steps for developing

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i was wondering what are all the steps in devoping a roll of film from a 35mm camera

-- danny ruiz (lennygotgame@yahoo.com), February 27, 2002

Answers

Here is my sequence. I don't necessarily say this is the only way to do it, but it is how I do it.

1. Pre-soak - 1 minute, with agitation - in distilled water with two drops of Edwal LFN wetting agent per liter. LFN works much better than Kodak Photo-Flo in my experience. I mix enough to have some left for the final soak. Some people have stated that pre-soaking is not necessary with modern films, but I’ve been doing it for so long that I see no reason to change now (if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it). I used to presoak for 2 minutes or longer, but I read that testing has shown that longer pre-soaks can cause variations in the required development time, but that a one minute soak has no effect on development time. However, I have always added 30 seconds of extra development time that I do not record, on the theory that if the emulsion is swollen with water, it may take 30 seconds for the developer to begin working.

2. Develop - I mostly use the PMK pyro formula, occasionally the Pyrocat-HD formula. Rodinal is an old favorite, but I don’t use it that often anymore. I pour the developer into the can slowly and don’t start the clock until the lid is on the can. I pour the developer out 15 seconds before the time is up.

3. Agitate - I start with 30 seconds of continuous agitation, followed by ten sharp raps on the bottom of the developing can with my knuckles. For anything developed in PMK I agitate for 5 seconds (two inversions) every 30 seconds. With Rodinal and most other developers, I agitate for ten seconds (4 or 5 inversions) once per minute. I favor the torus method described by Ansel Adams in The Negative for roll film. Basically, you twist the developing can in a spiral movement as you invert it. I rap the can sharply on the bottom five times to dislodge air bubbles before setting it down. For sheet film I lift one end of the tray four or five times, working my way around the tray and lifting a different side every minute.

4. Water Bath - 15 seconds - I always use a bath of filtered tap water immediately after the developer. This effectively stops development and lowers the ph of the film so the stop bath doesn’t cause pinholes in the emulsion.

5. Stop Bath - 30 seconds - I have always used the formula Adams gives (1.5 ounces of 28% acetic acid and water to make 1 quart; or 45ml 28% acetic acid and water to make 1 liter). This is a 1.25% dilution. To dilute glacial acetic acid to 28%, combine 3 parts acid with 8 parts water, carefully. Wear acid-proof gloves and eye protection; work outside if possible and don’t breathe the fumes. Recently I have begun using a water stop for PMK, instead of acid--I use four changes of water, with vigorous agitation, taking about one minute.

6. Fix - 2 minutes, with continuous agitation - rapid fixer at film strength (1 part fixer, 3 parts water). For films with heavy dye layers like T-Max 100 I give 3 minutes with vigorous agitation.

7. After Bath - 2-3 minutes, with occasional agitation - this is for the PMK pyro formula only. I usually re-use the developer for this purpose (as described in Gordon Hutchings’ The Book of Pyro), but I sometimes mix a teaspoon of Kodalk in a quart of water. The alkalinity of the solution supposedly enables the pyro staining action to take place. I can’t vouch for this, as most of the staining action seems to take place during development, and I don’t really notice much difference in stain density after this bath (but I’ve never tried to measure it precisely either). With T-Max films, this extra bath helps remove the pink dye.

8. Wash Aid - 3 minutes - I use 10ml of Perma-Wash in 500ml of water, and agitate vigorously. With proper agitation, the wash aid will usually eliminate the red dye in T-Max films. I never use Perma-Wash with photographic papers, but it is very effective for films.

9. Wash - 10 minutes - with a bubbling film washer, or (for sheet film) a tray siphon, with several complete changes of water. I usually dump the water out several times and reduce the wash time to 5 minutes, in an effort to save water and time. But as far as I know it is not possible to over-wash film.

10. Final Soak - 1 minute - distilled water with 1 drop of LFN per liter. I rap the bottom of the can to dislodge any bubbles in the reel, then let it sit for a short while.

11. Drying - I am fortunate to have a reasonably dust-free darkroom, so I just hang the film with a weight on the bottom for 4 to 6 hours. In areas where there is a great deal of dust, or the humidity is very low, it is necessary to have a special film drying cabinet that can be kept dust-free. A clothes bag can be converted into a film dryer.

-- Ed Buffaloe (edb@unblinkingeye.com), February 27, 2002.


just one addition,

To make a dusty darkroom better, try spraying water in air all over. Then wait to let it settle.

It works!

Thanks Middle

-- middle (middlegray@yahoo.com), February 27, 2002.


Danny, everyone will have a different technique, but the basic idea is the same. Kodak has good information on their website in the library section. Go to Service/Support/Download, then Publications/Manuals, then Tips/Techniques, then there's a few to look at: Pathways to Black and White (F-2), How to Process Black and White film (AJ-3) and a few others.

-- Dave Mueller (dave@photo.net), February 27, 2002.

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