E-6 Chemistry Test

focus_on_infinity · Oct 31, 2020

Is there something like a snip test for mixed and working E-6 chemistry? Preferably something that could be done at room temperature.

Donald Qualls · Oct 31, 2020

No reason you couldn't run a film leader (either C-41 or E-6) through the process at room temperature with inspection after or during each step.

B&W film could be used to test activity of the first dev and color dev, even (obviously, there won't be any color seen in the color dev). Bleach or blix can be tested with a developed B&W film leader -- bleach should turn it milky with halide, blix should clear it completely.

All of these processes will take longer at room temperature than at process temp, but it's pretty easy to calculate how much longer they might run -- for developers, the rule is 4% (multiplied) for each degree F difference up or down, at least when above 60F. Bleach is similarly slowed at lower temperatures; fixer less so.

Rudeofus · Oct 31, 2020

You can try the following: expose test clip to room light and run through the whole process chain. A clear test clip should emerge. If the clip stays dark, your first developer is dead. If the clip remains brown, your BLIX may be dead.

Then run another test clip through the whole chain beginning with CD, i.e. no FD, again: in full room light. The resulting test clip should be completely black. If it is not, your CD is dead.

PS: None of this will tell you, whether every process liquid is fully in spec. If you want the real deal, an investment in Fujifilm process control strips will quickly pay off.

focus_on_infinity · Nov 1, 2020

I ran a clip test at room temp with 1st, color, and blix, with generous times for each stage. It cleared all my samples cleanly. I'm probably about 7 rolls and a month into the FPP/Unicolor kit, and it's still performing solidly on the sheets I developed this evening.

Rudeofus · Nov 1, 2020

E6 FD is going to be the first process liquid to show obvious signs of decay, slides will suddenly appear a bit darker than they should. If this happens, you can compensate by extending the FD time, and at the same time you know, that the whole kit is about to keel over.

peter k. · Nov 6, 2020

The last E-6 we developed, there seemed to be a color shift towards the blue in a highlighted water flow area's of the scene, but the slides where not dark.
So we did the test clip test ... FD clip came out clear, but CD clip came out tan.
So a question, we suppose if either FD or CD were going south, there would be a color shift, but with just the CD going bad, would that just cause a color shift, .. and not the slide becoming darker?

peter k. · Nov 7, 2020

Well something odd... had some CD left over from the tetanal kit, as on one of my first development of e-6 we chucked the FD down the drain, so we mixed some new fresh CD and ran the test again,, the FD is strip clear, but CD was again tan not black.
Sigh... any thoughts from those who know ;

Rudeofus · Nov 7, 2020

An E-6 strip starting with Tetenal's CD should be pitch black, like nothing you have ever seen in regular E-6 slides. Something must be seriously off here. You did run the test at 38°C, yes?

peter k. · Nov 7, 2020

Yes... ran full test, actually at 102*, using a Clinstill temp controller.

Hmmm.. velll we got a Artista Rapid E-6 kit on hand, so its time we think to give it a try, .. and continue our learning curves and compare the two against each other. The Arista kit doesn't have a stabilizer though, but still have some left over from the Tetenal Colortec kit we can use.
There seems to be a mixed understanding if this is really needed.
What are your thoughts?

Also the Ariista kit doesn't seem to put a great deal of stress on maintaining the development temperature, as it shows in the directions that you can do external rotary processing.
Again what are your thoughts.

thanks for the help ..
Funny doing E-6 developing, seems to be more entailed than C-41.. let alone getting your exposure right, the developing process seems to be more intense also. .
.

Donald Qualls · Nov 7, 2020

There's something funny going on. As noted, a fogging CD run without FD ought to produce Dmax on the whole film. If the CD isn't a fogging type (hint would be that the kit calls for a light exposure between FD and CD) then light tan would indicate film with a little fog (from age, perhaps). Unexposed film run through the whole process ought to give Dmax as well, but if you used fully fogged film, full process will give clear film (including edge markings, as they'll be swamped in the light exposure) and CD only would once more give Dmax.

The length of time each process takes is short enough that starting at 102F in a preheated tank it's very likely you'll just get down to 98F by the end of the process in a rotary processor without water bath -- giving an average of 100F, which is the canonical temperature for C-41 and E-6. That's how those kits choose 102F as their recommended temperature -- by assumption that you won't have an accurate water bath for the tank itself.

peter k. · Nov 7, 2020

Donald Qualls said:
There's something funny going on.

I doubt it but this may be the cause.
The first test strips were from Tmax 400 sheet film, left over strips from cutting 4x5 down to MF size from the last year.
The second test strips were from an unexposed sheet of 3x4 Efke sheet film from years ago, Yet the strip that went though the full FD,CD and Blix was clear, and the one with just CD and blix was a light tan and not dark, as we understood it should be. This was done with freshly mix new CD developer..

Donald Qualls said:
The length of time each process takes is short enough that starting at 102F in a preheated tank it's very likely you'll just get down to 98F by the end of the process in a rotary processor without water bath -- giving an average of 100F, which is the canonical temperature for C-41 and E-6. That's how those kits choose 102F as their recommended temperature -- by assumption that you won't have an accurate water bath for the tank itself.

Thank you, will have to give this a try when we receive our just purchased used Besler Color motor base which is gong to be used for trying out rotary processing. .

Donald Qualls · Nov 8, 2020

Black and white film lacks dye couplers, so you'll get only clear or black in testing. Further, C-41 and E-6 color developers are a low contrast developer and may produce a low Dmax on B&W material, plus the bleach will invariably remove all the silver and leave nothing behind if the film goes through that process step.

You can test your color developers with any sort of color film -- C-41 or E-6 will both produce dye images (or at least dye density) that will still exist after blix -- but only bypassing bleach (substituting fixer for blix) will leave any density in B&W film. The light tan on the Efke tests may have been due to staining, which is a result of oxidation of the developer producing dyes that can bind to the gelatin; these dyes are almost always yellow to brown in color.

peter k. · Nov 8, 2020

Donald Qualls said:
The light tan on the Efke tests may have been due to staining,

Hmmm ????? There were two tests strips using Efke, the one done with all three FD, CD and Blix was clear, the one done with just CD and Blix was tan... so if it was staining wouldn't both be tan?

Donald Qualls · Nov 8, 2020

peter k. said:
Hmmm ????? There were two tests strips using Efke, the one done with all three FD, CD and Blix was clear, the one done with just CD and Blix was tan... so if it was staining wouldn't both be tan?

No. Assuming the paper was fully fogged, the FD would develop all the halide, so there was nothing left for the CD to develop -- and then the blix would remove all the developed silver. Of course, you'd get different results with film that had images on it; you'd get a very faint stain image (as happens if you develop in pyro based developers, or Caffenol without ascorbate) that will remain after blixing away the silver images. In the case of E6, that stain image, if you can see it at all, would be a positive, because it's what was left after the FD developed the negative.

peter k. · Nov 8, 2020

Donald Qualls said:
In the case of E6, that stain image, if you can see it at all, would be a positive, because it's what was left after the FD developed the negative.

Still confused .. the clip that shows the stain, was not developed by FD only the second Color Developer and then Blixed.

Donald Qualls · Nov 8, 2020

@peter k. What I said was that you won't see the stain if the FD is used (on fogged film) before the CD. The CD is producing the stain -- but if the fully fogged film is developed in FD first, there's nothing left for CD to do, so no stain.

peter k. · Nov 8, 2020

ahHa .. got it...

E-6 Chemistry Test

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