Color Development (Newbie)

[brians]

Hello. I am an absolute newbie when it comes to development. This is more of a comprehensive "I NEED HELP!" thread, as I am completely stumped on how to develop C-41. I have a great general idea of how B/W film is processed with developer and fixer (no experience yet, however.)

Why have I decided to develop? Photography has always been a hobby of mine and so I'd like to take it a step further past the shooting, and past the one-hour photolab charges. Another reason: I've got a lot of BW400CN film that I'd love to work with and develop film myself rather than going to a photolab and dishing out $7 bucks per roll. I also wish to take a hybrid route: dev'ped negs -> scanner -> computer

Problem is, I have not found a decent C-41 processing "guide" online, but have found tons of B/W processing guides. And I know the RFF community is filled with experienced and knowledgable photographers, so I was hoping that you could share your knowledge with me 🙂

So basically, my questions are....

1. What equipment do I need? I know that I'll need a developing tank with a reel (got that), 600mL cylinder, 50mL cylinder, c-41 chemicals (developer, blix, and stabilizer), running water from a sink, timer, thermometer, exposed film, scissors, 3-1 gallon bottles, a piece of string and a set of clips to hold the developed film up...

2. What are the procedures that you have tried and tested for chromogenic b/w c-41 film and color which gave you very consistent and satisfactory results? (How do I go about developing? Time?)

3. What chemicals do you recommend?

4. Any other tips?

5. What should I look out for?​

I greatly appreciate your help, and would like to thank you in advance.
-Brian

 

[Erl]

brians,

It will, in part depend on your country of residence. Different materials will be available in different countries.

I use Agfa AP70 chemistry which is very convenient and a three chemical process (+ a stabilizer). I think it is changing, but I have stocks for a while yet. The main change is packaging quantities I think.

The only really critical part is 'temperature stability' rather than 'temperature accuracy', which is often espoused. I am fortunate in having a JOBO 1500 processor, but that is really only a luxurious way of controlling time, temperature and agitation. If you place your developing tank in a bucket of water at the correct temperature, that mass of water will retain enough heat to keep your dev closer enough to correct temp for long enough. The other chemicals are not nearly so critical.

You may need to experiment with dev times in your particular processing environment to obtain correct density or level of development. A few 'test rolls' at differing times will indicate which is optimum for your needs.

Other manufacturers also supply suitable chemistry, such as Kodak, Tetenal, and probably others. Some enquirys at your local dealer could reveal what you want.

A good supply of small plastic bottles is ideal for storing 'stock solution' when mixed to save exposing all the chemistry to oxygen when opening fora single process.

 

[x-ray]

I don't know where you're getting you film processed for $& / roll but that's very expensive. Locally I can get C-41 run with no prints for less than a couple of dollars.

My suggestion is to forget the c-41 and shoot conventional B&W. The results are much better and you have flexability in processing. In running c-41 it's fairly cookbook stuff with little room for variations. 'Conventional B&W allows custom tuning of exposure and developement for optimum results.

 

[brians]

Thank you for your suggestions, yes, Erl, I was reading about how critical temperatures are, and might have a bit of difficulty keeping constant temp. X-ray, I guess it's because it's development + prints, and also, I don't know why, but they just love to rip us californians off. I would love to shoot conventional B&W, and I am planning to, but I guess it's because I've got a lot of BW400CN C-41 on me. Nevertheless, I plan to do both, as well as E6 in the future.

Well, I've purchased all of my chemicals for Color and B/W. I guess it'll take a bit of trial and error! Wish me luck 🙂

 

[Poptart]

SX-70s develop themselves.

 

[brians]

Hahah, I appreciate the suggestion, but I'd like to do something in the 35mm range.

 

[phototone]

On Developing C-41 Color Negative Film

On Developing C-41 Color Negative Film

The C-41 color negative film chemistry is the industry standard. There are some variations from different vendors, and there is a "special" version for the large machines that do automatic film development.

For the home, there are some very basic "kits" available which are quite as simple and easy to use as black and white chemistry.

The standard "Kodak" type kit has three chemicals plus a final stabilizer rinse.

These chemicals are: Developer, Bleach, Fix, Stabilizer.

The process is done at 100f.

Developer 3.5 min.
Bleach 6.5 min.
Wash 3 min. (from here on, can be in room light)
Fix 6.5 min.
Wash 3 min.
Stabilizer 1.5 min.

Now only the developer temperature is critical. But, you only have to maintain the temperature for 3.5 minutes. Not a big problem. The other chemicals need to be warm, but do not have to be critically controlled. Temperature control is not difficult when you are dealing with small quantities of solutions that are kept in quart or half-gallon plastic bottles, as all the bottles can be put into a wash-tub filled with hot water and you can keep hot water running into the tub from a bath-tub faucet, and the overflow from the wash-tub can just go right down the drain. You need to set the incoming water temperature quite hot (over 100f) to fill the wash- tub, and then gradually adjust the water flow cooler, as the chemistry warms up, but you will still probably need to keep the incoming water temperature a bit warmer than 100f, to insure the developer bottle gets to 100f. I hope that is not confusing.

There have been some developing "kits" that combine the bleach and fix into one chemical, so you only have two steps instead of three.

There have also been some "kits" that allow processing at "room" temperatures similar to the requirements for black and white film, although the processing times are somewhat longer.

If you can develop black and white film, you can with assurance develop C-41.

Gene McCluney

 

[brians]

Thank you, Gene! Your explanation is greatly appreciated. Now I await the chemicals to arrive at my doorstep so I can get this show on the road.

Oh, I've got a question that might be off topic. When developing b&w film, I was told to use a stock dilution of D-76 for 5 minutes at 20ºC. I'm wondering what "stock" means. Does that mean I just use the stock solution to develop? Also, I have heard of "one shot" and reusing. When I am finished using my developer (if it is designed for multiple use), do I pour it back into my 1 gallon jug of developer?

Thanks for your help

-Brian