Tetenal C41 first try

[Canuk]

I recently developed my first C41 film at home. I am using the Tetenal C41 3 bath kit.
I am very pleased w/ the results and the colors seem true, but I do have a few questions.
1 - I am getting drying marks on the films, something I dont have a problem w/ B&W. Is t recommended to add photoflo to the Stabalizer or a rinse w/ photoflow after the Stabilizer?

2 - Is there anything that can be done for the curling of the film. Ektar 100 - has been somewhat curly, but work able. Fuji Pro 400H is very curly and needs to be flattened under books before being able to scan. Is there anything I can do to help with this or is it just a characteristic of the films?
I have been drying my films in the shower, same as for B&W.

Thanks in advance for your time and advice.
Brent

The picture below was from my first attempt at C41. Fuji Xtra 400, shot w/ M6 and 28mm Elmarit Asph.

 

[Fotohuis]

You can add a little wetting agent to the stabilizer. But the stabilizer is already containing some wetting agent.

The curl of a film depends on the film material and how quickly a film is drying. The type of wetting agent has also a small influence.

Greetz,

Robert

 

[zauhar]

I have found a nasty residue after drying if I use only the tetenal stabilizer. I have been doing a final rinse in photoflo, which eliminates the problem. Not sure if that also obviates using the stabilizer ...

Randy

 

[Photo_Smith]

Don't add wetting agent to stabilser, it's already a surfactant. Also it is important that the Stab is the last bath as it helps with the archival properties of the dyes in your films.
Wetting agent just isn't as good, that's why stab exists! You could buy some Fuji Environeg superflo Stab which is good as it has no Formaldehyde and would be a good alternate brand.
My advice is make sure the stab isn't over concentrated, you need a 6 min wash, or use the Ilford method if temp control is tough.

Lastly try to make sure your drying area has high humidity, run the shower for 5 mins so its steamy hang the film in the shower and let it dry for a few hours a lot of curl is due to too rapid drying or too high temperature.
In the dryer in our lab we had 5L cans with the tops cut off filled with water to keep humidity up and stop the 'sprocket pop' causing run marks when excess stab bubbles burst.
My Ektar is flat using this method.
A recap:
Make sure you wash the film well, dry in a high humidity area, mix the stab correctly and make sure you use distilled water for mixing it.

BTW well done for taking the plunge, your results look great, especially considering the mixed/florescent light

 

[zauhar]

The goo that I had prior to using photoflo was so bad I had to clean the negs with pec solution to get them in an archive sleave. Could that be an artifact of not using distiller water to mix the stabilizer ?

Randy

 

[Photo_Smith]

I doubt it Randy. Your stab should be clear then go pink with use there should be no gunk in it as it often contains formaldehyde which kills gunk being anti fungal (which is why we use it).
The biggest source of gunk is the bleach which if left can allow fungal slime to grow in it, but I'd say that's rare. Excite the bleach by putting in a half filled bottle and shaking like mad for 2 mins an hour before you use it-that should keep it in good shape.
Goo and gunk are not things I've seen a lot of though...

 

[Bill Clark]

Perhaps you're already doing this but thought I would mention that when drying the film have a clip on the bottom of the film (weight on the bottom to prevent curling!) like one one used to hang it up to dry, keeping it there until completely dry. You may see some curling during drying but this is because the side that doesn't have the image will dry faster than the side that does. Suggest leave it alone and as the image side (the gelatin with the dyes) gets dry then all should be OK w/o curls.

 

[Canuk]

I have been hanging the negs w/ a clip for weight on the bottom, I have even added some weight to the clips that attach to the bottom.
I will run the shower for longer next time to raise the humidity in the bathroom.

When I mixed the stabalizer with tap water, I use the same water for B&W and dont seem to have any problems w/ drying marks.

I had bought the 5L kit to split into 1L batches. If I toss the Stab that I have mixed will the remainder last long enough to do the rest of the kit?

Thanks again.

 

[Fotohuis]

I would always put the Stabilizer in destilled water. Drying a film without stains and drops is often a mixture of the right concentration of wetting agent. Too less not good, too many also not.
Maybe switch to the Rollei Digibase C41 Stabilizer. In destilled water I take 20% less then advised to have clear C41 negatives.

 

[sevo]

The biggest source of gunk is the bleach which if left can allow fungal slime to grow in it, but I'd say that's rare.

It is a common issue in machines running on low volume, permanently kept at 38°C, even more so in recent times, as they reduced the amount of toxic (and hence antibiotic) ingredients. But it should not happen at all with single use kits - for one these use blix (in which pretty few organisms can thrive), for the other their diluted shelf life is too short for organic growth (even more so considering that the bottles will be stored at room temperature except for the brief periods when they are used). By the time you have algae in a Tetenal kit, your developer will be way past any defined and reliable state.

 

[Jerry1963]

Re the curly film... dry them as best you can with all the advice given, but at the end of the day some film types are just particularly curly and the "book on the negs" technique is the only answer.

 

[znapper]

Remember that curling that goes the whole length of the film, is related to drying temperature and humidity. Curling that makes the film look like it just came out of a spool, is more related to that film type, I've never had this type of curl with my color-films. (only B&W film)

I use a small oven under the film in the shower and by adjusting that, I got perfectly straight negs.

 

[Bill Clark]

I do have Arista.edu negatives that curl, only use 120.

When it's dry, I take the film and roll it with the emulsion side out, put a rubber band on it and put into the envelope I will use to store the film.

It does help somewhat but I believe this film curls no matter what I do to straighten it out.

 

[Photo_Smith]

I would always put the Stabilizer in destilled water.

NEVER mix wetting agent with stab, it could lessen the archival qualities of your film!
Stabiliser is a better wetting agent than the mono stuff and has compounds that stop fungal growth as well as lessen the fading of the dyes in the film over time especially the magenta.

 

[Photo_Smith]

It is a common issue in machines running on low volume, permanently kept at 38°C, even more so in recent times, as they reduced the amount of toxic (and hence antibiotic) ingredients. But it should not happen at all with single use kits - for one these use blix (in which pretty few organisms can thrive), for the other their diluted shelf life is too short for organic growth (even more so considering that the bottles will be stored at room temperature except for the brief periods when they are used). By the time you have algae in a Tetenal kit, your developer will be way past any defined and reliable state.

Exactly as I said, it is unlikely that gunk grows in stab or developer, blix is the only one it can-and that is unusual in a kit (although I've heard possible)

 

[Canuk]

Thanks for all the tips and tricks.
I will mix some more stab w/ distilled water and hopefully 4L of stab will last for the remainder of the 5L kit.
I will also try to increase both the heat and humidity of the shower while drying the film to see if that help w/ the curling/buckling. (the film is curling width-wise not down the length of the film.

 

[znapper]

Remember that too height temp also can cause buckling of the film, trick is to find the ideal one 🙂

 

[Pirate]

I have found a nasty residue after drying if I use only the tetenal stabilizer. I have been doing a final rinse in photoflo, which eliminates the problem. Not sure if that also obviates using the stabilizer ..

I used this developer a couple months ago and found the same problem with the stabilizer. That was the only thing I didn't like.