fixer or stop, I just keep 500ml of each made up in a couple of old wine bottles and pour the whole lot in each time then return it directly to the bottles via a funnel after it's done it's job. I also place a small piece of masking tape on each bottle and put a small pen mark on the tape at each usage to keep track of potential exhaustion.

It's important to be relaxed and not over think the process IMO!
 
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This has been useful to me too as I am about to try my hand at home dev. But if it doesn`t work out Nathan I would forget the Ilford route.Very expensive at £7 for 36 plus a tenner for a CD. Tesco will process C41 and give you a CD ,next day, for £1.96 total.

Michael
 
Michael Markey said:
This has been useful to me too as I am about to try my hand at home dev. But if it doesn`t work out Nathan I would forget the Ilford route.Very expensive at £7 for 36 plus a tenner for a CD. Tesco will process C41 and give you a CD ,next day, for £1.96 total.

Michael
Click to expand...

The Tesco info is really useful - especially for a cheap test of a new camera (I paid about £4 for 1 hour processiing at Asda when testing my Yashica).
I've been using Ilford since they sent me a load of freebies a while back and never actually paid full price (a donated discount envelope for the first film, and freebies off the back of a pic from that first roll!). I'm easily pleased and always love seeing the smart white box the prints come in. 😀
 
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