Dipping my toes in developing.

[Garbz]

Not literally, I believe developer shouldn't be handled without gloves. But I am looking into starting a basic darkroom to get back into film. Play a bit with some B&W films that are available.

Now I've had a bit of a read on the topic from a book so old it's about to fall apart but I doubt much has changed. I only want to develop negatives at this point, maybe some slides at a later time, and I will ultimately scan them using the filmstrip scanner I have. So far as I know here are the basics that I need:

- A Timer
- A Thermostat
- An insulated dish to control temperature of the chemicals
- A developing tank
- One of those little things to get the end out of the film so the roll can be unwound.
- Developer
- Stop bath (I heard water can be used for this)
- Fixer

Have I left anything out? I know that the list could be refined to specific brands, but I'm trying to get the overall view of things set first.

 

[Overkill-F1]

I would suggest 'Photo-Flo' as a final rinse. It helps to minimize waterspots as the film dries. I use a Rubbermaid dish pan half-filled with water to keep the jars of chemicals and the developing tank at the right temperature. I wired in a foot switch to the timer so I can start and stop the timer as required.
...Terry

 

[KevinDks]

I did some b&w developing years ago, but really got back into it last year. I'm not a professional by any means, but here are my suggestions, based on that experience:

- A Timer I sat with a stopwatch, recorded myself speaking the times - 15 seconds, 30, 45, one minute, etc, for 20 minutes and burned it to CD. I play this on a CD player while developing, so I don't have to look at a timer. I invert the tank a few times every minute, and I find it useful to time it this way

- A Thermostat Do you mean thermometer? You certainly need one - I use a glass thermometer made for b&w developing.

- An insulated dish to control temperature of the chemicals Before you start developing any films, here is a simple test. Get a plastic bottle, fill it with water and just let it sit in the room you will be working in for a few hours. What temperature does it settle at? I'm lucky that except on very warm summer days, here in temperate Britain my pre-mixed chemicals seem to settle at around 20 degrees, which is just right, but in Brisbane you may face more of a challenge. When necessary I use the plastic washing-up bowl from the kitchen sink, stand it on the draining board and fill it with water at 20 degrees, then put the chemicals and the tank in there (the tank will need to be weighted down, otherwise it will float). If you can keep things to within a couple of degrees of 20 centigrade then you can use the time adjustment chart from the Ilford website to make any corrections needed

- A developing tank Yes, Patterson ones work well

- One of those little things to get the end out of the film so the roll can be unwound. You can get a flexible plastic device to pull the end of the film back out of the roll, but there is a risk that any dirt in the felt might scratch the film. I just use a bottle opener, take the metal top off with that and pull the whole roll out

- Developer
- Stop bath (I heard water can be used for this)
- Fixer

Chemicals - all of those, plus Photoflo or similar to add to the final rinse

Now what else? Er, changing bag (unless you have a completely dark closet or room where you can load the reel and get it into the tank). Scissors, to cut the end of the film off the little plastic thing it is rolled around (remember to put these into the changing bag with the bottle opener, the tank, reel and film before you zip it up!). Pegs to hang the film up (I have a wire coathanger which hooks on the shower rail and I hang the films from that to dry; run the shower for a few minutes first - the steam takes any dust out of the air). Something to stir the chemicals - a plastic spoon or a proper Paterson chemical mixer.

Can't think of anything else! Let us know how you get on.

Kevin

 

[kaiy]

I think you can skip the special tool to retrieve the film end. I also use a bottle opener to pop the end off my 35mm film.

Other misc. items: You will need at least one good measuring graduate (1000ml is a good size). I have several, so that I don't have to worry about contaminating my developer with something I've measured my fix in.

Avoid cross chemical contamination. Don't use measuring cups, containers, stirrers for your developer that you have used to mix your fix in.

You don't need to spend money on special clips either, clothes pins work fine.

 

[Steph]

I would add a changing back to put the film(s) in the developing tank, unless you have a darkroom of course.

Edit: OK. Already suggested in a previous post....

 

[Helen B]

I use a film end retriever instead of a bottle opener (or simply hitting the end of the cassette - the way I used to do it in the darkroom) so that I can trim the film ends in the light, but it's just a personal choice.

If you use distilled water for the final rinse you may not need a wetting agent. I dry my films on the reel, so I prefer not to use wetting agent (it has a tendency to build up on the reels).

Unless your developing times are very short (less than five minutes or so) you can usually get away with a water rinse between the developer and the fixer.

One thing that has changed over the decades is the use of rapid, non-hardening fixer. That's a lot more common than it used to be. Few films need to be hardened nowadays, and there are benefits to using rapid fixer for film, particularly if you use a neutral or alkaline fixer. It washes out quickly, so that wash methods that use a small amount of water (such as the fill-and-dump routine typified by Ilford's method) can be archivally effective.

As already mentioned Paterson tanks are very popular. I use 1500-series and 2500-series Jobo tanks. The Jobos are very versatile.

Good luck,
Helen

 

[Garbz]

Wow I expected this forum to be half dead, not to get 5 responses in as many hours. Good to see too, it means my questions about what I did wrong will get answered when I foul up my first negative

Yes a thermometer is what I meant. I will probably use my fluke meter for this (electrical engineer here so no need for these mechanical toys)

Overkill: I'm not sure if your name suggests this but I've read that using a simple sponge will eliminate waterspots after the final rinse. But I will keep the Photo-flo in consideration.

I intend to start small and cheap and work my way through problems rather than layout a lot of money. And on that note a bottle opener sounds good

Ok so I think I got a list of the basics. I'll start narrowing down what I need exactly and see about making a trip to photocontinental later this week.

Cheers

 

[JamesD]

With a sponge, you'll tend to get water beading up on the surface of the film, then drying to form spots. You can wipe it again, but the sponge should be damp, which will tend to deposit more water/prevent absorbtion. Using a dry sponge is a Bad Idea. Also, excessive handling of wet emulsions isn't recommended. Photoflo will help the water to run off. Something about surface tension, I believe.

 

[ann]

go to ilford's website and check out their pdf files, they have speicfic ddirections and a list of equipment you will need.

the first roll is always the hardest, but only with getting it on the reel. other than that, it is a matter of followiong the directions and clock watching.

have fun

 

[nealjpage]

I don't use a water bath to control my temps unless I'm doing color processing. 68 degrees F is pretty low and keeping your tank at that temp is pretty easy, unless of course your house is like mine and very cold. But even then I still don't use a water bath.

 

[christopher walrath]

The following is a basic list of items needed to process black and white negative roll film. This list is based on my gear and you may find items that you do not need as well as find that you may have a need for items not listed herein.

Developer stock solution (needs to be mixed) or …
Developer working solution (ready to be used)
Stop bath stock solution
Fixing agent stock solution
3- gallon jugs (for storage of working solutions of chemicals)
3 or more 8-ounce glass amber bottles (for storage of stock solutions of chemicals)
Film drying agent (for shortening drying time)
A practice roll of film (to practice loading film into the developing tank)
16-ounce lightproof developing tank (available in either stainless steel or plastic)
1-120 roll film developing reel
2-35mm roll film developing reel
A pair of scissors
A can opener
A 32-ounce graduated measuring cup
A 250 mL graduated cylindrical measure
2-graduated measure syringes
A plastic funnel
3-16-ounce containers (to hold chemicals for processing)
Instant dial thermometer (for regulating water temperature)
30 or 60-minute timer that measures in seconds and minutes
Wire or string (for hanging film to dry)
Stainless steel hanging clips or wooden clothespins (for hanging and holding film straight)
Negative archival storage sheets

 

[Garbz]

Thanks all. Looks like I can find most of that stuff around my house and will need to spend minimal amounts to get me started.

Staying in the same thread but changing the topic:

Can anyone recommend a good film or process to start with? I will eventually work my way up to colour processing E-6 and similar so I can do Velvia slides without shipping them to Sydney, but so far I am looking for something simple as my first try.

I was thinking Kodak TMAX but the price of the developer is discouraging.

Just to double check you need film (process) specific developer and fixer right?

 

[Helen B]

There are many, many combinations of film and developer - you don't have to stick to TMax developer for TMax film, for example.

There are many good all-round developers. In general those sold in powder form are cheaper than those sold as a liquid concentrate. The ones sold as liquid concentrate are easier to use, but powder developers aren't difficult to use.

There are many developers, so these are the first ones that come to mind:

Kodak D-76 or Ilford ID-11. Easy to use, general purpose powder developers. Work well with many films.

Kodak Xtol. One of the better developers available today. Powder. Works well with many films. The new TMax 400 (TMY-2) is remarkable in Xtol.

Ilford DD-X. A good liquid concentrate developer. Easy to use, good results. Not cheap.

Diafine. A powder developer that is very easy to use and very economical. It may be hard to get. It is a two-bath developer that lasts forever. Excellent with Tri-X at EI 1250; TMax 100 and Fuji Acros at EI 125.

Kodak HC-110. Another general purpose developer. Highly concentrated, economical liquid.

As for film, the likes of HP5+, FP4+ and Tri-X are all easy to use. The tabular grain films like TMax and Delta have a reputation of being more finicky to process, but I don't think that is a big issue.

Good luck,
Helen

 

[Jeff Canes]

did any one say a changing bag

 

[Helen B]

did any one say a changing bag

Kevin in post #3 and Steph in post #5, otherwise I would have mentioned it - it was the first thought I had when I read Garbz' original list.

Best,
Helen