Processing Film yourself - Part 6.

This is the last part of the “developing yourself”  series and deals with developing traditional black and white (B&W) film.

The biggest challenge and also therefore the biggest opportunity for the photographer with developing black and white (B&W) film themselves is that you can use a variety of chemicals and techniques to vary the result you get, whereas with color (C-41) negative film and also black and white C-41 film, the chemistry and process is supposed to be the same, no matter what. Oh sure, cross processing is well known and yes you can push and pull color film too, but the limits about what you can get away with before things start to get out of control tend to be much more restrictive than with the traditional B&W before the image quality suffers “too much”. At least that’s my view, and for sure, if I am not paying careful attention to time and temperature with C-41 the results certainly are less than optimal.

What do I mean by “traditional” B&W film? I mean Kodak Tmax or Ilford FP4+ are two well-known examples. These are films that are NOT designed to use C-41 processing, but can actually be developed in all sorts of chemical mixes and combinations. Just consider Cafenol and all its variations. Think about how you can develop things? Lots of agitation in a motorized drum, partial agitation in a small tank and stand development are just a few. Push processing to get more speed or pull processing to lower the speed, increased or lowered temperatures are also variations on a theme that B&W film can be subjected to so you get the result that works for the subject or effect you want. All this variation means that the possibilities are many, yet one other aspect of B&W (and also color) film processing is that before you dive in and experiment with these changes to the “regular” way of doing it, is that you should master the “regular” way first. As with my words earlier in the series about C-41 and getting things repeatable, the same is true for B&W. Unless you are going to experiment every time you develop a roll of film, I don’t think I could handle the ulcers waiting for the negatives to emerge each time, you will want to be absolutely practiced and confident in basic developing techniques and chemistry.

Speaking for me and me alone, I tend to use Kodak D76 or Ilford ID-11 and Kodafix as my basic B&W chemistry. These chemicals are easy to obtain from just about every photographic supplier and are cheap in price. Both are also somewhat less “aggressive” than C-41 Blix and while there can be some nasty brown stains from them, will probably do less damage than Blix if spilt. Opinions are divided about the need for a chemical stop bath and I use just plain water with good results. Whatever you choose to do, once you arrive at a process that works for you, you should stick with it.

Mixing the chemicals up into stock solutions is a process you should do following the instructions provided with them. I use gallon storage bottles of the same type as I mentioned in my C-41 articles. I also use filtered water and get all the powder dissolved and poured into the containers. Easy.

As with my C-41 process, I load the film in exactly the same way into my developing tank and the set-up for a developing session is about the same. Note that I use my big orange painters bucket as a part of the process here to contain my waste liquids… more about that in a moment. I dilute my developer and fixer chemicals into the measuring jugs 1 to 1. That is 50% water and 50% stock chemical and bring it up to temperature (68 to 70 degrees F is fine), which once you get a working process that is right for YOU, should be the same each time.

In goes a pre-wash of regular water for a minute. Agitate for a few seconds, tap to free air bubbles and leave until it gets to a minute. I dump it out into the bucket. This is because I am on a septic system at home and we are not connected to a city sewer system. I want to maintain the integrity of the bacteria in the septic tank as it all has a very important, if gross, job to do. I'm sure they enjoy doing it too!

Once the pre-wash water is out, in goes the developer. Agitate, tap as per the recommendations – you can find the routine for this that works for you and stick with it. Once the time (I leave the developer in for 7 minutes) is up, the now used developer gets dumped into the bucket.

Next the water “stop” bath gets poured into the tank. The idea here is to wash the film, so the developer is removed or any left in the tank is so diluted that it’s not going to affect the image. At about a minute, it gets poured into the bucket.

Now in goes the fixer. Same as with the developer regarding technique but usually it’s in for a longer time. Again, follow the timing and agitation recommendations that are either supplied with the chemicals or from the  blog site you are following. I’m going to say right now that I leave the fixer in for at least 6 minutes. More is often considered better for archival quality results. Modern films are fine with a little bit less and a lot of hysterical comments from “old timers” about “must leave it in for less than or much more than X minutes” (where X is equal to anything from 3 to 10), relate to film stock made before the 1990’s. Again, experiment a little to find what works for you. At the appointed time, it gets poured into the bucket.

I fill the tank with water and swirl it about a few times. This water has the most surplus chemical on it and gets dumped into my bucket. I do this another couple of times and so far nothing has gone down the drain. All that is about to change!

At this point, you can open the tank and take a quick look at the negatives if you like. They are quite safe in terms of being out in the light, but as the film is still wet, they are very susceptible to scratches, so be careful. I now wash the roll in the tank as if it was in a regular darkroom. I let the water flow from the faucet into the tank and overflow into the drain. It gets at least 10 minutes like this. I’ll empty the water out of the tank and let it wash again for at least another five minutes before I dump it out and let the water flow into it again. Don’t trust your nose to tell you if the roll is clean of all chemicals. It’s the last 5% you can’t smell that will destroy the roll of negatives after 15 years or so, just when you want to do some more printing from then. Some people do this washing cycle for several more times. I’m not sure if it needs all that amount of time washing, but more certainly can’t hurt.

Most cities or even counties in the USA have disposal sites for chemicals like this and some of the workers at my local one have even suggested that diluting things even further makes it safe for putting down into my septic tank, but I’m not going to do that. Whatever you find, if you can pour it down your sink drain and forget about it, consider yourself lucky.

My roll of processed negatives gets hung up just as my color negatives do to dry. I cut the roll up as with color negatives and they get stored in a binder until I am ready to go to the next stage, but that is another story entirely.

Back to Part 5

Processing Film Yourself - Part 5.

So are we ready for the big show yet? I know I am…

I don’t have a darkroom, so if you remember from my earlier remarks, I have to improvise and set my towels out in my cleared kitchen work space. On go my old work clothes too.

I get all my bottles of chemicals and other glass and plastic ware out and in my work space, even if I think I won’t need it, everything gets set out JUST IN CASE.

About 10 minutes before I want to start and depending on how I feel, I’ll either fill my plastic water bath tub OR my sink with water heated up to about 170 degrees. This often takes several trips to the microwave or using a kettle. Be careful as you don’t want to burn yourself with boiling water! There is no need for it to be all THAT hot anyway, it's just to heat up the chemical INSIDE the storage bottles.

The bottles of chemicals with the caps still fully on and closed go into the water bath. I know some people use a microwave oven to heat the chemicals, but while it is indeed faster, I find its less controllable than using a water bath.  

The instruction sheet also tells you to place the film tank in the water bath too. This warms the film so it is also as close as you can get it to the temperature of the chemicals. If you are using a plastic tub for this, it also means that any spillage is more likely to go into the tub and not on the floor.

Be patient as everything gets up to 102 degrees. When that moment arrives, and 102 degrees is it, I use a measuring jug of filtered water heated in the microwave also to 102 degrees as the pre-soak. This goes into the tank and before putting the tank down, I gently tap the tank on the counter top a couple of times to make any air bubbles float off the surface of the film.  I press the “start” button on my cell phones stop watch app and wait for 1 minute.The pre-wash water gets poured out of the tank and down the drain. I reset my timer to zero.

Next comes the developer. GENTLY pour the developer into the tank. So long as the quantity of liquid covers the film on the spiral (most tank makers print this on the bottom of the tank or on a box or instruction sheet), you are good. Again, a tap on the bench/counter top and I press start on my timer.

I used to spend the next 30 seconds or so in a life or death struggle to get the water tight cap on top of the tank well enough to stop the liquid leaking out ALL OVER THE PLACE when I did the tank inversions.

So now I don’t.

What I do now is to use the rotation stick/stirrer and GENTLY stir the film from side to side for the next 10 seconds and finish off with a tap on the counter top/bench. The idea is to agitate the film inside the liquid to ensure an even coverage of fresh liquid on the surface of the film, and the recommended method of tank inversion is just one way of doing this.

I will let you guys try these methods (the metal tanks usually don’t offer the twirl/rotation method by the way), to find the one you prefer. Oh yes, if you are using an expensive roller tank machine kind of device, then you should follow the instruction chart for that kind of device. Ultimately, the time/temperature is a reciprocal and lower temps equal longer times, but thinking about these matters is beyond the scope of this discussion.

I redo the twirl/rotation/inversion thing every 30 seconds until we get to three minutes and thirty seconds. This means it is twirled/rotated/inverted at 30 seconds, one minute, one minute thirty, two minutes, two minutes thirty and at three minutes. That is six sets of 10 second GENTLE twirls each followed by a quick tap on the counter, which just leaves the last 30 seconds for the film to soak undisturbed in the developer.

When the time is up, I reset my stop watch/counter app and pour the developer out into the jug I marked as “Dev”. This lets me easily pour it out of the tank and move onto the Blix.

The process for the Blix is identical as for the developer (in it goes, agitate for the first 10 seconds and then again once every 30 seconds), but we are doing it for six minutes and thirty seconds.

I use the time between each 30 second agitation to clear up. This means that the first time gap, I get the funnel inserted into the dev bottle. Then I have to agitate the tank. Then pour the dev back into the dev stock bottle. Now I have to agitate the tank. I then screw the cap back onto the Dev solution bottle. Next it’s time to agitate the tank. Wipe down the bottle and agitate the tank. Rinse off the funnel. Agitate the tank. See the pattern here? One step in clean up between each agitation – with an eye on the clock all the time to pace yourself.

An important note here - be careful with Blix. It “gasses out” (a technical term for “smells”) as a part of the process, so I have a portable fan blowing the fumes away from me. In a real darkroom, the air flow is properly organized so the fumes are always pulled away from where you are working, but that’s another subject entirely. Blix is also a dark red color and it can stain, so take your time and try to avoid splashes.

Better to let the film be in the blix for a few extra seconds while you clean up a splash than let the blix sit on a sensitive surface for 10 seconds while you agitate the tank.

From time to time, you will splash a chemical. Wipe up any splashes and spills as soon as they happen.

At five minutes, I also start the water from the faucet. I find it gets to about 95 degrees which is where it needs to be in about a minute, which is great for the next stage.

At six minutes I get the Blix jug ready.

At six minutes and thirty seconds I GENTLY pour the Blix into the Blix jug. Go slowly and try to avoid spills and splashes.

As soon as the liquid is out of the tank, I place the tank under the water flowing from the faucet.

While this wash is underway, I carefully get the Blix back into its stock solution bottle.

The film needs a good 3 minute wash and once I have rinsed my hands so there is no chemical residue left on them I open the tank.

A quick glance at the negative roll usually reveals enough visual information to see that the negatives are fully formed and ready. I put the lid back on the tank and back under the wash water for the rest of the time.

I also try to rinse out the jigs used for the chemicals so far while the film is washing, but I don't always get them done inside three minutes. That's OK. Its not a race. More wash time is fine.

After those three full minutes in the wash water (you can empty and allow the tank to refill with fresh water several times if you like), it’s time for the stabilizer. Unlike the rest of this process, the stabilizer is used at room temperature. This means about 70 degrees or about the same temp as the space the film will be drying in. Empty the tank of all wash water and put the stab in. Give it 10 seconds of agitation as per the start of the dev and Blix. Wait one minute.

Pour the stabilizer into the jug marked ‘Stab’ and DO NOT wash the stab off the film. It is there as part of the process. It will ensure the long term life of the negative. It needs to not be washed off from the surface of the film.

Take the film to wherever you are going to let it dry and hang it up. The leader and trailer portions are always the last to dry and they don’t matter anyway. I use a space in my garage with a small pan under the film to catch drops of Stabilizer. I fold the leader over at the top of the film on a wire frame shelf that is about six and a half feet off the ground and the film hangs down without touching anything. A clothes pin/peg/clip holds the film to the shelf and another at the bottom to stop if from flapping about lose.

We squeegee excess stabilizer off the film. I personally also run my fingers gently down the film to remove the larger drops of stab from the film. This also spreads the liquid more thinly over the surface and remove those large blobs, so there are no or far fewer “water stains” left over. These of course are NOT water stains but chemical.

C-41 for me seems to suffer much less than B&W from this kind of problem. That said, I know some people also use photo-flow in C-41, but I find I just don’t need it. You might find differently, in which case use it in exactly the same dilution as you would for B&W and add it to the in the stab phase.

I now take the tank, spiral etc back into my kitchen and pour the stab back into the stock solution bottle from the jug.

Everything now gets washed. It must all be 100% clear of chemical so it takes more than just a quick rinse. I dry everything on clean towels and put it all away.

Just a quick word about the negatives. They will not appear to be completely clear and “orange” as you might expect from C-41 color negatives when they first come out of the tank. So long as the Blix is in good shape and you immersed the film in it for enough time (six and a half minutes) at the right temperature, then it will clear fully and take on the kind of color you expect as it dries.

When the negative strip is completely dry take it down and on a clean dry surface, cut off the leader and trailer. My storage bags take negatives in rows of five frames per row, so I cut the film into strips of five frames and insert them into the bags.

You might struggle to get negatives in the bags, in which case there is usually either too much moisture in the air or the cut edges of the film are catching on the storage bags. Heat the room a bit more to remove the moisture or try to hold the film flatter when you push it into the bag.

The next installment in this series looks at Black and White film processing and how it differs from C-41.

Back to Part 4     On to Part 6

Processing film yourself - Part 4

The stock solution is mixed and waiting, the film is all exposed and rewound. Now we can think about getting it loaded into the tank.

This is perhaps the most frustrating part of film developing for all beginners and many of us old-pros alike. The main reason we find it hard to do is because we are doing something really fiddly without the benefit of being able to see what on earth we are doing. This is especially true as photography is all to do with light!

So what will you need for this…. The changing bag, the developing tank and any other items to help you with the process, like a pair of scissors.

A couple of tips – when I rewind my 35mm films, I don’t wind it all into the canister. I leave the leader of the film out and fold it over to show that it is used. I also don’t shoot all 24 or 36 frames. I leave one or two on the end of the roll – the reason is to allow a "tail" at the end of the film when it dries, onto which I can put a clip and not worry about scratching a negative image..

So what are going to do – how to start?

We begin with the leader of the film. Where the short ‘half-width’ tongue of the film widens out to be the full width of the film, is where I cut it off. The idea is to get a straight cut and rounded edges at the corners. I try to get as much of the film behind the curve between a pair of sprocket holes to attempt to add strength to it. That’s just me, some people just cut the film straight across. There are special film leader cutters you can buy to make it all nice and neat, and if you want one go ahead, but they are not an essential tool.

The very first step of all is to PRACTICE. Use a sacrificial roll of film and make your offering with it to the developing tank gods!! :-) You’ll load it in the open and in the light all the way onto the spiral (hence the sacrifice) and then unload it off the 'spiral' or spool and then reload it. Practice this a few times BEFORE you try to use a “real” roll of film with pictures ready for developing on it. The reason for this is that you’ll get to make any mistakes with this practice roll and also get used to the process, so you’ll be ready when it comes to the “real thing”.

I'll describe loading a film into a Patterson plastic tank and internal spiral, The metal tanks load from the center out (there is a clip onto which you hook the film) while the plastic spirals load from the outside in. They do this by feeding the film into the spiral between two ball bearings in the feeder slots. As you move the two halves of the spiral, one side at a time, the film moves into the spiral, because the ball bearing grip it.

I find 120 size film is easier to load onto the spiral as it is thicker and presents a stiffer medium to push against. Also, 120 film does not have sprockets and only goes part way into the spiral (as its shorter), so you don’t have to push against the length of film already loaded. Same for 24 as opposed to 36 exposures in 35mm.

So let’s practice. On a table take the spiral out of the tank and shape the end of the leader of your practice roll of film as described above. Feed it onto the spiral until the ball bearings have gripped it. Then take the film out of the canister as you twist the two halves of the spiral to feed the film on. It will get harder to push the film onto the spiral the more film is already loaded onto the spiral. TRY hard not to crinkle the film as it gets further into the spiral, but so long as you are as gentle as possible, and don’t leave a crease mark you should be alright. With 120 film it should just slide into the groves on each side of the spiral and you’ll have to take the backing paper off the roll and learn where the tape is at the end by feel only. Don’t worry too much about leaving some tape or the adhesive from the tape on the film. It won’t affect the actual frames of the film.

Pull the film off the spiral once you have it all loaded on and try it again… a few times in fact, until you are well and truly able to do this while talking to your dog, wife, life partner, whoever. You need to get a bit bored with all this practice BEFORE you put the spiral and practice film into the changing bag and try to do it without seeing any of it for the first time. I am almost 100% certain you will mess it up then and have to pull it all out of the bag to see what went wrong. That's fine. 

When you are confident you can get the film onto the spiral without a problem, we can think about finishing off loading the roll. The 120 film comes off the spool once you have torn it off the tape. When it comes to 35mm film however, some people cut the film off the canister, others just tear it while others open the canister (once again, there are special tools you can buy to help with that), so the film doesn't have to be pulled out of the canister and risk getting scratched at any of the process. I suggest you try all of these methods over time and find the one that works best for you and then stick with it. There is no absolute right or wrong way.

So now for the real thing.

Put the tank and all the other items involved into the changing bag and zip it up. There are two layers and therefore two zips to close. Your arms obviously go in through the two arm holes. Make sure the arm holes are tight so no light leaks in.

The secret to an easy load is to make sure everything is 100% absolutely dry. Try to make sure you are relaxed, as being tense generates sweat, which will tend to jam the film as it loads. Remember you will be stuck with your arms inside the bag for about 10 or 15 minutes the first few times, so you don’t want any interruptions or need to take a ‘natural break’ if you can avoid it.

When you are done with loading the spiral, remember that the center tube is vital to keeping the spiral central and also keeping the light out of the tank when the lid is closed, so make sure you use it as well as any clip if provided in the event you use just one spiral. This will ensure that the spiral does not float up to the surface of the liquid and leave a part of the film untouched by the chemicals. Not all of the more recent designs of the tanks use the clip. Whatever you have is fine.

The film is (eventually) loaded onto the spiral, the spiral onto the center tube and the tube in the tank with the spiral at the bottom. Now put the lid on. Tanks from 30 years ago used to have a complete screw thread that you have to do up to keep the lid on the tank but more modern tanks don’t. It just goes onto the tank body and turn it so the lid clicks into place. Check it does not come off and is on straight and you are ready to get your arms (and everything else) out of the bag.

Next installment actually covers the development process for C-41. Its the same no matter what chemical kit you use, as the process is designed to be the same everywhere and for all films. This way, the mini-lab was able to spread into almost all pharmacies and all over the world and be operated by staff that have had minimal training, but is now almost an extinct species. Once you have developed a few C-41 films you'll wonder why some people think it's harder than Black and White developing, but that is coming soon.

Back to Part 3     On to Part 5