BLACK AND WHITE FILM

 Chemicals:


•  I like Adox FX-39 developer. It’s $9.99 a bottle of 500ml
•  I like Ilford Rapid Fixer

 Equipment:


•  I cannot recommend a Paterson tank strongly enough. There are knockoff brands out there but they don’t work for me. Make sure it includes reels/coils.
•  Wall clips that can hold your film at a 90º angle from the wall. This is done with a thumbtack and a painter's clip
•  A dark room or closet, dark enough that once it's closed and the lights are out you can't see anything. If you don't have one you can find portable ones but they make the experience less pleasant.
•  A film retriever tool, this model is the best one. There are crappy ones out there. You can use a bottle opener but it's a bit more dangerous and will break the canister.
•  Empty black/dark bottles that can hold up to 500ml and 900ml ideally. Accordion bottles are a good option.
•  A scale that works in metric and imperial.
•  A funnel (ideally stainless steel).
•  A small pot you're ok never using for food anymore.
•  Scissors.

Mixing Black and White Chemicals

Decide how much developer you need to make.
In a Paterson tank, you need 350ml for one roll, 600ml for two rolls and 800ml for three rolls, as the developer needs to cover up the wheels.

Black and White developer Adox FX-39 needs to be mixed at 1+9, meaning that:

for 350ml of the developer, measure 315ml of water (9 parts) and 35ml of the developer (1 part)
for 600ml of the developer, measure 540ml of water (9 parts) and 60ml of the developer (1 part)
for 800ml of the developer, measure 720ml of water (9 parts) and 80ml of the developer (1 part)

Black and White fixer Ilford Rapid Fixer needs to be mixed at 1+4, meaning that:

for 350ml of the fixer, measure 280ml of water (4 parts) and 70ml of the fixer (1 part)
for 600ml of the fixer, measure 480ml of water (4 parts) and 120ml of the fixer (1 part)
for 800ml of the fixer, measure 640ml of water (4 parts) and 160ml of the fixer (1 part)


Using the small pot and the funnel, pour the needed amount of water and chemical products into one of the bottles.
Make sure to label properly what each bottle contains.
If Fix and developer get mixed up, the negatives will be ruined.

Black and white doesn't need to be heated up and can be processed at ambient temperature.

Pull out a little bit of the tip of the film using the film retriever.
In the dark room, pull the entirety of the film out of the canister, cut each end into a straight angle, and push it into the Paterson wheel, then twist the wheel until the whole film is in the wheel.
Repeat for each roll of film you want to process.
Place the wheels in the Paterson tank.
Make sure to place the plastic funnel-shaped element back in place properly before turning the lights back on.
It can be tricky to do these steps so make sure you practice in broad daylight beforehand.

Once the film is on the wheels and inside the tank, and the tank is closed, you are ready to process.

Processing Black and White

Fill up the Paterson tank with water to do a pre-bath.
Empty, and repeat a few times until the water comes out clear.

Empty and pour the developer in the tank.
Seal it, and agitate gently for 20 seconds, then every 30 seconds.
For Adox black and white developer, repeat every 30 seconds for 8 minutes.

Then pour the developer back in the bottle with the funnel.

Rinse the film by filling up the tank and emptying it a few times with water.
It's called a stop bath and will prevent developer from contaminating your fixer.

Empty the tank, then pour the Fixer in (for black and white).
Fixing black and white film is 5 minutes.

As before, agitate for 20 seconds then every 30 seconds for the whole duration.

Afterwards, put the Fixer back in the bottle with the funnel.
Rinse the film by pouring water in the tank 7/10 times or running water into the tank for 4 minutes.

Pull the wheels out of the tank and hang the film to dry on the wall clips.

Repeat until you have processed all your film.

The black and white Adox developer does not preserve well and needs to be used over the 2-4 hours following brewing, do not reuse them on day 2.
Ilford Rapid Fixer can be reused several times. If the film becomes foggy after developing, it can be fixed more a second time around.

COLOR FILM (negatives, c-41)

 Chemicals:


•  I like CineStill Cs41 Developing Kit C-41 Color Film, in liquid form.

 Equipment:


•  I cannot recommend a Paterson tank strongly enough. There are knockoff brands out there but they don’t work for me. Make sure it includes reels/coils.
•  Wall clips that can hold your film at a 90º angle from the wall. This is done with a thumbtack and a painter's clip.
•  A large stainless steel cooking pot (ideally that will not be used for cooking).
•  A sous vide machine / immersion circulator that you're okay not using for food anymore.
•  A dark room or closet, dark enough that once it's closed and the lights are out you can't see anything. If you don't have one you can find portable ones but they make the experience less pleasant.
•  A film retriever tool, this model is the best one. There are crappy ones out there. You can use a bottle opener but it's a bit more dangerous and will break the canister.
•  Empty black/dark bottles that can hold up to 500ml and 900ml ideally. Accordion bottles are a good option.
•  A scale that works in metric and imperial.
•  A funnel (ideally stainless steel).
•  A small pot you're ok never using for food anymore.
•  Scissors.

Mixing Color Chemicals

Decide how much developer you need to make.
In a Paterson tank, you need 350ml for one roll, 600ml for two rolls and 800ml for three rolls, as the developer needs to cover up the wheels.

To mix the CineStill Cs41 Developing Kit, you can follow the instructions sold with the kit, which will allow you to make 473ml and 946ml.

Using the small pot and the funnel, pour the needed amount of water and chemical products into one of the bottles.
Make sure to label properly what each bottle contains.
If Blix and Developer get mixed up, the negatives will be ruined.

Once the chemicals have been mixed, place them in the large pot filled with water with the water temperature at 102ºF/39ºC.
Wait until the chemicals reach the temperature of the water.

Pull out a little bit of the tip of the film using the film retriever.
In the dark room, pull the entirety of the film out of the canister, cut each end into a straight angle, and push it into the Paterson wheel, then twist the wheel until the whole film is in the wheel.
Repeat for each roll of film you want to process.
Place the wheels in the Paterson tank.
Make sure to place the plastic funnel-shaped element back in place properly before turning the lights back on. It can be tricky to do these steps so make sure you practice in broad daylight beforehand.

Once the film is on the wheels and inside the tank, and the tank is closed, you are ready to process.

Processing Color

Fill up the Paterson tank with water to do a pre-bath.
Empty, and repeat a few times until the water comes out clear.

Empty and pour the developer in the tank.
Seal it, and agitate gently for 20 seconds, then every 30 seconds.
For newly brewed CineStill Color developer, total time is 3:30 minutes.

Then pour the developer back in the bottle with the funnel and put it back in the hot water.

Rinse the film by filling up the tank and emptying it a few times with water.
It's called a stop bath and will prevent developer from contaminating your fixer.

Empty the tank, then pour the Blix (if processing color).
Times for Blixing color film is 8 minutes.

As before, agitate for 20 seconds then every 30 seconds for the whole duration.

Afterwards, put the chemicals back in the bottle with the funnel and back in the hot water.
Rinse the film by pouring water in the tank 7/10 times or running water into the tank for 4 minutes.

Pull the wheels out of the tank and hang the film to dry on the wall clips.

Repeat until you have processed all your film.

For color film, the chemicals can be reused up to 24 times if you are careful to rinse the film and the tank thoroughly before and after each step, which will help the chemicals remain potent longer, and if you make sure to keep the chemicals in a sealed and dark bottle and in the fridge.
You also have to increase the developing time with each new roll you process to make up for the chemicals losing their potency.

Color Film Processing Times Checklist

If you are reusing color chemistry, make sure to increase the times following this table.
Print it or use the checkboxes and leave the tab open in your browser.


•  ROLL 1: 3:30mn
•  ROLL 2: 3:34mn
•  ROLL 3: 3:38mn
•  ROLL 4: 3:43mn
•  ROLL 5: 3:47mn
•  ROLL 6: 3:52mn
•  ROLL 7: 3:56mn
•  ROLL 8: 4:01mn
•  ROLL 9: 4:06mn
•  ROLL 10: 4:11mn
•  ROLL 11: 4:16mn
•  ROLL 12: 4:21mn
•  ROLL 13: 4:26mn
•  ROLL 14: 4:32mn
•  ROLL 15: 4:37mn
•  ROLL 16: 4:43mn
•  ROLL 17: 4:48mn
•  ROLL 18: 4:54mn
•  ROLL 19: 5:00mn
•  ROLL 20: 5:06mn