Processing my own B&W film

[StreetShark]

How much would it cost from start to finish to process my own film? How much does a kit usualy go for and would I need to dedicate a room to it or could I just do it in my washroom?

 

[Sideburns]

You could do it in your washroom if it was light-tight, and you had enough room on counters for all the stuff...

I'm fairly curious about the rest though...I want to do this as well.

 

[monkeykoder]

I was thinking about trying it in my bathroom but enlargers are still rather expensive.

 

[nealjpage]

Look on ebay for a Paterson tank and reels. Should set you back about $20. Find a room without windows and go to the fabric store to buy some light-blocking fabric. Tack that up over the door while you're in there doing your bid'ness. That should set you back another $10 or so.

Go to Freestyle (link is in the upper lefthand corner of the screen) and look for Kodak D76 for film processing and Kodak Fixer to fix the film. Pick up a bottle of Photo-flo as well to rinse the film.

I'd say, all costs considered, that you can start processing your own film for less than $75.

 

[yuki]

yeah

 

[bhop]

I paid around $80 for everything I needed to develop film (tank, thermometer, bottles, graduate, chemicals). I've since (got stuff about 2 months ago) processed about 6 or 7 rolls from my Holga and K1000. I got it all from Freestyle Photo. (I live about 3 blocks from it)

I already had a scanner, but I upgraded to a better one for about $270. (epson 4490) I print my own inkjet prints. I'm 100% happy with the results.

 

[maddermaxx]

I started developing for around $100, but I also went almost all Jobo.

All you need is a closet or something that is 100% light-proof to put your film on the reel and in the tank..

Then you need graduate, Chemicals, Thermometer and storage containers and thats about it.

 

[CJL]

this sounds like something i might like to try. you guys know of any good books or websites that explain the whole film developing process? as of right now i don't really know much of anything about it.

 

[ann]

there are so many books out there; however, go to ilford's website and they have a whole series of pdf files about the whole process, simple straight to the point with understandable drawings.

processing film is very simple, straight forward and easy to learn.

 

[nealjpage]

There's also a tutorial available on TPF that'll teach you the basics, too.

 

[Josh66]

How hazardous are the chemicals you would need (I assume you can't dump it down the drain, right?)? I've always wanted to "roll my own" too, but I'm not sure how I would get rid of the chemicals.

OK, I did some googling...apparently you can dump it down the sink. Wow, it sounds so easy (I'm sure there's still a lot to learn though) - I think I'm going to convert the guest bathroom into a darkroom...

 

[ann]

put the developer into the stop bath, wash down the sink with lots of water.

as always, one should handle all chemicals with care, however, most chemicals these days are safe. There are some rare cases where folks may be very sensitive to a wide variety of chemicals both in the darkroom and out of the darkroom.

Most hobby photographers don't run enough film to create issues with just dumping the fixer as well.