Coffee processing

A ran around different stores today but alas, no de-chlorinator. The water here in Holland isn't chlorinated, so there is hardly any demand for a de-chlorinator.

So, is there really no other "household" chemical I could use?

Then again, I see that a 125ml bottle of Amaloco fixer costs less than 2 euro. :)
 
With some films (APX400, Fortepan) the stain is incredibly dense, printing times with enlarger were in the 3 minute order
By having such a dense stain it is "black" for the scanner.

shadowfox said:
titrisol, you said:
"- Stain is very strong if you dont use ascorbate and is good to mask grain and lower contrast in traditional processes, however it can cause problems with scanners."

What kind of problems with scanners are you referring to? I use a Nikon Coolscan film only scanner, will it be messed up inside if I scan coffee developed negatives?
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Pool Dechlorinator = Sodium thiosulfate = hypo
It has been used as fixer for ages. A lot slower than ammonium thiosulfate, so you have to fix for 15-20 minutes instead of 5.

rcoder said:
RML: It's technically possible to use simpler componds such as saltwater or household ammonia as a photographic fixer, but neither is nearly as effective -- saltwater only dissolves a portion of the silver halides left in the emulsion, which will inevitably result in a fogged negative, and dilute ammonia just isn't reactive enough to do a thorough job.

I'm curious to see how well my ghetto fixer holds up, though; I'll be running another batch of rolls through the same process tonight, (including a roll of exposed Tri-X I found in a box that has to be at least five years old and some cheapo C41) and will be sure to post results here.
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titrisol said:
Pool Dechlorinator = Sodium thiosulfate = hypo
It has been used as fixer for ages. A lot slower than ammonium thiosulfate, so you have to fix for 15-20 minutes instead of 5.
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I asked around for pool de-chlorinator. No-one can tell me if it is being sold here. Everyone tells me it's nigh impossible to over-chlorinate pools nowadays. Pools are chlorinated by throwing in pucks of chemicals that have the right amount of chemicals for such-and-such amount of water. So, you just need to know how much water your pool holds and throw in the required number of chlorine pucks.

Another thing is that manufacturers of pool and aquarium chemicals are NOT required to put the chemical ingredients on the packaging.

But like I said, Amaloco fixer is cheap. :)
 
RML said:
I asked around for pool de-chlorinator. No-one can tell me if it is being sold here. Everyone tells me it's nigh impossible to over-chlorinate pools nowadays. Pools are chlorinated by throwing in pucks of chemicals that have the right amount of chemicals for such-and-such amount of water. So, you just need to know how much water your pool holds and throw in the required number of chlorine pucks.

Another thing is that manufacturers of pool and aquarium chemicals are NOT required to put the chemical ingredients on the packaging.

But like I said, Amaloco fixer is cheap. :)
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Yup, Amaloco is cheap !
Same i nthe US, Sprint or Clayton fixer is cheap

However, if you want to make your own, HYPO is still very cheap and you can buy it in 10kg bags.
 
Pherdinand said:
remy, the caffenol seems to have worked excellent!
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It did! Much to my surprise, really. I was interested to see the staining people reoprted but my negs don't have any staining. They look the same as when developed in Rodinal... just plain shades of grey. :)

But it's fine with me. Yesterday I was able to lay my paws on a litre of Amaloco Proffix fixer, so I can develop a few more rolls that I have lying about. :)

Now I wish I had bought a tank for 120 film. When I bought my tank I could choose and chose for 135/126 film size. Silly me. Now I have a handful of 120 films that I can't develop yet. :)

Anyone willing to part with a 120 film Paterson tank? :p
 
Hi Rémy,
RML said:
I was interested to see the staining people reoprted but my negs don't have any staining.
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Er, "staining" refers to a class of developers. Normal developers just develop the silver halide crystals in the film. A "staining" developer is one that is coloured itself and that in addition to developing deposits some of its own colour in the places where there are silver halide crystals in the emulsion. That gives a little extra maximum density to the negative, because in the dark parts of the negative there is not only the grain itself but also pigments from the developer.

The classic staining developer is Pyro, a well-known commercial one is Wolfgang Moersch's Tanol, and an unorthodox one is coffee.

So "staining" doesn't mean that there are stains on the negative :)

Philipp
 
rxmd said:
So "staining" doesn't mean that there are stains on the negative :)
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I realise that, Phillip. :)
I was interested to see the kind of staining you refer to. However, there wasn't any. The negs and scans are just shades of grey as I'm used to. No colour shifts to brown or anything to be noticed. I was a little disappointed when I saw that but now I don't even know why I was disappointed. The caffenol worked a charm and I now have a cheap way of developing my negs without having to measure the chemicals in minute detail. Just a few scoops of coffee and soda, mixing it, and dunking the film in it for some 30 minutes. How easy is that? :p

BTW, the stains on the scans are drying marks. I'm too lazy to go out and look for the proper water. I just boiled some water, let it cool and sprayed the film with it when it was hanging to dry. :)
 
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Only 135/126?
Most plastic rels go to 120.
I use the KALT brand, which is good enough

RML said:
It did! Much to my surprise, really. I was interested to see the staining people reoprted but my negs don't have any staining. They look the same as when developed in Rodinal... just plain shades of grey. :)

But it's fine with me. Yesterday I was able to lay my paws on a litre of Amaloco Proffix fixer, so I can develop a few more rolls that I have lying about. :)

Now I wish I had bought a tank for 120 film. When I bought my tank I could choose and chose for 135/126 film size. Silly me. Now I have a handful of 120 films that I can't develop yet. :)

Anyone willing to part with a 120 film Paterson tank? :p
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remy, marktplaats.nl always has some offer on darkroom stuff. That's where i also bought mine.
I could give you one of my older tanks (the reels suck anyway so i probably won't ever use those), but it's an older paterson model and the Universal type reels are too wide for it.:(

Otherwise, a secondhand shop in amsterdam should have some i guess.

By the way i thought you kinda stopped shooting film. 120-film???really?
 
Pherdinand said:
remy, marktplaats.nl always has some offer on darkroom stuff. That's where i also bought mine.
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Marktplaats is probably the way to go. I already found one seller for a SS4 tank. Asked him a few questions, and I'm now waiting for an answer.


By the way i thought you kinda stopped shooting film. 120-film???really?
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I've stopped shooting film, yes, but once in a while I'd like to venture into "new" areas. When I moved house, I looked and found some really nice folders (126 film, 120 film, 6x9, 6x13) (Stephanie Brim and others sold me theirs for good chocolate. :p ). I just had to shoot those, of course. Those films are still lying about the house. I also took my Holga to New York last year February (colour neg). And when I won the Zeiss Ikon I bought me pack of Lucky film. Still have to develop those rolls, and didn't finish the pack yet. :p

Now with the coffee-&-soda method I kinda like developing those films. I think it's the lovely coffee smell (which BTW turns to the smell of old burn frying lard after you add the soda!).
 
titrisol said:
Only 135/126?
Most plastic rels go to 120.
I use the KALT brand, which is good enough
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Could be.
My Paterson tank explicitly says it's only for 135 and 126 film.
 
Hi Rémy,
RML said:
The negs and scans are just shades of grey as I'm used to. No colour shifts to brown or anything to be noticed.
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I guess it needn't be easily visible to the naked eye. Tanol-stained negatives look pretty much like normal ones, but the extra density is there still. However, it usually also depends on the film.

Did you use espresso? :D :D

Philipp
 
rxmd said:
I guess it needn't be easily visible to the naked eye. Tanol-stained negatives look pretty much like normal ones, but the extra density is there still. However, it usually also depends on the film.
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Ah, OK. That could be. But
_judging from the scans I posted_ I doubt there was much staining.


Did you use espresso? :D :D
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Nope. Nescape Cap Colmbie. I got a pot years ago in ym X-mas bonus gift from my work. I don't drink coffee at all so it kinda stays in the cupboard. And since it's Arabica coffee, I thought it might be a good coffee to start with.

I also have 2 packs of 1 kg (IIRC) of Indian coffee somewhere. I might try that one day.

Dang, this way I'll become a coffee connoisseur sans égale. :p
 
shutterflower said:
I had a dream about this last night, after reading this thread.

I dreamt that I could develop my negs cheaply, safely (with respect to the environment), and enjoy a unique look to my pics.
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Coffee and soda for developer. Water or vinegar for stop bath. All that's left is fixer. De-chlorinator will do but that's not too environment friendly I believe.
 
shutterflower said:
I had a dream about this last night, after reading this thread.

I dreamt that I could develop my negs cheaply, safely (with respect to the environment), and enjoy a unique look to my pics.
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http://www.digitaltruth.com/store/silvergrain.html

Silvergrain chemicals are a close match. Not that expensive, though cheap is a relative thing, and if you handle fixer properly and find a place that will take it in to pull the silver out you've got some environmentally respectfull chems going. Unique look is another thing that is relative like cheap...but there is at least an option.
 
shutterflower said:
I had a dream about this last night, after reading this thread.

I dreamt that I could develop my negs cheaply, safely (with respect to the environment), and enjoy a unique look to my pics.
Click to expand...

Cheaply... use Diafine... safely unless you drink it
Environementally friendly because you can develop gggooobbbsss of films in one batch

Fixer is very friendly actually, it is the silver form the film that may cause some harm. But for an amaetuer it should not really be a concern.

IMHO developing 100 rolls of film a year generates way less pollution than doing the same thing digital
 
2nd thoughts
Safely: Vitamin C is an excellent film developer
Vitamin C + Washing Soda yields good enough negatives ;)
 
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