E6 Reversal Bath Formula?

Developing E6 in my country is next to impossible. Few labs that charge exorbitantly and self importing is a no-go as all the kits are ORM-D.

So I am trying to grock a process using a scratch mixed first developer and standard C41 chemistry.I understand this is subpar for archival purposes but if I can get reasonable colour and contrast I can live with it. I do this for fun.

That said, most people working this process do their reversal by light fogging. I'd prefer to do it chemically as it would help automate things. Are there any formulas out there for reversal bath that are easy to source? Or is the reason no one bothers because the reagents are too toxic and arcane to scratch mix?

PS - Here is the first developer formula I was suggested. If anyone has anything better/easier to source please let me know too. Benzotriazole is hard to find.

Cheers.

Water 110F 900 ml
Sod. Sulfite anhyd. 23 g
Hydroquinone 6 g
Metol 2.5 g
Phenidone 1% solution 50 ml
Sod. Carbonate anhyd. 18 g
Pot. Bromide 1.8g
Sod. thiocyanate 5% solution 20 ml
Benzotriazole 0.2% solution 50 ml
Pot. Iodide 0.2% solution 5 ml

Water to make 1 liter

athbr,
search for stefan4u - he did the most through work on homebrew-E6.
Athiril did some adventurous modifications, which might be of interest, too.

On the topic of "light fogging" I copy Stefan4u's explanations, posted April 6, 2013 (#8)

"Using a stop bath is much safer than a wash step alone, if you do a light reversal.
But because the wash step after FD is more or less part of the process, in meaning of gradually tapering off the FD activity, I would recommend 2 min wash first, than 2 min stop and then the reversal exposure. After this one may have think about a wash step again, to get rid of the acid / acid carryover in the CD…
The alternative would be your prolonged/extended wash, something about 4-5 min. including your “air knife” after FD. In terms of needed tank capacity it would be quite the same…
My procedure is 2 min wash, 2 min stop, again 2 min wash, than 4min light reversal. Because I do only drum processing in a Jobo, after the light reversal follows again a short wash/prewarm step prior CD, to maintain desired temperature in the drum… And again, this light reversal works pretty perfect and as you stated already, there is one chemical bath less to take care about.
Because of homebrewing this is my main argument for this processing variant…"

Wishig you good success!
Please share your experiences once you're up and running.

I would not use a reversal bath. I would use light reversal.

The formula you give will work, but the real formula uses Hydroquinone Monosulfonate to even out the development in all of the layers.

Make sure that you bleach long enough and have Formaldehyde in the final rinse so that you maximize dye stability.

PE

Photo Engineer said:

I would not use a reversal bath. I would use light reversal.

The formula you give will work, but the real formula uses Hydroquinone Monosulfonate to even out the development in all of the layers.

Make sure that you bleach long enough and have Formaldehyde in the final rinse so that you maximize dye stability.

PE

Click to expand...

Thanks for the help PE!

Can't find anything by the name Hydroquinone Monosulfonate. Could it be Monosulfate instead? Even so, most links return for Potassium Hydroquinone Monosulfate.

Perhaps it is hard to source for amateurs?

cheers.

athbr said:

Thanks for the help PE!

Can't find anything by the name Hydroquinone Monosulfonate. Could it be Monosulfate instead? Even so, most links return for Potassium Hydroquinone Monosulfate.

Perhaps it is hard to source for amateurs?

cheers.

Click to expand...

Back in the old days I would use a big hot photo flood, heeding Kodak's warning not to drip liquid on the hot bulb. Last time I was playing with E1 I used a LED flashlight held up to my Jobo reel. Worked fine.

Someone posted the alleged Fuji E6 formulas here. Stefan Lange posted his formulas here.

Stefan's formulas work great and consist of compounds you can order from Fototechnik Suvatlar, who ships internationally. Stefan's formulas, however, only cover first developer and color developer, that's where the Fuji formulas come in.

Here is a summary of my personal experience with reexposure bathes:

The work, they are simple to mix, but they are said to suffer from the same "sudden death syndrome" as some well known B&W developer product. In theory, it takes tiny traces of SnCl2 to render a whole roll of film fully developable. In practice SnCl2 is a powerful reducer, which happily reacts with aerial oxygen and shows no sign of deterioration until it's gone. The other challenge is that many tin salts are quite insoluble, most notably Tin Carbonate.

So your reexp bath must stay somewhere around neutral in pH, it should be somewhat buffered, and it should contain a sequestering agent to keep the Sn2+ in solution. Pretty much any sequestering agent will work here: EDTA, Dequest 2010, Dequest 2000, I have even tried Citric Acid and it worked. You start with 1 g/l SnCl2 and 20 ml/l Acetic Acid 80%, then add 3-5 g/l sequestering agent, then add Sodium Hydroxide until you reach around neutral pH. EDTA is a good indicator for this, because it won't dissolve until pH is close to neutral. Process with this soup for about a minute, then go directly into color developer (no rinse between reexp and CD).

PS: Some people here have reported success with Super Iron Out or Sodium Dithionite, which may be easier for you to obtain. Note, however, that Sodium Dithionite will develop all the silver if you process for too long, which means color developer can't develop colors. Maybe run a few tests before you commit important work.

athbr said:

Thanks for the help PE!

Can't find anything by the name Hydroquinone Monosulfonate. Could it be Monosulfate instead? Even so, most links return for Potassium Hydroquinone Monosulfate.

Perhaps it is hard to source for amateurs?

cheers.

Click to expand...

They are the same thing. Sorry.

You must use it at a much higher level though.

PE

Nope, they are not the same thing, check the formula here! And here! And here! Potassium Hydroquinone Monosulfate will likely not work as photographic developer. You can order HQMS-K (Hydroquinone Monosulfonate Potassium salt) from Fototechnik Suvatlar.

Thanks Rudi. I really goofed there. I must have been half asleep! Sorry all.

Yes, they are DIFFERENT. You must have HQMS-K or Hydroquinone Monosulfonate Potassium salt. And, you need a high level.

There is a method posted here on Photrio for converting HQ to HQMS-K using Potassium Sulfate and Peroxide. It might be usable. IDK. I've tried it and I think it is messy.

PE

Thanks everyone. This is all super helpful!