Tutorial How to develop your first B&W film.

I processed my own slides when I was in my early teens and it honestly wasn't that hard. As I recall, I just sat all the chemicals in a water bath (washing up bowl) and kept a beady eye on the thermometer. Add a splash from the kettle if it dropped too low. I never had a messed up roll and the slides look the same today as they did when they came out of the tank. I haven't used the firstcall chemicals, but I've heard good things about them, and they are meant to be simpler than the old style E6. I'd say, definitely give it a go. Nothing better than developing yourself (especially positive film as it's so immediate).

This afternoon I developed my first film for 30 years. I shot a roll of T Max 100 on my Dad's old Fed 4 and processed it in Ilfosol 3. The first B&W film I've ever shot, first B&W film I've ever processed and the most fun I've had in years! It was magical seeing the images come out of the tank :)
 
So, I have a tank, a changing bag, jugs, a thermometer, chemicals. I'm going to use clothes pegs instead of clips, for now at least. Last thing I need, I think, is a way of accurately measuring 20ml - 50ml of chemicals. Is there a cheap high-street answer to this? I'm way too cheapskate to pay £8 for one from eBay or a photographic suppliers unless I have to.
 
Not that I found. Best solution I came up with is either a small measuring cylinder or a fairly large syringe. I had one from bleeding the brakes on my mountain bike, I think it is 60ml.
 
Hadn't thought of either of those! Cheers both. I'll go down the chemist and see what they have.
 
Just a note based on recent experience. Normally I process film using a Paterson System 4 tank (1 x 120 or 2 x 135). I agitate by inversion - lost the stick but don't miss it. I don't really know why, but recently I bought one of those cheaper AP tanks of the same specs. The spools have thumb pads. I've used it once, and was disappointed that the 120 film underdeveloped - at one end more than the other. Seems that it doesn't mix well using inversions, maybe it would have been ok using the stick? Not surprising really, as unlike the Paterson, there isn't really a dead space to circulate liquids in via inversions.
 
I have a couple of quick questions, I did check to at least page 4 before posting :)

D-76 powder - Can I mix to say 1:3 and just do longer dev time? Does the Massive Dev app allow for this?
Best way to store the powder? Airtight box well away from kids I assume.
Ilford rapid fixer - same question about proportions and longer time.
Do you use the squeegee straight after hanging up the film, or a while after like it seems to say on page 1 instructions?
 
thecornflake said:
I have a couple of quick questions, I did check to at least page 4 before posting :)

D-76 powder - Can I mix to say 1:3 and just do longer dev time? Does the Massive Dev app allow for this?
Best way to store the powder? Airtight box well away from kids I assume.
Ilford rapid fixer - same question about proportions and longer time.
Do you use the squeegee straight after hanging up the film, or a while after like it seems to say on page 1 instructions?
Click to expand...

you mix all the powder to get a stock solution ,,,and then you mix the stock as required,,eg use as stock or one and one / one and two etc i use ilford id 11 ,its the same as d76 , they give times for stock / one and one / and one and three .

and dont use a squeegeeeeeeeee ,,
 
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So I have to mix all the powder at once? If I store that in a decent container how long does it last?
 
thecornflake said:
I have a couple of quick questions, I did check to at least page 4 before posting :)

D-76 powder - Can I mix to say 1:3 and just do longer dev time? Does the Massive Dev app allow for this?
Best way to store the powder? Airtight box well away from kids I assume.
Ilford rapid fixer - same question about proportions and longer time.
Do you use the squeegee straight after hanging up the film, or a while after like it seems to say on page 1 instructions?
Click to expand...

For Tri-X, Kodak don't give a 1+3 dilution time in their technical pdf http://www.kodak.com/global/en/professional/support/techPubs/f4017/f4017.pdf but the Massive Dev website app does. As far as mixing goes, you should mix all the powder to make a stock solution and store it as liquid in bottles. When you want to use it, you can use stock, 1+1 or 1+3 dilutions. I make about 600 ml of fixer at a time and reuse it. Do a clip test before you start the process, i.e snip a piece of the leader and dunk it in an egg cup full of fixer - see how long it takes to clear, then fix for 3 times that time.

If you must use a squeegee, then soak it in hot water with a bit of Fairy liquid for a few minutes before use. You may as well squeegee straight away after hanging it up. Be careful that you don't grip too hard and pull the fiilm out of the clip. Best of all don't use one at all.
 
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thecornflake said:
So I have to mix all the powder at once? If I store that in a decent container how long does it last?
Click to expand...

if kept in an airtight container ( and with no air at the top ) in a dark place it should be alright for about six months ,,thats why i only buy one litre packs at a time ,,,,,then develope all the films ive exposed in one go ,normally about eight to ten 35mm and half a dozen 120's

and this is me sounding all common ,,,,,,

http://www.talkphotography.co.uk/threads/how-to-develope-black-and-white-fillum.517423/
 
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donut said:
if kept in an airtight container ( and with no air at the top ) in a dark place it should be alright for about six months ,,thats why i only buy one litre packs at a time ,,,,,then develope all the films ive exposed in one go ,normally about eight to ten 35mm and half a dozen 120's

and this is me sounding all common ,,,,,,

http://www.talkphotography.co.uk/threads/how-to-develope-black-and-white-fillum.517423/
Click to expand...

I'll check out the video. Does a 1 litre pack do all those films? At 1:3 dilution?
 
if you're going to use it again its best used as a stock solution i believe ,,,,when im doing two 35mm films i just pour the dev in until it shows at the top of the pot ,there is some of the litre left in the ( i use a plastic milk bottle ) when the time is up i pour it back into the same bottle ,then use again adding ten percent to the the dev time ( as in the instructions on the box ) ilford say you can use the developer up to ten times with the extra time added to each pot ,,,,,so two films each go .ten times
 
I've been buying some bits to get my darkroom up to scratch again such as chemicals and bottles. When I decided to buy some film hanging clips I suddenly thought - why not make my own?

Take one of the girlfriend's clip type skirt hangers, snap it and take the clips off... Perfect!

Quite pleased with myself :)
 
how many rolls of film can you wind onto a single spool? Just looking at one of my small jobo tanks and it claims it can handle 2 rolls of 120. But only 1 spool will fit inside the tank. I just experimented with trying to stuff two rolls onto it, there is plenty of room but i just hit a "friction" point where i simply cant push the second roll of film on any further. So ive put 1 roll each on 2 separate spools and using a bigger tank / more chems.

has anyone managed to get 2 rolls on a spool? is there a knack to it? Ive got a small mountain of film to process from my hols and its going to eat through my chems if i cant batch it up bit more.
 
well, the spiral IS long enough to get 2 rolls of 120 into, because you can get a single roll of 220 into one... but yes, it's tricky getting the second roll into the spiral. I've done it a few times, but frankly it's a faff, and often ended up with creased film and ruined shots. It's really the standard things - make sure the spiral is completely and totally dry before trying to load the film.

You could also try splicing the two rolls of film together before loading, but that's going to be a faff in a changing bag - easier in a darkroom I suppose.

Other option is to use a developer that isn't "one shot" I guess.
 
If you search the internet for loading 120 on Jobo reels you will find lots of people have problems with this, it is possible but whether it is worth it is another matter. Some people recommend pulling the film off the roll and leaving the tape on it and feeding that end into the real first I find it helps to load the reels at least and it's vital that you have the red duo clip pushed in to stop the second film riding over the first.

Conventional wisdom from most seems to indicate that the 2500 series of reels are easier to load than the smaller 1500 series either in theory can be loaded with two rolls.

For me what works out as most economic time wise at least is assembling a 2500 series tank that can take 7 spirals at once on a CPA.

I have got two films on one reel of either type but other than it being a traumatic experience as mentioned by Mark it is far to easy to ruin shots.


Useful link with the maximum capacities for the various Jobo Procesors
http://www.catlabs.info/how-to-choose-the-right-jobo-processor
 
yeah i gave up on it in the end. its fiddly enough getting them on the jobo reels in the dark as it is! the patterson ones are so much easier, its a shame i cant bolt them onto the CPE-2!

I might look into a longer tank so i can just feed a load of reels into it like yourself. Although theyre pricey as hell for what they are!
 
The trick with the Jobo system is realising that the print drums are basically the same as the film drums and often sell much cheaper the differences are that you get a beaker in the lids of the print drums whereas the film tanks have a funnel lid and the centre colum pieces to slots the reels on. All the bits interchange you can remove the beaker and fit a funnel, but seeing as you presumable have the small tank good for one 120 reel at once ? your cheapest bet would be an extention like the 2870 and then pick up the relevant number of centre core bits you need.

Other than getting Jobo bits on ebay MrCad in London usually have pretty fair prices on Jobo bits.

The actual five and six reel tanks tend to sell for far more than they are worth.

With a bit of paintence that extention can usually be had for 10-12
 
essexash said:
how many rolls of film can you wind onto a single spool? Just looking at one of my small jobo tanks and it claims it can handle 2 rolls of 120. But only 1 spool will fit inside the tank. I just experimented with trying to stuff two rolls onto it, there is plenty of room but i just hit a "friction" point where i simply cant push the second roll of film on any further. So ive put 1 roll each on 2 separate spools and using a bigger tank / more chems.

has anyone managed to get 2 rolls on a spool? is there a knack to it? Ive got a small mountain of film to process from my hols and its going to eat through my chems if i cant batch it up bit more.
Click to expand...

I regularly spool 2 rolls onto jobo reels. Just wind the 1st as far as it will go, wind the 2nd until it's on. So far no overlaps.
Perhaps I'm just lucky..I always wait for a day which is cool and my hands are crispy dry..or get up stupid early to just spool and load the tank in readiness.
 
if anyone is interested, ive put together an Excel spreadsheet that works out all my liquid levels. It looks like this



basically just edit any of the highlighted cells and it will recalculate things. Its only set up for my gear, B&W and Slide film but its adaptable for anything, just enter the total liquid required and the ratios of chems for each step. If anyone wants it then you can download a copy at. If you want to edit the formulas for your own setup bear in mind 2 things, columns M N O P Q R are 0 width, they just hold values for other formulas to use, i shrunk them for printing and to keep the main formula's less than a foot long in the cell! and there is some white text in L52..L93 for the same reasons.

www.ashleycottle.co.uk\Film Development Details.xls
 
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That's a really useful idea Ashley, thanks. Unfortunately the link comes up as not found and you can't view the large version on flickr either.
 
yeah its there, you just have to cut and paste the whole line, because there are spaces its mucked the auto link thing up. I'll see if i can re do it.

*edit* there you go :) should be fine now
 
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essexash said:
yeah its there, you just have to cut and paste the whole line, because there are spaces its mucked the auto link thing up. I'll see if i can re do it.

*edit* there you go :) should be fine now
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(y)
 
Ok received all my film processing stuff today managed to get it out the box but thats as far as I have gone, quite nervous about processing my own black and white 127 film!:confused:

I have along with all the bits and pieces R90 Spezial B&W developer, B&W Amfix and Tetenal B&W Wetting agent...........

NOW WHAT?..........:exit::D
 
No but I was told I could just you water is that not so?
 
Crtm said:
No but I was told I could just you water is that not so?
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Where are you stuck Carol? You don't need stop just wash it between steps.
Fill tank with tepid tap water,
invert 10 times,
empty, fill again,
invert 20 times,
empty, fill, invert 40 and empty.
Add fixer, fix for 5 minutes, drain fixer to bottle for reuse.
Repeat washing

That wash technique is frequently attributed to Illford.
 
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Thanks Steven I am just trying to figure out where to start! :D

Camera and all the bits in the black bag but not sure of the rest of the process......panicking a bit tbh!
 
Crtm said:
Thanks Steven I am just trying to figure out where to start! :D

Camera and all the bits in the black bag but not sure of the rest of the process......panicking a bit tbh!
Click to expand...

Have you got the film onto the spiral? You might want to sacrifice a roll of Vista to work through the process prior to attempting the 127 in the dark.
 
personally id rather swill a bit of stopper around for 60 seconds than do loads of washes. But have to agree with sacrificing a roll to the spindle gods to get some practice loading it up.
 
No I'm ok with that, its the quantities of chemicals I am more worried about......

Had a look at the R90 Spezial but it does not have Rera Pan 100 on it so I am trying to look up on the web what I have to do........sorry .
 
Crtm said:
No I'm ok with that, its the quantities of chemicals I am more worried about......

Had a look at the R90 Spezial but it does not have Rera Pan 100 on it so I am trying to look up on the web what I have to do........sorry .
Click to expand...

Errrm, wrong R09, let me see if we can dig up some times...
 
steveo_mcg said:
Errrm, wrong R09, let me see if we can dig up some times...
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RaglanSurf said:
Developing Times

  • ISO 100, Supergrain, 1+12, 6 Min., 20°C (68°F).
  • ISO 100, R09/Rodinal, 1+25, 9 Min., 20°C (68°F).
  • ISO 100, Microphen, Stock, 9 Min., 20°C (68°F).
  • ISO 100, D-76, Stock, 9 Min., 20°C (68°F).
Click to expand...
 
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