Developing procedures

I'm curious about everyone's film procedure. Are you as strict as can be, or more relaxed? Do you flip, shake, turn, rotate...? When does your timer start?

I'm strict in a relaxed way, for lack of a better way to put it.

I mostly use tap water for film. I just turn on the cold tap and let it run for 30 sec. - 1 min., and I've found it's pretty close to 68 F...close enough for me. I have two thermometers and they differ by ~2 degrees at rest. I've never checked them to see which is more accurate, but I usually use the one that reads lower, for no particular reason. I think my last 6 or 8 rolls I didn't even bother checking the temp.

I usually don't go crazy with the mixing of the developer - it gets poured into the graduated cylinder which already has the water, transferred to a second cylinder, then back to the first. I figure that's good enough.

The timer starts when the last of the developer goes in. Then it's four slow(ish) end-over-end rotations while twisting 1/4 turn or so. 3 light taps. At the top of every minute, four more rotations. I don't pour it out until the timer goes off.

The fixer remains at room temp., and I have no idea what that typically is...probably between 70-75 F. I can't be bothered to put the bottle in a controlled (or attempted controlled) bath.

I use Ilford's water saving method of washing, then a minute with a photo-flo product from Photographer's Formulary (forget what it's called).

The film gets squeegeed with a sponge squeegee (though I've tossed around the idea of getting a rubber one) and hung in the shower door track to dry. I don't run the shower first - never really had an issue with dust.

So that's pretty much it. Occasionally I will get some drying marks here and there, but those are usually remedied by a damp paper towel.

I think the main thing is just being consistent with your procedure.

For those of you who are more strict, what kind of equipment do you use (for temp. regulation and such)?

Sloppy procedures will eventually bite you hard when an important film gets ruined.

Developers should be COMPLETELY mixed before pouring them in the developing tank.

I use distilled water to mix all chemicals and I make sure all chemicals are the same temperature, including rinse water.

Never, ever squeegee film. You WILL scratch a film someday and it'll be one you cannot replace. Nothing should ever touch the surface of wet film. The emulsion is softer when wet.

Dear rrusso,

Your mixing is fine and agitation needs only to be sufficient and consistent. Temperature could be a problem as the year changes but your building might be consistent enough. Mine isn't. Modern films are pretty resistant to reticulation. Of course, in the end, it is a numbers game. Inconsistency in each factor increases the odds there will be a problem. Everything is great until an unnoticed temperature change or that perfect frame is scratched.

My current setup is a Jobo work alike built from industrial components when I was worried they would go out of business. I wanted a setup with easily obtained replacement parts. It was an investment but it makes it easy to be consistent.

Having said all that, keep enjoying yourself. As long as you're not shooting a wedding or something of the sort there is always another photo to be made.

Good luck,

Neal Wydra

My method is quite strict. I use a water bath and observe the temperature closely. I follow Kodak's agitation scheme. Water rinse and then fixing for the proper length of time. Wash for 1/2 hour in running water then Photo-Flo and hanging to dry. I have used this method for decades without any problems. You can use any developer you want but follow the manufacturer's instructions. The same applies to exposure use the box speed.

BTW do not use a squeegee of any sorts you are asking for scratches if you do. If you use a surfactant like Photo-Flo then a squeegee is not necessary.

The only thing I am strict about is the order I use the chemicals. Diluted developer gets a quick stir with the thermometer - liquids mix readily. Temperature +/- 3 degrees and time adjusted to suit. Four slow inversions every minute - I can see no need for fancy work when inverting as air moving through the liquid will cause plenty of turbulence.

Some people have an emotional need to minutely control every nuance of all they do but I long since learnt that is not actually possible.

My darkroom (in progress) is a dry film developing area in the basement with 5 gal. buckets for supply and waste. I have all chemicals and water in the darkroom from the day before to make sure it all gets to room temperature. Ilford has a couple of time/temp compensation charts you can use to adjust your development times from standard temp.

Thanks for the replies so far, interesting how the procedure(s) differ and run the gamut from relaxed to extremely strict.

But it does make me wonder just how far you could stray and still not notice any difference in the expected results.

I've never tried just letting the film hang after the photo-flo without squeegeeing it, but I will...one less step is better imo.

I started a thread regarding Ilford DD-X and have yet to use it. I think with my first roll of Delta 100 I'll try to be strict with the temps/times, if for no other reason than to see what the results are "supposed" to be. I'll be using all Ilford products (except the photo-flo), which I've just received. I'll also be using Ilfostop, whereas I've always just used water.

hi rrusso
i do a few things that are strict and a few things that aren't strict
strict - i always agitate or shuffle the same way whether it is a paper negative or film (sheet or roll)
developers are all the same temperature too ... and i am not religious about this stuff, but i don't fix it unless it's broke
i do eyeball mix caffenol though, that's as crazy as i get ..
( and i was raked over the coals because of it )
just be consistent

I think the best measure is how one's negatives print. If you can make the prints the way you want, all is well. If you notice that there are some negatives that are too tough to print or that you are missing too many images due to inconsistant negative quality, then a closer look at one's methods will be required. I have found that having an understanding of the process and having consistancy in my methods allows me to be more creative in my work. When exploring into the unknown, keeping good notes help me to repeat the successes. Sometimes I get too enthusiastic and end up with negatives that I could have cut up and sold as ecplispe-viewing filters...a bit dense...but I have more film.

There is some bias in my answer...I spent 30+ years at a university helping students develop their first films, make their first prints and so forth. I have had countless thousands of fixer-soaked test strips shoved under my nose. The first thing I would ask was, "How long did you develop the test strip for?". "About a minute." or "Until it looked done." were not acceptable answers. My consistancy mini-lecture would then come forth. Some consistancy required, some mystery manatory.

rrusso said:

But it does make me wonder just how far you could stray and still not notice any difference in the expected results.

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That depends on how closely someone looks at the results.

I do what I can to be consistent, roll to roll. My darkroom is on the house HVAC so the temp is fairly consistent. I keep my bottles of distilled water in the sink for a little while before I develop and I adjust the time based on the temp. My agitation scheme is where I sometimes go off track and I DO notice differences. When I print, the print is in the developer the same amount of time every time. I note what I do (time, fstop, filter, dodging/burning) on the back of a print with pencil before it goes in the developer. Always. And I can usually replicate a print because of that.

rrusso said:

how far you could stray and still not notice any difference

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Try this with (color) reversal film. I dare you

B&W film lets you get away with many mistakes and still produce a usable image. It may not be a spectacular print, and if you do get a spectacular print then sloppy technique guarantees that you won't see another until tomorrow or decades from tomorrow and you'll never know why. This sums up my first decade!

Now I always work at 75deg because during summer that's as conveniently chilled as I can manage, so I standardize on that.
I only use two developers, XTol or pyrocat, and both in Jobo tanks and continuous agitation.
Pre-soak to get everything up to temp, plus it's recommended.
Toss in the soup and sit it on a motorized roller, pick it up and flip the direction every minute.
A light indicator stop for 30 sec.
Toss in the fix for however long the TF4 or TF5 recommends.
Wash with the Ilford method, then let it sit in running water longer just in case (I don't have any hypo tests to use here)
Take it off the reel and photo-flo, followed by gently squeegeeing off the excess with my wet fingers.
Hang and wait.

I am considering using a reduced inversion instead of roller with pyrocat soon, want to see how that'll change the results. Which, by the way, I'll be able to tell because I follow a procedure and don't depend on dumb luck

I use distilled water to mix up my chemicals because my water supply is very hard (>500ppm). I then follow the manufacturer's instructions using an app on my iPhone which reminds me when to do inversions and times every stage (Massive Dev Chart app). I only use developer one shot (usually Xtol 1+1) although I do re-use stop and fix. I label my bottles and mark the date mixed and then a tally of how many films have been through the chemicals. I am meticulous that all developing equipment is clean and developing tanks are tightly shut and put away once dry. Dust on developing equipment will quickly stick to wet film. I don't use a film squeegee; I did once and I scratched the emulsion.

The main problem connected with sloppy processing of film is that it costs you extra time in the darkroom. Contrast and density are varying from negative to negative. A little bit of extra effort up front saves a lot of effort later during printing. Most all my negatives use the same filtration and exposure time. I really don't like printing it's hard on the feet.

Strict knowing my mistakes will be within bounds.
Rotate

rrusso said:

But it does make me wonder just how far you could stray and still not notice any difference in the expected results.

Click to expand...

The most important victim when your approach isn't very precise is consistency.
And consistency is really, really helpful.
On the flip side, precision creates habits, and habits are your friend.
If you have a routine that incorporates precision, you become attuned to the unusual. And generally speaking, you want to avoid the unusual, if you aren't planning for it.
The analogue photographic process is one of sequential stages, and one tends to depend on each stage being predictable when one makes decisions in earlier stages.