B&W developing protocol using Kodak complement - review and critique

Mice · Feb 15, 2022

Hi there, I'm going to try to start developing my own black and white film cause my local drugstore charges $45 per roll. Would anyone care to look at my protocol in the reply below and let me know if I have any mistakes or improvements to make? Thanks.
I'm going to use D76, a stop bath from concentrate (its cheap enough that I don't feel like figuring out the right pH from acetic acid), kodafixer, and photoflo.

MattKing · Feb 15, 2022

Your attachment is unreadable to me. Can you include the contents in a post instead?

Mice · Feb 15, 2022

Black and white film development protocol
Using D-76, Fomacitro stop, Kodafixer, Arista Premium Hypo Check, and Kodak Photo-flo
Paterson Universal Tank with 2 Reels – Super System 4
Part 1: Preparation of chemicals – should be done before first batch of rolls to maximize lifespan.

1. Developer – D-76

a. Heat up ~4 litres of DI water to 55-58C
b. Pour 3L of heated water into 1 gallon vessel
c. Dissolve 1 packet (415g) of D-76 powder in the 1 gallon vessel
d. Use a stir bar to mix until fully dissolved
e. Fill up to 3.8L (use grad cylinders)
f. Pour into a half gallon vessel until full to the brim, fill a 1 litre container to full, and remaining into another vessel – label all accordingly and set dates. The non-full container should be used first within 2 months, the rest can sit for 6 months if stored without air.

2. Stop Bath - Fomacitro

a. Pour 30ml Fomacitro into a 1L grad, then make up to 600ml with DI water
b. Store and label in a bottle

3. Fixer – Kodafix

a. Pour 250ml concentrate into a 1L grad cylinder. Make up to 1L with DI water.
b. Store remainder of concentrate as airtight as possible (500ml Nalgene & a 250ml container of some size.

4. Photo Flo

a. 3ml of photo flo into 600ml DI water.
b. Label and keep clean.

Part 2: Loading film – may need a sacrificial roll to practice. Keep the film leaders and label what stock they were from.

1. Load the changing bag

a. Tank pieces, exposed film, scissors, reels, canister opener

2. Load the reels

a. Avoid touching the film emulsion too much
b. Open the film and remove the roll
c. Cut off the leader
d. Insert the film into the slots on the reel
e. Twist reel to load the film until entire film is on reel
f. Repeat for second reel

3. Load tank

a. Push reels onto center column, then into tank, hear a click when turned
b. Close the tank, hear a click when turned
c. Put on the extra cap

4. Check your work in light

Part 3: Development

1. Check to make sure your developer, stop, fixer, and surfactant are around 20C

a. Check fixer by adding 2 drops of hypo check. If white precipitate forms, fixer is exhausted, dispose and make new fixer as in Part 1.3
b. Fixer should be stored in a separate waste bin until it can be safely disposed of, it cannot be poured down the sink.

2. Developer

a. Pour 300ml developer stock into 300ml DI water and mix well. Use full strength for specific film stocks (see Table. 1)
b. Pre soak the film in 600ml of DI water for 30 seconds. Pour out.
c. Pour the working developer into the tank and time according to the following Table 1.

Table 1. Development times in D76 of various film stocks
(there is a table here I ripped off the internet but it wont load here) - chrome-extension://efaidnbmnnnibpcajpcglclefindmkaj/viewer.html?pdfurl=https%3A%2F%2Ffoothill.edu%2Fphoto%2Fpdf%2Ffilmdevtimes.pdf&clen=95803&chunk=true

d. Immediately tap tank on the counter a few times to dislodge air bubbles
e. Initial agitation time is 30 seconds. Either use the water tight cap and do inversions at a rate of 1 full turn per second or use the rotary agitator
f. Every minute, agitate for 10 seconds of rotary or 4 inversions. Tap lightly.
g. Once development time is up, pour out developer (into drain)

3. Stop

a. After removing developer, immediately pour in stop bath
b. Gently rotary agitate
c. After 30 seconds, return stop bath to its bottle
d. If stop bath changes colour (orange to blue) then discard and make new bottle as described in Part 1.2

4. Fix

a. Ensure fixer is not exhausted as explained in Part 3.1a
b. Determine fixing time – should be around 2-4 minutes

i. Look it up online for this brand of fixer and this film stock
ii. Using exposed film leader, find the clearing time and multiply that by 2

1. Pour out 100ml of working dilution fixer into a beaker
2. Submerge relevant film leader into fixer.
3. How long it takes the film to clear is the clearing time

iii. Fixing time for reused fixer will increase over time, when you hit 6 rolls of film or clearing time double its original, discard

c. Pour 600ml of working dilution fixer into tank and gently agitate every minute for the fixing time (double the clearing time)
d. Open tank, if film is pinky, add more fix time (1 minute at a time)
e. Return fixer to bottle.

5. Wash

a. Rinse negatives in water close to 20C 5-10 times
b. Rinse negatives in DI water
c. In the tank, pour in photo-flo dilution and agitate
d. Return photo-flo to bottle.

6. Dry

a. Attach clips or hangers to film, hang out to dry away from dust, fur and other contaminants, as well as temperature change – the shower rod is a good spot
b. Maybe wipe down with a microfiber cloth?

7. Store

a. In archival sheets

Part 4. Chemical disposal

1. All chemistry except fixer can be dumped down the drain
2. Fixer must be silver reclaimed before disposal

MattKing · Feb 15, 2022

In general it looks quite good. I can provide a few suggestions.
1) D-76 is unusual in one way - it is more active when it is freshly made. It is better to have it stand for 24 hours after mixing before use.
2) Doing a pre-rinse with water isn't necessary, although some (including me) do so. I've never used anything other than tap water though.
3) Using stock D-76 one shot isn't the most economical approach, but you certainly can. Generally I would recommend either using it diluted, or re-using stock for several rolls, following Kodak's recommendations.
4) If by rotary agitator you mean the swizzle stick, that should only be used for initial agitation, followed by inversion agitation thereafter, as per Paterson's instructions.
5) Some stop baths are citric acid based, and should not be kept and stored, because mould is likely to grow. For film, either use a running water rinse or use citric acid based stop bath one shot, or use acetic acid based stop bath, which may be re-used.
6) Kodak's capacity recommendations are that Kodafix working solution should fix 32 (not 6) rolls per litre. The clip test is a reliable indicator for fixer, although for tabular grain and similar films it is best to fix for three times the clearing time. I wouldn't use the hypo check in most cases for film fixer, relying instead on the capacity recommendations and the clip test. Here is a link for how to do the clip test: https://www.photrio.com/forum/resou...ixing-procedure-for-black-white-negatives.75/
7) Don't re-use mixed to working strength photo-flo for very long at all! Mould will grow! I only keep and re-use it at most for one day. One bottle is enough to last most people for a very long time.
8) Don't squeegee or wipe negatives with a cloth. It is okay to gently draw a cloth along the edge, away from the image area, to help wick away the photo-flo solution.
9) It can help to slightly trim/round the corners of the negative strips before inserting them into sheets. I use nail clippers for that.
Two other points:
a) DI water is only necessary usually if your tap water is problematic. I rarely use it, because our tap water is excellent here.
b) you may wish to consider a washaid like Kodak Hypo Clearing Agent, as it helps minimize water use, and maximize effectiveness of tour wash regime. I use it in combination with a 5 minute running water wash at an extremely low flow rate(one change of water in 5 minutes).

Alex Benjamin · Feb 15, 2022

Looks thorough. Few things:
- I suggest you do two 35 film rolls instead of one at a time, as long as your developing, and wanting to save time and money. If you do, use 600ml of all chemistries, not 300ml.
- No need to check if your fixer is exhausted if you just mixed it and haven't developed any film in it yet.
- Do not wipe down your wet film with a microfiber cloth after hanging them!
- You can find developing times for D-76 on the Massive Dev Chart: https://www.digitaltruth.com/ // If you download the app, it comes with a timer for each stages. Very practical.

If you've never loaded film in a changing bag, it's a stress the first few times. If you have cheap film lying around and you don't mind wasting it, yes, do a trial run. Even one in full light will help. Once you're in there and things don't quite work out as easily as you thought, don't panic, just keep at it slowly.

Mice · Feb 15, 2022

MattKing said:
In general it looks quite good. I can provide a few suggestions.
1) D-76 is unusual in one way - it is more active when it is freshly made. It is better to have it stand for 24 hours after mixing before use.
2) Doing a pre-rinse with water isn't necessary, although some (including me) do so. I've never used anything other than tap water though.
3) Using stock D-76 one shot isn't the most economical approach, but you certainly can. Generally I would recommend either using it diluted, or re-using stock for several rolls, following Kodak's recommendations.
4) If by rotary agitator you mean the swizzle stick, that should only be used for initial agitation, followed by inversion agitation thereafter, as per Paterson's instructions.
5) Some stop baths are citric acid based, and should not be kept and stored, because mould is likely to grow. For film, either use a running water rinse or use citric acid based stop bath one shot, or use acetic acid based stop bath, which may be re-used.
6) Kodak's capacity recommendations are that Kodafix working solution should fix 32 (not 6) rolls per litre. The clip test is a reliable indicator for fixer, although for tabular grain and similar films it is best to fix for three times the clearing time. I wouldn't use the hypo check in most cases for film fixer, relying instead on the capacity recommendations and the clip test. Here is a link for how to do the clip test: https://www.photrio.com/forum/resou...ixing-procedure-for-black-white-negatives.75/
7) Don't re-use mixed to working strength photo-flo for very long at all! Mould will grow! I only keep and re-use it at most for one day. One bottle is enough to last most people for a very long time.
8) Don't squeegee or wipe negatives with a cloth. It is okay to gently draw a cloth along the edge, away from the image area, to help wick away the photo-flo solution.
9) It can help to slightly trim/round the corners of the negative strips before inserting them into sheets. I use nail clippers for that.
Two other points:
a) DI water is only necessary usually if your tap water is problematic. I rarely use it, because our tap water is excellent here.
b) you may wish to consider a washaid like Kodak Hypo Clearing Agent, as it helps minimize water use, and maximize effectiveness of tour wash regime. I use it in combination with a 5 minute running water wash at an extremely low flow rate(one change of water in 5 minutes).

Thank you so much for your input, I'll adjust my protocol. My home has a very dry climate so I am not much concerned with mould. I also have the luxury of working in a scientific lab, so I can access acetic acid pretty easily for DIY stop. My local water is notoriously hard, so much so that the calcium has turned all our water turquoise! Thankfully I have deionized water running from taps in the lab. Do you think that the temperature of the running tap water is safe for washes and development? In regards to the hypo clear, I am not entirely sure what it is for, I believe it is to neutralize the fixer during wash yes? I already made my purchase for chemicals so if there's anything common I can use in its place that'd be better. I've seen that I can try sodium sulfite or hydrogen peroxide. What are your thoughts? Thanks again for your help.

MattKing · Feb 16, 2022

With running water, I just adjust the mix of hot and cold until my thermometer indicates a temperature within a degree of 20C, or whatever ambient temperature close to that I am working at. The important thing is to avoid exposing the film to rapid changes in temperature - a gradual change is fine.
Even if you live in a dry climate, mould is everywhere. If you have access to acetic acid, dilute it and use it one shot. Diluted white vinegar works well too, although it ends up being slightly more expensive. The same applies to Photo-flo. At 3 ml per use, it will last you a long time!
Wash-aids like hypo clearing agents convert the fixer compounds that are soaked into the film gelatin into other compounds that are much more water soluble. Sodium sulfite is the main component in wash-aids - the other compounds tend to be used to optimize the ph.

Bill Burk · Feb 16, 2022

With a Paterson tank, there is a real risk of not having enough developer/fix to cover the film. Find the amount of liquid that fills tank to the top of the interior chamber, always use that much or more. The film reels slide up despite how it seems they shouldn’t.

Rap the tank so hard that you think you might break it. You probably won’t. But if you do break it, replace it with a steel tank and reels. (I do not like Paterson tanks but I like the rest of their product line).

tokam · Feb 16, 2022

Bill Burk said:
With a Paterson tank, there is a real risk of not having enough developer/fix to cover the film. Find the amount of liquid that fills tank to the top of the interior chamber, always use that much or more. The film reels slide up despite how it seems they shouldn’t.

For the earlier Paterson System 4 tanks, (pre 1980), Paterson supplied a locking collar which is fitted to the centre column after the reel has been slid onto it. The purpose is to prevent the reel sliding up during inversion agitation. For the newer Super System 4 tanks and reels a locking collar is not supplied as it is supposedly not required. To make doubly sure, if you are not confident, you could twist a rubber band onto the centre column after sliding the reel on and snug it down against the reel. This should hold the reel at the bottom of the column. Another way is to place additional reels on the column above the loaded reel, either empty or, if processing more than one film at a time, loaded with film.

Regarding volume of processing chemicals per film reel loaded. Just place empty reels in the tank and cover them with water and measure how much liquid required to cover the reel(s). The stated amounts by Paterson are the absolute minimum required to cover the reels. Better to allow extra. In a single reel tank with a 35mm film I use 400ml compared to Paterson 290ml. For medium format Paterson state 500ml. Just do your own measurement of liquids so that the reels are well covered by at least 1 - 2 cm of liquid.

pentaxuser · Feb 16, 2022

OP, I can't add anything of value to the above posts but $45 a roll for developing by the local drugstoreNow for that I'd be blocking the Ambassador Bridge as well

pentaxuser

Alex Benjamin · Feb 16, 2022

pentaxuser said:
OP, I can't add anything of value to the above posts but $45 a roll for developing by the local drugstoreNow for that I'd be blocking the Ambassador Bridge as well

pentaxuser

Had the same feeling. This is near extorsion. I checked a couple of places in Montreal, and most prices for B&W development are between 7$ to 9$. Add the same amount if you want them digitalized and emailed to you. Even with a set of prints - for those who do that - it doesn't come close to 45$.

tezzasmall · Feb 16, 2022

I think everything has been covered and most of what I thought to say has been said.

But I add my voice to double checking the amount of fluid needed to cover one and two reels, using empty reels and water before doing a proper session.

Also, I too use rubber bands wrapped around the central column and pushed down, as I once had a single reel rise up out of the developer.

And finally, I would always do a developer test at the start of each session, using the cut off film leader(s) put into the developer to be used. The film will go black eventually, if the developer is good. There's nothing worse that getting to the end of a developing session and to then unreel a totally blank length of film.

But most of all, have fun!

Terry S

Alex Benjamin · Feb 16, 2022

tezzasmall said:
I too use rubber bands wrapped around the central column and pushed down, as I once had a single reel rise up out of the developer.

I always use two reels even if I'm only developing one film, putting the empty reel on top, of course

markbau · Feb 16, 2022

Bill Burk said:
With a Paterson tank, there is a real risk of not having enough developer/fix to cover the film. Find the amount of liquid that fills tank to the top of the interior chamber, always use that much or more. The film reels slide up despite how it seems they shouldn’t.

Rap the tank so hard that you think you might break it. You probably won’t. But if you do break it, replace it with a steel tank and reels. (I do not like Paterson tanks but I like the rest of their product line).

I agree, the figures on the base of the Patterson tanks is never enough. I use 600ml for a 120 film. I developed my first roll of 35mm film in years a few days ago, I think the tank says 290 ml, I used my usual 600ml but if I wanted to be economical I'd use at least 320ml to ensure good coverage of the reel.

tokam · Feb 16, 2022

tezzasmall said:
Also, I too use rubber bands wrapped around the central column and pushed down, as I once had a single reel rise up out of the developer.
Terry S

It's funny how whenever I acquire Paterson tanks second hand the bloody locking collar is always missing, What were these people thinking of...
Over the years I've accumulated 5 System 4 tanks and I only have 1 locking colllar that came with the tank I bought new in 1973.

pentaxuser · Feb 16, 2022

tokam said:
It's funny how whenever I acquire Paterson tanks second hand the bloody locking collar is always missing, What were these people thinking of...
Over the years I've accumulated 5 System 4 tanks and I only have 1 locking colllar that came with the tank I bought new in 1973.

This sounds similar to the problem they have in nuclear silos where the previous operator leaves the job, moves on, but carelessly still has the nuclear fail-safe code in his pocket

pentaxuser

tokam · Feb 16, 2022

pentaxuser said:
This sounds similar to the problem they have in nuclear silos where the previous operator leaves the job, moves on, but carelessly still has the nuclear fail-safe code in his pocket

pentaxuser

Shudder!!!!!

Bill Burk · Feb 16, 2022

tokam said:
It's funny how whenever I acquire Paterson tanks second hand the bloody locking collar is always missing, What were these people thinking of...
Over the years I've accumulated 5 System 4 tanks and I only have 1 locking colllar that came with the tank I bought new in 1973.

The locking collar never worked.
I had one of the first ones in 1974, they mailed it to me because I sent in my registration card or maybe I got it at the camera store… But the reels slid up anyway.

grain elevator · Feb 16, 2022

Mice said:
very dry climate so I am not much concerned with mould.

He meant inside the bottle. Air humidity around the bottle won't matter much to the mold because there's an aqueous solution in the bottle

Mice said:
the calcium has turned all our water turquoise!

Wait, can you elaborate please? I once watched water in a stream turn intensely turquoise (not just when looking into deep water but like clouds of dye dissolving) and had given up on finding an explanation. That was where it touched ash twigs. So working hypothesis: tannins alter solubility of calcium, leading to the color phenomenon? Sorry for the o.t.

Mice · Feb 16, 2022

grain elevator said:
He meant inside the bottle. Air humidity around the bottle won't matter much to the mold because there's an aqueous solution in the bottle

Wait, can you elaborate please? I once watched water in a stream turn intensely turquoise (not just when looking into deep water but like clouds of dye dissolving) and had given up on finding an explanation. That was where it touched ash twigs. So working hypothesis: tannins alter solubility of calcium, leading to the color phenomenon? Sorry for the o.t.

At different times of the year the colour of the lake can range from cyan to indigo, in different parts at the same time, earning the lake the moniker "lake of a thousand colours". The colour of the water is derived from light scattering, caused by the precipitation of calcium carbonate (CaCO3). - wikipedia article for Kalamalka Lake. Beautiful, but very chalky water. The scattering is similar in principle to why the sky is blue.

Mice · Feb 16, 2022

Alex Benjamin said:
Had the same feeling. This is near extorsion. I checked a couple of places in Montreal, and most prices for B&W development are between 7$ to 9$. Add the same amount if you want them digitalized and emailed to you. Even with a set of prints - for those who do that - it doesn't come close to 45$.

C41 development is 10-12 dollars a roll without scan or print. They send stuff out for black and white to another lab so they charge extra for that. It's crazy, I'd rather save up a dozen rolls and mail it out lol

MattKing · Feb 16, 2022

Mice said:
Kalamalka Lake

You live in a great area, but I understand the use of DI water.
For C-41, Kerrisdale Cameras has very reasonable prices, and you could ship a lot of undeveloped film in one of those Canada Post fixed price mailing boxes.

Mice · Feb 16, 2022

MattKing said:
You live in a great area, but I understand the use of DI water.
For C-41, Kerrisdale Cameras has very reasonable prices, and you could ship a lot of undeveloped film in one of those Canada Post fixed price mailing boxes.

I think that's my plan if I shoot lots of color. If black and white development goes well and I shoot enough film, I might start looking into colour chemistry. I heard that you shouldn't leave exposed film for too long though, or is that mostly unimportant?

MattKing · Feb 16, 2022

Mice said:
I heard that you shouldn't leave exposed film for too long though, or is that mostly unimportant?

With a couple of exceptions - Ilford Pan F being one of them - development within weeks or even months should be fine.
Keep the film in a cool, dark place with low to moderate humidity.
If you have air conditioning in your home, in a drawer in a bedroom is fine. For long term storage, refrigeration is one way to limit temperature changes, but it adds concerns around humidity.
Don't hesitate to ask if you need advice about Canadian and BC sources - there is a bunch of us here.
And if you need any Kodak documentation, I've got lots of info!

Sirius Glass · Feb 16, 2022

I used several developers but I found XTOL is very forgiving and is long lasting when properly sealed tightly. Also it has very fine grain. I have used stock solution XTOL and replenished XTOL, the later is the most cost effective method and give the best edge contrast, edge sharpness, the best tonality and very fine grain.

B&W developing protocol using Kodak complement - review and critique

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