A few development details

I am teaching my grandson how to develop 120 film in a Paterson tank. There are a few little details I forget.


Developer

Do I pour the developer into the tank and then start the clock

Or do I start the clock and then pour the developer into the tank?



Agitation

I know that there are many methods of agitation but I will using the Paterson (I believe) method:

Invert the tank 4 times at the start of every minute.

When the clock stops, dump the developer and pour the fix into the tank.

Doc W said:

Developer

Do I pour the developer into the tank and then start the clock

Or do I start the clock and then pour the developer into the tank?

Click to expand...

Yes .
Pick one, and then use it consistently.
I prefer the first choice.
It is the one Ilford recommends.
If your grrandson likes to learn from videos:

I pour in the developer, put the cap on the (Kindermann SS) tank, start the timer and begin inverting the tank. When the timer goes off I remove the cap, pour out the developer, pour in the (plain water) stop bath, replace the cap, restart the timer and begin inverting the tank. I figure the delay in pouring in the developer will be roughly cancelled out by the delay in pouring it out and pouring in the stop bath.

MattKing said:

Yes .
Pick one, and then use it consistently.
I prefer the first choice.
It is the one Ilford recommends.
If your grrandson likes to learn from videos:

Click to expand...

Consistency is the key.

Seconds don't matter, actually. Using a stop bath or good rinse between pouring out the dev and pouring in the fix does matter, though.

Doc W said:

I am teaching my grandson how to develop 120 film in a Paterson tank. There are a few little details I forget.


Developer

Do I pour the developer into the tank and then start the clock

Or do I start the clock and then pour the developer into the tank?



Agitation

I know that there are many methods of agitation but I will using the Paterson (I believe) method:

Invert the tank 4 times at the start of every minute.

When the clock stops, dump the developer and pour the fix into the tank.

Click to expand...

Now if you want to be real picky, since pouring in the developer and snapping on the cap takes about 10 seconds, you can start pouring out the developer 10 seconds before the end of your chosen time.

Agitation is trickier. Really depends ont the manufacturer's indication and whether or not you follow them or adapt them to your taste. For example, the suggestion agitation pattern for all Ilford liquid chemistry is 4 inversions per minute. For Rodinal, Agfa suggests constant for the first 30 seconds + 5 seconds every 30 seconds (very few people follow this). For XTOL, Kodak indicates agitation for first 30 seconds, then 2 to 5 inversions every 30 seconds. That said, in general, the Ilford pattern will give good results for most developers.