About to process my first b/w roll at home, tips?

Aanything · Expire: 2014-05-30

I started shooting b/w film again after a long time of digital-only shooting.
The last develop/scans from the only local shop that does it did not really satisfy me, both for so-so quality and high prices, so I think I will try and develop/scan negatives at home.
I read a lot about the process, and I should have everything I need (tank/spirals, film retrievers, measuring cylinders, plastic bottles, thermometers etc.) except for chemicals.
I need advices both on the overall process (as it seem clear enough to me on paper but it will be a first time, so anything could basically go wrong) and especially on what developer-stopper-fixer to buy. For now I have a bunch of Ilford HP5 plus 400 film rolls and some ilford 3200 iso that will be kindly donated by a friend, but I plan to get some different film later on, if the trial gives some encouraging results.
Any kind of advice on any aspect of the process will be much appreciated.

philslizzy · Joined: 07 Aug 2012 Posts: 4748 Location: Cheshire, England

Good luck developing your films, you will get a difference of opinion regarding which developer to use but any film dev will do it. Old film may be better exposed a stop under - ie HP5 may be better rated at 200 rather than 400.

The important things to remember:

Keep your fingers off the emulsion when loading the tank.

It MUST be absolute dark - a little glimmer of light may fog the film.

Get the developer to the right temperature by putting the container in warm water.

Develop it for the time specified in the leaflet that came with it.

Agitate as per the instructions. Agitate = turn the tank over a couple of times every so often

Make sure all the developer is drained out before putting in stop bath. You can reuse the developer - add about 10% extra time.

Stop bath isn't absolutely necessary, a little white vinegar added to fresh water is fine.

Rinse the film a couple of times before adding the fixer.

Fix for at least 5 minutes before taking off the tank lid. - don't over do it though.

Wash while the film is still on the spiral, run water into the tank down the middle of the spiral for about 10 minutes - COLD water.

Hang the film to dry. I use a clothes peg to hang it up and one at the bottom to hold the film down.

Do not 'squeegee' the film or wipe any drops of water off this may scratch the emulsion.

Avoid the temptation to handle the film when it appears dry. The emulsion can be soft and easily damaged or pick up dirt. Let it dry overnight

The film will curl across its width, the curl will drop out after a few days. The curl makes it difficult to scan properly.

good luck and let us know how you get on - good or bad Smile

Aanything · Expire: 2014-05-30

Thanks Phil, much appreciated.
The film I was given, the HP5 at least, I still have to check for the 3200 iso, is not old: it will expire in 2017 and I'm pretty sure my friend stored it perfectly, so it probably won't need to be rated at 200 or so. If nobody gives me a reason to do differently, I will buy a developer from Ilford (maybe LC29) just to reduce the variables to a minimum and make spotting errors easier.
Obviously I will share results here, and ask for more advices.

philslizzy · Joined: 07 Aug 2012 Posts: 4748 Location: Cheshire, England

LC29 is cheap but as its Ilford it will be good. ID11 would be my choice. But for a first attempt, you just want something to do the job. Caffenol is good. Look for recipes - you make it yourself.

Attila · Expire: 2025-11-18

ID 11 is excellent hint.

David · Expire: 2013-01-25

I've been using Ilfosol 3 lately with stunning results, too.

I'll second everything Phil says. If you have hard water then you'll need to squeegee the film after the rinse to avoid mineral circles. (You may need to even if you have soft water.)

Aanything · Expire: 2014-05-30

philslizzy · Joined: 07 Aug 2012 Posts: 4748 Location: Cheshire, England

alaios · Joined: 24 Jan 2014 Posts: 724

Hi
I am also thinking on how to start developing my black and white films.. I am a bit scared though and the process looks very hard... I have two very dark rooms at house but I am not sure what else is needed. Still one think is not clear one you develop the negatives what you do afterwards if you do not have a film scanner?

Alex

philslizzy · Joined: 07 Aug 2012 Posts: 4748 Location: Cheshire, England

You dont need an actual dark room. I was loading my tank under a coat (with my arms through the sleeves) in the darkened bedroom until I acquired a changing bag in a box of camera stuff. this was fine. Practice with a spare film. Once the film is in the tank and the seal and top half is on you can do the rest in daylight. The little flexible cap is just to stop the developer spilling out when you agitate.

I use a camera to 'scan' b&w negs as its easy to invert them in photoshop. I use a bellows and enlarging lens to copy the film - a reversed lens will also do the job as of course will a macro. I have an old flatbed scanner (Epson 3490) which does the trick with colour negs.

alaios · Joined: 24 Jan 2014 Posts: 724

I do not think my printer supports negative scanning..
https://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/product?cc=us&lc=en&dlc=en&product=3793676

If I understand it right being able to develop my black and white film would allow me to tweak contrast e.t.c which I am pretty much interested in learning to doing

A.

David · Expire: 2013-01-25

Alaois, developing film at home gives you MANY more creative options than just contrast tweaking. Here's a short list:

-pushing film
-pulling film
-different developers (D-76, Ilfosol, Rodinal, Microdol-X, and many hundreds more)
-alternative processes, like Caffenol or Wineol
-experimental films like expired stock
-experimental films like motion picture stock (which can have simply incredible results, BTW)
-water bath treatment for contrast reduction

And of course it's a LOT cheaper to develop at home. The local lab is now charging $11 to develop (and NOTHING ELSE) a roll of film. For $11, I can buy a gallon of developer and a gallon of fix and develop about 40 rolls of film myself.

And most of all, seeing a well developed negative hanging up to dry in your bathtub is the kind of rewarding feeling that makes you sleep better at night.

I also do not have a real darkroom -- a film bag (and tent for 4X5), nine tanks (I stockpile my film until I have 20 rolls to develop, because I'm lazy), and a bunch of clotheslines nailed to the walls above my tub for hanging film to dry. I also keep my bulk film in the fridge and have some bulk loaders to use for restocking film.

Bulk film + home developing chemicals = about 1,000 feet of film for the cost of a high-end prosumer DSLR (e.g., Nikon 610). And that's assuming that you buy TMax at $70 per 100 feet instead of Foma at $30 per 100 feet or Kodak motion picture stock at $15 per 100 feet. 1,000 feet of film = 7,500 frames. That's a per-frame price of about 13 cents if you go with the most expensive film you can find. If you go with Foma at $30 per 100 feet, then you're looking at more like 2,000 feet of film or 15,000 frames -- six cents per exposure.