Extending E6 Colour Dev time?

unibonded · Jan 14, 2010

hi, could anyone explain to me what the effect of extending the colour developer stage of E6 processing? I'm sure I've heard people mention before that they use 6 minutes instead of the recommended 4 minutes suggested by Kodak of yes, I'm referring to the Kodak 6 bath kit here.

Whilst I'm very happy with the results I'm getting with my Kodak E6 results it would be nice to know what's going on with this stage I've been using 4mins 30 secs for colour dev (although why this is I can't really remember!)

Thanks
Dav

nickandre · Jan 14, 2010

Kodak recommends 6 minutes for the color developer, except when using a rotary tube processor. This goes to completion, so there's no harm in going over in the development. Too little development will give you a low DMAX and pale faded slides. Since the rotary tube agitates constantly, it will develop a little bit faster. That's all.

unibonded · Jan 14, 2010

Thanks Nicholas, I should of mentioned I'm using an Jobo Expert drum on a CPP-2 so I suppose the lesser time is OK. If you say it doesn't matter if I go over the time and it'll have no effect it would probably be better if I extend the time.

domaz · Jan 14, 2010

As Nicholas say it's process to completion so as long as your temperature is good, time shouldn't matter too much. If your temperature is way off though there are no guarantees. Kodak lists this step as having a range of 98.6-102.2, so it's not as sensitive as First Developer. If your having problems with the process most of the time it's the First Developer (range is only 99.9-100.9)- or your not mixing Color Developer properly (Part A & B etc..).

unibonded · Jan 14, 2010

Thanks domaz, thankfully I'm not having a problem – it's just good to know the effect of changing the time, and that it's not critical for the colour dev. My temperature consistency is good with CPP-2 so everything is within about 1/2 a degree.

wildbill · Jan 14, 2010

where does kodak recommend 4 minutes for jobo? I've only processed a few batches with my 5L kit in my jobo but I've been using 6 minutes for normal development. 5 minutes for N-1/2 (one batch) turned out perfect.

nickandre · Jan 14, 2010

wildbill said:
where does kodak recommend 4 minutes for jobo? I've only processed a few batches with my 5L kit in my jobo but I've been using 6 minutes for normal development. 5 minutes for N-1/2 (one batch) turned out perfect.

We're talking about the color developer. The color developer has no effect on push/pull settings and should always be left at the full 6 minutes (4 minutes with a jobo) no matter the B+W developer time.

Mike Wilde · Jan 15, 2010

tiberiustibz said:
... The color developer has no effect on push/pull settings and should always be left at the full 6 minutes ....

I have seen instructions from EK for a 3 stop push, and it recommended diluting the CD. My reference books are not at hand to give the details.

nickandre · Jan 15, 2010

Mike Wilde said:
I have seen instructions from EK for a 3 stop push, and it recommended diluting the CD. My reference books are not at hand to give the details.

That's probably to compensate for the really high contrast a 3 stop push produces. You'd still be losing DMAX though. Traditionally it's all first developer.

Extending E6 Colour Dev time?

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