Processing c-41 film as traditional B+W?

J.Kendall · Nov 3, 2009

I've tried this on a few occasions and all I get is a B+W negative that is very dark, with hardly any contrast, and makes it hard to print. Anyone have any ideas how to do this to make it turn out any better?

ann · Nov 3, 2009

i have students who do this all the time.
you will need to use at least a grade 3 filter, if not higher and the times will be longer than using tradition film bases.

J.Kendall · Nov 3, 2009

I usually use a filter 5 (violet), and I let the print burn anywhere upwards of 40 sec, and it still comes out sort of grayish and washed out. Any tips for that?

ann · Nov 3, 2009

well, you are already at the hightest filter. unless the filter is very old that is the highest contrast your going to get.

what developer are you using and what is the developing time>

J.Kendall · Nov 4, 2009

The first developer that I used was Ilford paper developer, and now I'm using Kodak Polymax T-developer. The times vary because i usually leave my prints in for a while longer than I usually might to see if i could get any extra contrast out of them.

ann · Nov 4, 2009

first of all, you need to be consistence, develop to completion. a little bit can mean lots of things. developing film or paper involves clock watching IMO.

You might try some LPD at a 1:1 ratio, that will create more contrast or even ansco 130 straight.

i forgot to ask, which paper?
you could try ilford's cooltone paper which has a bit more natural contrast, but that paper needs to be developed for 2 minutes not 90 secs.
with graded papers we could boost the contrast a bit, perhaps 1/2 grade by underexposing about 10 percent and over develop about 30%,

J.Kendall · Nov 5, 2009

I've just been using Ilford paper.

ann · Nov 5, 2009

that is what my students have been using , however, we are using lpd developer with a 1:4 ratio and a development time of 90secs. contrast grade 3.5-4 and times are in the 40 sec range

J.Kendall · Nov 6, 2009

Hmm. I'll see if that works. We usually mix ours with a 1:9 ratio.

ann · Nov 6, 2009

different developers call for different ratios,

we including myself do not use the Kodak product your using so i can't compare that to several others that we do.

however, it can't hurt to experiment with a different ratio, just make it less than 1:9.

J.Kendall · Nov 8, 2009

Alright I'll give that a try thanks!

maddkid53 · Nov 13, 2009

I've just gone through 2 rolls of C41, which was a little frustrating at times, but it still works.

Basically, do what everyone else has said. Use filters and longer exposure times while printing. Start at a 3 filter and work your way up from there, increasing exposure time as you go. I'm sure you know how that works.

I'm just glad to see I'm not the only one that used C41 and developed it in a B&W lab =]

Vautrin · Feb 13, 2010

Can I just ask why you'd want to do this? Black and white film seems like it's cheaper then color film so it seems like you're wasting money (and pictures)