Home Made C-41

[Andrew O'Neill]

I posted a video in the hybrid section as it also deals with a workflow not appropriate for here. I was pleasantly surprised at how easy it is to mix up your own colour film developer, and get great results.

https://www.photrio.com/forum/threads/tri-colour-gum-print.212036/

 

[Bwbuff]

I posted a video in the hybrid section as it also deals with a workflow not appropriate for here. I was pleasantly surprised at how easy it is to mix up your own colour film developer, and get great results.

https://www.photrio.com/forum/threads/tri-colour-gum-print.212036/

Thank you for sharing , may I ask how many litre of water required and the temperature please and thank you.

 

[Andrew O'Neill]

Thank you for sharing , may I ask how many litre of water required and the temperature please and thank you.

For the C-41 developer? It was for one litre. I used it at 38C.

 

[Bwbuff]

Thank you so much.

 

[Bwbuff]

For the C-41 developer? It was for one litre. I used it at 38C.

Sorry , more questions , how many minutes , and can I reuse the chemical ?

 

[Andrew O'Neill]

Sorry , more questions , how many minutes , and can I reuse the chemical ?

I use the standard development time, 3:15. So far, I've processed 4 rolls of 120.

 

[Bwbuff]

Thanks again Andrew.

 

[What About Bob]

Three process types in one video. This is very cool. Thanks for the video, Andrew.

 

[Andrew O'Neill]

Three process types in one video. This is very cool. Thanks for the video, Andrew.

You are very welcome, Bob. I have to admit, I really didn't know where to stick this video!

 

[koraks]

I was pleasantly surprised at how easy it is to mix up your own colour film developer, and get great results.

It is!
Funny that your hydroxylamine sulfate is yellow. Mine is colorless.

can I reuse the chemical ?

Yes. The hydroxylamine sulfate protects to an extent against oxidation. It's best to store the developer in an entirely full glass or PET bottle with no air on top and a tightly fitting cap. Store in the dark. Capacity should be similar to commercial C41 developer (this homebrew is fairly similar), so around 6-12 rolls per liter, depending a bit on who you ask. Note that if you re-use developer, the results will always shift gradually. You may or may not notice this; most people don't ever notice it unless they overuse the developer or store it too long, or under adverse conditions.

may I ask how many litre of water required

You'll find a set of formulas here: https://tinker.koraks.nl/photograph...lor-developer-formulas-including-c41-and-ra4/

 

[Bwbuff]

It is!
Funny that your hydroxylamine sulfate is yellow. Mine is colorless.


Yes. The hydroxylamine sulfate protects to an extent against oxidation. It's best to store the developer in an entirely full glass or PET bottle with no air on top and a tightly fitting cap. Store in the dark. Capacity should be similar to commercial C41 developer (this homebrew is fairly similar), so around 6-12 rolls per liter, depending a bit on who you ask. Note that if you re-use developer, the results will always shift gradually. You may or may not notice this; most people don't ever notice it unless they overuse the developer or store it too long, or under adverse conditions.



You'll find a set of formulas here: https://tinker.koraks.nl/photograph...lor-developer-formulas-including-c41-and-ra4/

Thank you so much, very informative, much appreciated.

 

[Ben Hutcherson]

Note that if you re-use developer, the results will always shift gradually.

I wish that either a formula for replenisher were out there(and I know just getting good developer formulae in the first place was a lot of work!) or that commercial replenisher could be bought in reasonable quantities.

Especially if one were working with say a 5L stock bottle and using 500mL-1L of chemistry at a time, replenishing should keep consistent performance and still allow fairly economical re-use of C41 chemistry.

I make 2.5L batches of ECN2, and have started mixing 1L of replenisher with a 2.5L batch of developer. I've been MUCH happier with my results doing it this way, although my replenishment rate is a bit of guesswork since Kodak states it per 100ft of 35mm film and I'm usually working with 5-15ft of 65mm. I took Kodak's rate per 100ft, divided it by 100 to find a rate per foot of film, and then doubled it to aproximate the difference between 35mm and 65mm. At least so far it's worked as long as my ECN-2 developer stays active...

 

[pentaxuser]

Andrew what was the cost of the 1L of homemade C41 and in its use over 4 films so far what changes have you see in the results from the negatives?

koraks Can I ask the same question of you in terms of how many times 1L can be used before the results from the negs start to show?


Thanks, both

pentaxuser

 

[Bwbuff]

I can buy most of the chemicals here in Canada except CD-4, please advise where can I buy them ? Thanks.

 

[Andrew O'Neill]

I can buy most of the chemicals here in Canada except CD-4, please advise where can I buy them ? Thanks.

I was getting mine from Argentix, in Montreal. The website shows out of stock. Send Jacques an email and ask him about it. I've been dealing with him for years. Great guy!

 

[Bwbuff]

I was getting mine from Argentix, in Montreal. The website shows out of stock. Send Jacques an email and ask him about it. I've been dealing with him for years. Great guy!

Thank you, I dealt with Jacques numerous times in the past , I will contact him , thank you for your help.

 

[pentaxuser]

Thank you, I dealt with Jacques numerous times in the past , I will contact him , thank you for your help.

C'est Jacques Brodeur, n'est-ce pas?

pentaxuser

 

[Bwbuff]

C'est Jacques Brodeur, n'est-ce pas?

pentaxuser

Yes, that's him.

 

[koraks]

how many times 1L can be used before the results from the negs start to show?

Depends, depends. Depends on what you're looking for, how you're looking for it and how closely you're looking at it. No single/straight answer. YMMV.

 

[Andrew O'Neill]

Andrew what was the cost of the 1L of homemade C41 and in its use over 4 films so far what changes have you see in the results from the negatives?

koraks Can I ask the same question of you in terms of how many times 1L can be used before the results from the negs start to show?


Thanks, both

pentaxuser

I haven't worked out cost per roll, but definitely way more economical than buying a kit. Next on my list is home brewing the bleach. Negatives look the same to my eye... but I'm not too concerned what happens as long as there is colour, and film is exposed and developed well.

 

[cmacd123]

I can buy most of the chemicals here in Canada except CD-4, please advise where can I buy them ? Thanks.

Film experience closed last year, and their Parent company (flic) did list CD4. I would assume that the Flic Film dealers SHOULD be able to order a Bottle. When Film Experience said they were closing, I resisted the temptation to stock up to see if I could mix the Old Teaspoon C-41 formula I used 30 years ago, as I know that I will never find the time.

the list that they package is here : https://flicfilm.ca/bulk-chemicals-and-accessories/

 

[Bwbuff]

Film experience closed last year, and their Parent company (flic) did list CD4. I would assume that the Flic Film dealers SHOULD be able to order a Bottle. When Film Experience said they were closing, I resisted the temptation to stock up to see if I could mix the Old Teaspoon C-41 formula I used 30 years ago, as I know that I will never find the time.

the list that they package is here : https://flicfilm.ca/bulk-chemicals-and-accessories/

Yeah, Film Experience was closed, I had dealt with Dave also, nice guy , I should have stocked up too, but I didn't, oh well. Thanks for the info.

 

[koraks]

definitely way more economical than buying a kit

Depends on the volumes. I did do the math long ago and decided that minilab-quantities made the cost per roll so low that I never bothered recalculating it afterwards. If you factor in the time spent weighing stuff out, it's even more attractive to just go with Fuji, Bellini or Kodak stuff. Although Canada is a bit of a special case in terms of availability of chemistry.

Next on my list is home brewing the bleach.

A ferricyanide bleach is cheap & easy to make, although not necessarily recommended for C41 (it will work though). An EDTA let alone PDTA bleach will be a somewhat different story due to availability and cost of the ingredients, and in the light of the capacity of a modern factory-made PDTA bleach (used replenished), it's most definitely very much not worth it trying to DIY it, unless you live in a place where a factory-made bleach is somehow impossible to purchase.

Negatives look the same to my eye

In my testing I did see subtle differences between DIY color developers along the lines of the one you've used here and factory-made Fuji developer. Whether those differences are meaningful to a photographer is a personal choice.

I can buy most of the chemicals here in Canada except CD-4, please advise where can I buy them ? Thanks.

CD-4 can be obtained through e.g. eBay. Artfcraft in the US also lists it, but apparently US ground shipping only.

 

[Andrew O'Neill]

Depends on the volumes. I did do the math long ago and decided that minilab-quantities made the cost per roll so low that I never bothered recalculating it afterwards. If you factor in the time spent weighing stuff out, it's even more attractive to just go with Fuji, Bellini or Kodak stuff. Although Canada is a bit of a special case in terms of availability of chemistry.



A ferricyanide bleach is cheap & easy to make, although not necessarily recommended for C41 (it will work though). An EDTA let alone PDTA bleach will be a somewhat different story due to availability and cost of the ingredients, and in the light of the capacity of a modern factory-made PDTA bleach (used replenished), it's most definitely very much not worth it trying to DIY it, unless you live in a place where a factory-made bleach is somehow impossible to purchase.



In my testing I did see subtle differences between DIY color developers along the lines of the one you've used here and factory-made Fuji developer. Whether those differences are meaningful to a photographer is a personal choice.



CD-4 can be obtained through e.g. eBay. Artfcraft in the US also lists it, but apparently US ground shipping only.

I guess for someone like me, who rarely uses or processes colour film, mixing up is the way to go.

 

[koraks]

The rationale I had back when I tried DIY mixing my C41 chemistry was also intermittent use and the desire to keep chemistry fresh for a long time. The dry ingredients used have a very, very long shelf life.