{"id":45862,"date":"2015-03-12T14:56:40","date_gmt":"2015-03-12T14:56:40","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/amateurphotographer.co.uk\/?p=45862"},"modified":"2015-07-31T12:15:09","modified_gmt":"2015-07-31T11:15:09","slug":"essential-guide-to-film-processing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/other.kelsey.host\/amateurphotographer\/technique\/expert_advice\/essential-guide-to-film-processing\/","title":{"rendered":"Essential Guide to Film Processing"},"content":{"rendered":"

Because home processing is less common these days, I think people are put off trying it, in the mistaken belief that it is difficult or dangerous. It isn\u2019t, and once you have seen it done or tried it yourself, you\u2019ll wonder why you ever hesitated to process your own photographs.<\/p>\n

To begin processing you will need to buy a few things \u2013 it won\u2019t cost much to get set up and the equipment will last for years. The most important consideration, though, is the chemicals you use as there are a large number of film developers available and many ways to use them.<\/p>\n

The first chemical you\u2019ll need is a developer. Some developers give finer grain and better detail; others give sharper-looking images, but with exaggerated grain. There are developers that you mix up from powder, and store as a large volume of working solution, and there are others that come as a bottle of concentrate that you dilute immediately before use. Some can be used many times over and others are discarded after one use.<\/p>\n

I would suggest that the bottled concentrate is best to start with, as it will give more consistent results, as long as you are careful with your measuring. There is also less risk of you breathing in the powder as you mix it. Before you pour the developer into your developing tank and the awaiting film, you need to know three important factors for the process: the strength of the developer, the actual temperature of the developer, and how long it is in the tank.<\/p>\n\n

The developer<\/h2>\n

The developer I\u2019m going to ask you to try first is Ilford Ilfotec DD-X<\/a>. This is a superb developer and is easy to use. It is mixed with water to a ratio of 1:4 (in all the ratios mentioned here, the smaller number refers to the concentrate and the larger number refers to the water quantity).<\/p>\n

The developer is working on the parts of the film that have received light, making them go darker and darker. If you stop development too soon you will have pale grey images that won\u2019t scan or print properly. Letting the developer work on the film too long will cause those areas to go totally black, and this will prevent light passing through, making it virtually impossible to see any detail in those areas.<\/p>\n

If the developer is too warm it will blacken the film faster, while if it is colder it will take longer. To help ensure you have the right developer temperature, get yourself a large jug of roughly room-temperature water. Put the thermometer in and keep adding hot or cold water until you have the water at 20\u00b0C, then measure out 280ml into your large measuring container. In a smaller measuring container, pour out 70ml of Ilfotec DD-X. Now mix together and give it a quick stir. You now have 350ml of working-strength solution. This is more than is needed to cover the film in the tank, but having that extra 50ml will ensure that the film is still covered, even when agitation causes frothing.<\/p>\n\n

Stop Bath<\/h2>\n

The aptly named stop bath is simply a diluted acid, which stops the action of the alkaline developer and prevents it from going any further. The concentrate is rather strong, so don\u2019t get it on your skin. Dilute it with water to get a working-strength solution \u2013 usually 1 part stop to 19 parts water \u2013 a slightly weaker mix is better than a slightly stronger one.<\/p>\n

Finally, the third chemical in the process is the fix. The oldest type of fix was known as hypo, but it is slow to work. Most people use the quicker type known as \u2018rapid fixer\u2019. If you are buying Ilford products, you might as well go for Ilford Hypam rapid fix. This is mixed up at 1:4.<\/p>\n\n

Washing<\/h2>\n

The fix, which is embedded in the emulsion of the film, will bleach away the images if it is not removed, so washing is essential. Put the tank in the sink and fill it with cold water. Rinse the whole tank, funnel and lid to get the worst of the fix off, then pour out the water and refill. Put the funnel in, the lid back on and agitate by inverting five times.<\/p>\n

Pour out the water and refill, put the lid back on and invert ten times. Pour out the water and refill again, then invert it 20 times. Empty the tank, refill and leave it to stand for 10mins \u2013 this will allow small amounts of fix to diffuse out of the film. Then invert 20 times, remove the film from the spiral and hang up to dry. Some people advise that after washing you should always squeegee the film from top to bottom to get the water droplets off, but this can easily scratch or damage the film, so I never do it.<\/p>\n\n

Kit list<\/h2>\n

Tools<\/h3>\n