Current cost to develop color film (C 41) at home

Cato · May 26, 2017

What's the current cost to develop color film at home? I've seen various websites, but those often are a few years old. With the reassurance of interest in film I suspect prices have changed.

So, what's a ball park figure for the initial set up?

What would the per roll cost be?

Mike Bates · May 26, 2017

The last Unicolor C-41 kit I bought was $22. It mixed up one liter of each step (developer, blix, and final rinse) good for 10+ rolls of film.

Pioneer · May 27, 2017

I just ordered all the Kodak chemicals from Unique Photo and, including ORM-D shipping costs, it came to $86 and change.

That is obviously just chemicals but if you are already developing your black and white then your equipment can also be used for color.

Fixcinater · May 27, 2017

Pioneer said:
I just ordered all the Kodak chemicals from Unique Photo and, including ORM-D shipping costs, it came to $86 and change.

That is obviously just chemicals but if you are already developing your black and white then your equipment can also be used for color.

What quantity?

rpavich · May 27, 2017

Cato said:
What's the current cost to develop color film at home? I've seen various websites, but those often are a few years old. With the reassurance of interest in film I suspect prices have changed.

So, what's a ball park figure for the initial set up?

What would the per roll cost be?

The easiest way (though not the cheapest in the long run) is a Tetenal kit from Freestyle Photographic or Film Photography Project. They can do at least 10 rolls of film (I've gotten more like 25 out of them before I replaced the chemicals)
I'd say figure on 1.00 per roll being about average if you aren't doing all you can so save money. If you mix your own chemicals, the cost goes down quite a bit but there is a sizable up-front cost to buy them.

Are you also wondering about the other part of the job like tanks and reels and things?

Cato · May 27, 2017

rpavich said:
Are you also wondering about the other part of the job like tanks and reels and things?

Yes. I'm interested in just processing and scanning. For that I assume I just need a tank, bottles, thermometer, beakers, etc. It seems like that should come out to between $50 and $100.

As far as scanning, does anyone use the stand alone type scanners - like Wolverine or ION? They seem to be available for under $100. I'm hesitant to by a full size scanner since I already have a scanner function on my HP Laser Jet printer. My HP, of course doesn't have trays for negatives.

Mike Bates · May 27, 2017

Youtube has several videos that show C41 processing in a kitchen sink area with Tetanol or Unicolor kits. The only hard part is temperature control of the developer. You'll get images as long as the temperature is even close, but the tighter you can hold the tolerance on the developer temp, the more repeatable your process will be.

bvy · May 27, 2017

Mike Bates said:
Youtube has several videos that show C41 processing in a kitchen sink area with Tetanol or Unicolor kits. The only hard part is temperature control of the developer. You'll get images as long as the temperature is even close, but the tighter you can hold the tolerance on the developer temp, the more repeatable your process will be.

Likewise, the less you reuse your developer, the more repeatable your process will be.

Pioneer · May 27, 2017

Fixcinater said:
What quantity?

Enough to mix up 5 liters of developer. Based on what I can tell that is probably the limiting factor as the bleach is supposed to be good for around 260 rolls and I would suspect the fixer probably is as well. I am figuring I may have to buy additional developer to get 260 rolls but I actually don't know for sure. This is my first time around so I will have a better idea of how many rolls I can developed once I work my way through it.

For all I know I may end up with expired chemicals. I typically shoot around 100 rolls of color each year though that may increase if I can develop it at home.

canvassy · May 29, 2017

I use the Tetenal / Unicolor 2 Liter kits. With shipping from Freestyle they come to about $40 roughly. I keep the chemicals inside 2L soda pop containers, inside a dark closet. The chemicals keep for a long time, roughly 10-12 months. I get about 35-40 films out of a 2L kit, making my costs close to $1 per roll.

Kilgallb · Jun 1, 2017

I get about 24 sheets of 4x5 Ektar out of a 1 litre Unicolor kit. I do one shot in a roller four at a time. Usually the blix self reacts and goes bad in about two weeks. I could do more but rarely have more than 24 sheets at a time.

BMbikerider · Jun 1, 2017

Using the Rollie branded C41, out of a 2.5 litre kit at current costs on the basis of use once and throw away I would think about something like £2 to 2.25 a cassette, depending of course if I do two cassettes in a double sized tank at one time. (incl of bleach fix) Cost not so much as a factor as getting consistent results.

Wallendo · Jun 1, 2017

Cato said:
Yes. I'm interested in just processing and scanning. For that I assume I just need a tank, bottles, thermometer, beakers, etc. It seems like that should come out to between $50 and $100.

As far as scanning, does anyone use the stand alone type scanners - like Wolverine or ION? They seem to be available for under $100. I'm hesitant to by a full size scanner since I already have a scanner function on my HP Laser Jet printer. My HP, of course doesn't have trays for negatives.

Although not really an APUG topic, I would avoid the cheap standalone scanners. I had one I only used once with very poor results. My father used another brand to scan slides and quality was quite poor. If you choose to go the hybrid route, invest in a decent scanner. A cheap scanner may be initially wallet-friendly, but if you maintain an interest in shooting film, you will likely end up investing in better equipment, and will end-up rescanning your negatives.

Sirius Glass · Jun 1, 2017

The thread has addressed the cost of developing C-41. No one has addressed the cost of printing the first set of prints.

NJH · Jun 1, 2017

I have seen a few places here in the UK sell the Nova Novatronic ANIC2 water heater for about £50, are these any good? Seems an ideal way to setup a water bath tank in which to put your film processing tank and get the the temps up and stable at C-41 levels.

Cholentpot · Jun 2, 2017

Sirius Glass said:
The thread has addressed the cost of developing C-41. No one has addressed the cost of printing the first set of prints.

Some of us while wanting prints don't make it a priority.

Mike Bates said:
The last Unicolor C-41 kit I bought was $22. It mixed up one liter of each step (developer, blix, and final rinse) good for 10+ rolls of film.

Where'd you find it for $22? I'm paying near 30 now and that's without shipping!

Mike Bates · Jun 2, 2017

Cholentpot said:
Where'd you find it for $22? I'm paying near 30 now and that's without shipping!

Freestyle has the 1L Unicolor C41 kit for $21.99 before shipping.

Cholentpot · Jun 2, 2017

Mike Bates said:
Freestyle has the 1L Unicolor C41 kit for $21.99 before shipping.

$8 shipping. So that comes out to around $30. Just about what I'd pay either way.

RichardJack · Jun 2, 2017

How long does the chemistry last once mixed?

Cholentpot · Jun 2, 2017

RichardJack said:
How long does the chemistry last once mixed?

Far longer than the manufacture recommendation. I've gotten 6 months sealed in plastic bottles.

Agulliver · Jun 3, 2017

I haven't done C41 but I have done E6 in the kitchen sink, with a thermometer. Basically the water in the sink acts as a warm water bath and the chemical bottles and developing tank sit in the water until up to temperature. I can adjust the temperature if it cools too much by adding some hot water and stirring. With E6, I fould that as long as I was within 0.5C the results were as good as a pro lab and were repeatable days later using the same chemicals.

Those cheap standalone scanners, typically with a 5MP CCD capture device, are actually OK for B&W negatives but do not scan colour negatives or slides well. Better software can help, but by the time you buy decent software you may as well have bought something like one of the Epson flat bed scanners which can handle film. Note you don't need only the film holders, the scanners for film have a light source typically in the lid for scanning film.

I've been thinking of doing C41 in the kitchen....how long do the chemicals last once mixed? I need to bear in mind that my workflow for B&W is typically shooting and developing a couple of films a month and at present I can only develop two rolls of 135 at a time. The six months mentioned above would be great if that's typical.

canvassy · Jun 4, 2017

RichardJack said:
How long does the chemistry last once mixed?

Agulliver said:
I've been thinking of doing C41 in the kitchen....how long do the chemicals last once mixed? I need to bear in mind that my workflow for B&W is typically shooting and developing a couple of films a month and at present I can only develop two rolls of 135 at a time. The six months mentioned above would be great if that's typical.

My Unicolor / Tetenal kits last me close to a year. 10 months is no problem, I think I've gone 11 months before and I've seen reference on APUG of people going over a year. My current kit was mixed August 2016 and still going great.

Pioneer · Jun 4, 2017

And on the other side of the coin...
I just had my mixed batch of color developer die at 6 months so YMMV.

peoplemerge · Aug 8, 2017

Two months in, I've been thinking about my process and costs, and am ready to share. A lot of people wait a month or two until they have 10 rolls and soup a big batch. For me that doesn't at all fit my creative process. I thought I'd share how I got here.

Started with an Arista kit, bought locally at Freestyle for $27.99. I went in knowing that I wanted to go with Kodak chemicals, so this test kit was really to see if I was going to be able to deal with C41. I liked C41 but the kit didn't really match my workflow - I felt pressured to really shoot a lot and use all the chemicals in a week, two weeks tops.

Kodak chemicals to make 5L dev / 5L fix / 5L final rinse / 10L bleach iii = ~US$130 shipped. I have a lifetime supply of acetic indicator stop, so I'm not bothering to include in the calculation.

My C41 volume is 1 120 roll / week, sometimes 2x120, 1x 35mm, up to 6 sheet 4x5. I shoot and process the same or next day, and spend the rest of the week printing RA4 in room temperature trays.

The results combined with ra4 printing (yes, at home in trays) is astonishing. I've never been happier with the results.

My start up costs coming from a decade or so of b/w:
5x Astropaq 3L disposable wine bags, about $2 each
Wine preserving gas, $10, I use for concentrates and (larger) RA printing solutions
Anova Sous Vide $120 - circulates water and maintains temp for the crucial developer temp step. I do use it for food so chemicals go in a metal bowl - kind of hard to explain but the gist is the anova doesn't get contaminated. I had tried modifying a $20 aquarium heater to reach 100F but it was a total bust.

I'm replenishing the developer solution with replenisher at the rate specified in the Z manuals. Then after 8 weeks I'll discard the developer and make a fresh batch. I don't discard the bleach / fix / final rinse, just replenish using the Z manual starting points. They talk about using process control strips, which seems overkill to me.

For the developer, I mix up 1L replenisher, which is sufficient to hand process in a jobo 4x5 tank, and twice what I need for 2x35 or 1x120.

The replenishment rates as published:
Developer: 11.2mL per 4x5 sheet, 33.1ml per 35mm (36 exp), 37.8ml per 120.
Bleach, fix, final rinse: 17ml per 4x5, 66ml per 35mm, 66ml per 120.

Cost breakdown 1st 8 wks / per roll
Dev $2.80 / $0.35
Bleach $5.60 / $0.37
Fix $2.40 / $0.16
Final Rinse $1.00 / $0.07

Total $0.94 per roll.

rpavich · Aug 8, 2017

I went to develop some C-41 just this weekend and found that I was out of developer from my Kodacolor kit so I pulled out the C-41 recipe and made some. It worked really well, and the film came out really nicely, no fogg or brown-ness at all. The best part was that the cost was very small, the grams of chems didn't hardly cost anything.

I think for now, I'll just mix as needed. I mixed a 250ml batch for 4 rolls and then discarded.

I made stop bath out of Glacial Acetic acid (very economical) and the bleach and fixer I had left over from the KodaColor kits and I've got a LOT so that will last me a LONG time in the sealed up plastic one-way-valve jugs.

I also made some stabilizer from chems too.

Current cost to develop color film (C 41) at home

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