Developing C41 colour film- help!

jjbonbon · Aug 11, 2011

Hi there- I recently purchased all the necessary developing equipment to develop C41 35 mm colour film- I have never developed 35mm colour film before and have become very confused by a number of contradictory sources!

I have (Fotospeed) FD10 Developer + SB50 stop bath + FX20 Fixer- as far as I am aware this is for developing black and white film only, am I not correct?

I have Rollei Digibase C41 colour bleacher + fixer and Rollei part A+B+C c41 developer! A stupid question but this is the chemicals I need to use to develop colour film yes?

I am confused by the 3 part developer- as I have developed black and white before and the process was far simpler!

If anybody could help that would be fantastic! thanks!

Peter de Groot · Aug 11, 2011

Yep the rollei c41 kit is the one to use colorfilm. I only used the tetenal kit. The process is really simple. Only make sure the temp is correct while using the color developer. Other then that go with that banana! (Dutch saying literally translated to english)

L Gebhardt · Aug 11, 2011

The three part developer is only one step, you will need to follow the mixing directions to mix the three parts into developer. So you will have three steps to the C41, which really isn't much more complicated than black and white. First Dev, then Bleach, and then Fix. And follow the time and temperature directions to the letter. In that regard it's simpler than black and white.

Photo Engineer · Aug 11, 2011

The steps are: Develop, Bleach, wash, Fix, wash, Stabilizer or Final Rinse.

This cycle must be used according to the manufacturers instructions for time and temperature (use 100 F if you use the Kodak and Fuji recommendations).

A prewet is sometimes recommended to achieve a good starting temperature. I always use one.

PE

wblynch · Aug 11, 2011

jjbonbon said:
I have Rollei Digibase C41 colour bleacher + fixer and Rollei part A+B+C c41 developer! A stupid question but this is the chemicals I need to use to develop colour film yes?

I am confused by the 3 part developer- as I have developed black and white before and the process was far simpler!

Yes, in case you missed it, the Rollei part A+B+C color developer must be premixed according to the instructions before you use it.

It is intended to be reused. I don't know the recommendations on the sheet but many people report getting 20 rolls developed from 1 liter of Rollei developer (YMMV)

So, after mixing everything according to the instructions you should have 4 bottles. Color Developer, Bleach, Fix, Stabilizer. Return each to their container after use.

The only functional difference between black and white and this C41 kit is the extra bleaching step. (temperature is also important)

hpulley · Aug 11, 2011

If you buy the JOBO/Tetenal press kit with a combined bleach-fix (blix) step then it is develop, blix, wash, stabilize. Simple as B&W. I get 25 rolls/1L package. I keep hearing that blix is awful but RA-4 uses a blix and it seems to work for me in both C-41 and RA-4 so I can say that blix works for me.

zsas · Aug 11, 2011

jjbonbon - Welcome to APUG!!! Glad to see you doing it yourself! I have learned that following the Digibase instructions to be very wonderful.
http://www.freestylephoto.biz/pdf/product_pdfs/rollei/RolleiMaxiKit_C41_InstructionManual.pdf

To answer you question, yes, mix all the parts of the devloper up to make a working solution (Water, part A, part B, part c and starter). You do similar with the bleach, fix and stabilizer, just follow the above. You make enough working solution to cover your film. If your tank needs 500 ml, then make a min of 500ml of working solution, not 250. Ultimatly your tank will dictate what you mix up. If you bought too small amount of chemistry, you might need to buy more to make enough working solution, so check your tank, and then what you bought to ensure you have what you need to cover the film accuratly.

However, as Photo Engineer mentions, a wash after the Bleach and after the Fix is recommended (see his reply above).

Read every page of the below thread and you will know what I am taking about. Greg (a C-41 pro) concludes, like Photo Engineer, that a wash after the Bleach and Fix is the best course of action to preserve your chemistry/negatives.

Welcome to Apug and I wish you continued stellar photographs!

I believe the below is required Rollei Digibase reading....
(there was a url link here which no longer exists)

Photo Engineer · Aug 11, 2011

Wash, not rinse. A good wash is needed not a "superficial" rinse.

HPULLEY;

I have never recommended a blix for film! A blix is a far cry from a bleach then fix! Consider that color film has about 300 - 500 mg / square foot of silver, but a color paper has 50 - 100 mg! All of the Silver metal must be changed into Silver salts during bleaching or blixing. This is generally not possible with films leaving one with a bleach bypass effect that cannot be seed easily by eye. So, please take care. You may be degrading your results.

PE

zsas · Aug 11, 2011

Opps sorry Photo Engineer to misquote you, I fixed my reply above to say WASH, thanks for the correction

Photo Engineer · Aug 11, 2011

NP. This was just a matter of "tuning" nomenclature.

Thanks.

PE

hpulley · Aug 11, 2011

Well then, hard to argue with that. One chance to get Flexicolor in Montreal. No one will ship it into the country so thus far I use blix and am happy with the results but if they could be better, one may see...

Photo Engineer · Aug 11, 2011

See the complaints on APUG about C-41 blixes.

PE

hpulley · Aug 12, 2011

I see the complaints but don't see what to look for in the supposedly bad effects. I see different things listed but nothing concrete like color shifts.

I also see all the where do I get chemicals shipped threads and so far I'm using the only C-41 kit I've been able to get shipped here and it is a blix kit so...

Photo Engineer · Aug 12, 2011

Blix kits go bad quickly. Single part blixes are often bad on the shelf of the dealer (see posts). Blixes have a bleach bypass effect rendering your photos with higher contrast and grain and degraded color purity and saturation.

PE

jjbonbon · Aug 12, 2011

thank you to everybody for the information- I understand the difference now! Just waiting for some fresh chemicals to arrive- cant wait to get developing, i have 5 films waiting!

Developing C41 colour film- help!

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