How much Chemistry do i need?

Hi all,

This is one of my first posts here. I'm preparing a 5-10 month stay in East Africa and i'm trying to get my chemistry and film stocks proportionate. I shoot exclusively 120 film, so take that into consideration.

I'm bringing:
Ilford Delta 3200 (x10)
Ilford Pan F Plus 50 (x6)
Trix 400 (x10)
Tmax 400 (x10)
Fuji Neopan 100 Acros (x10)
Other (x4)
Total Rolls: 50

I use primarily d-76 and T-max to develop. Kodak Fix and Hypo.

How much chemistry should i bring for 50 rolls of film?

Depends on the developer you want to use: Rodinal 1+50 brings you somewhere else than d76 stock solution. When using XTOL you need stock solution for the Delta3200, so in total 2.5 L, assuming you use 250 ML as one shot per film. For the other films i would use a 1+1 dillution, so 125 ml per film, which gives 5L for 40 films/ So take two packages of 5L XTOL each. For fixing: 1L concentrate is good for about 100 films - so that would be plenty. As for stop: use household vinegar, dilluted 1+4, which you should be able to buy locally.

I'd bring one pouch to make one gallon of D-76, and another pouch of replenisher. I would bring a powdered fixer as well, such as Kodak Fixer. A gallon's worth should be more than plenty plenty for 50 rolls; I normally get 16 to 20 rolls per quart. I would mix up the fixer, then decant it into four one-quart bottles, and do two bath fixing using one quart at a time as your primary bath, rather than reusing the same gallon for 10 months. You can use a water rinse instead of stop bath. Hypo Clearing Agent is a powder. Some Photo Flo might need to be the only liquid you pack in your luggage. You'll need a good drying area (a steamed up shower works well) and negative files.

Can you get any of this at your destination? Distilled water?

If you are a D-76 user then one gallon of developer plus replenisher in powder form or two gallons of D-76, and one gallon size packet of powdered fix, household white vinegar purchased locally. I suggest mixing the powders on arrival, I dont think liquids will be allowed on the flight. Do take along some Edwal LFN or equivalent for final rinse.

OK, sounds good. So, I dont really feel like using replinisher. how many bags of d-76 do i need?

actually, i've never used replenisher. where can i get it? it seems BH and freestyle dont stock it individually.

The replenisher is listed as D-76R. If you cant find any dont worry, just pack 2 one gallon packets.

I think D-76R was discontinued. Of course, one could make up the replenisher from scratch, but that's probably more work than the OP want to consider.

Don't forget to bring plenty of extras so if something goes wrong (such as chemicals going bad due to storage, spoilage, theft, damages, spillage, etc) it won't take you out of service.

If it was going to be nearly impossible to get more on site, I would double what is required and store them separately.

It depends some on your tank. Most require half a liter to fill. D-76 1+1 is strictly a one-shot. That would mean 25 liters. But D-76 can be used undiluted with most, and probably all, of these films. Undiluted D-76 give outstanding quality with somewhat less grain and a little bit less sharpness than D-76 diluted 1+1. Kodak states that the capacity of undiluted D-76 is about 16 rolls per gallon (4 rolls per liter), extending the development time 15 percent after each 4 rolls developed per gallon. D-76 can also be replenished with D-76R, which may make sense with this many rolls to process. The replenishment rate is 1 oz (34 ml) per roll processed. With replenishment, the capacity is 120 rolls per gallon of the original solution. You do not need to extend the development time if replenishment is used. For somewhat better sharpness and grain than D-76, you might try undiluted Xtol. The capacity is 15 rolls per liter, extending the developing time 15 percent after the first 4 rolls and another 15 percent after the next 4 rolls. You can also replenish Xtol using the stock developer at a rate of 70 ml per roll. The Kodak website has extensive and informative technical information publications about both these developers on its website.

Also pay some attention to the amount of fixer you will need. Most have a capacity of about 100 rolls per gallon, maybe a bit less.

If it were me, I'd bring two bottles of HC110 (US and Canada packaging).

That will do up to 160 rolls of film.

But then, I use HC110 at home.

I'm wondering if you plan on doing all your film developing at once, or processing in small batches one or two rolls at a time? If all at once, bring a ton of D-76 and keep it simple.

But if you are going to be processing one or two rolls at a time, and if you are going to be somewhere the temperatures are high, I'd think about a developer that doesn't have to be stored as a stock solution. I wouldn't want to risk valuable negs on stock solutions that have been held at high temperatures. I'd want a developer that could be mixed from super concentrate, down to final one shot strength in one step. Liquid super concentrates seem to keep extremely well. HC-110 or Rodinal or similar high concentration, highly dilutable liquids would be my choice.

Pack a small graduated syringe (or two) to dose out the developer concentrates. Skip the intermediate stock solution stages with HC-110. There are tons of good information on using HC-110 very dilute, one shot direct from the syrup. Rodinal probably has even more data available on it's usage.

Dear TyCacek,

According to the Kodak Dataguide you can develop 16 rolls of 120 or 35mm per gallon of D-76 so I would guess that you should taking a minimum of 3 one-gallon packages. A one gallon package of Kodak fixer will process 100 rolls. One package of HCA makes 5 gallons of working solution so that should be plenty.

Neal Wydra

There are two things to think about here to answer your question.

1. Do you want to one shot, or recycle developer?
2. What is the capacity of your tank? (Stainless=16oz, Paterson tanks are marked)

Take your tank size and multiply by 50 (the number of rolls of film) Then multiply that by 1.05, that gives you the minimum volume of usable developer you should consume. Because you know if you are doing one shot, or reusing developer you will now be able to calculate how much developer makeup you need to bring.

I'm not getting into the stop bath argument, just use the volume of usable developer from above to calculate usable stop bath, or use local water as a stop bath, that is up to you.

You will also need 3 gallons of fix, it will be pretty dead by the end, but you can get away with 3 gallons.

Also you will need about 150 CC of Photo-Flo 200 put it in a TSA approved container, mark it "Photo-Flo Soap" and pack it with your shampoo. You will also need to pack a syringe, like the ones used for giving liquid medication to babies, to measure out the 2.5 ML per roll of film you need. If asked about it, explain that it is special soap for washing film that prevents water stains, you could also bring the label.

All the calculations above have a built in safety, so you should end up with a little more than you need, but not much if you are using Kodak Chemistry I figure you will need a total 7 bags of powder minimum (4 bags Developer 1:1, and 3 bags of fix), that will be about the size of a 6 pack plus your dark bag, tank & spool, Photo-Flo, and whatever else but it should all fit in a small case. Buy it all and look at it before you start packing.

Keep your film with you and have it hand inspected!

Enjoy your trip.

I would factor into this running a few test rolls, both at home to make sure you are comfortable with your process and didn't forget anything, and also once you get there to check that the water supply and temperatures aren't affecting your images.

Neal said:

Dear TyCacek,

According to the Kodak Dataguide you can develop 16 rolls of 120 or 35mm per gallon of D-76 so I would guess that you should taking a minimum of 3 one-gallon packages. A one gallon package of Kodak fixer will process 100 rolls. One package of HCA makes 5 gallons of working solution so that should be plenty.

Neal Wydra

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That is the capacity for the gallon if using the developer straight and one shot. IMO, that is a waste; if you are going to use it one shot, you should dilute. You should be able to process about twice as many rolls of 135-36/120 in a gallon of D-76 if it is reused, adding time after each batch (10% after each four rolls). If using 1:1 one shot, you get two gallons (eight quarts) of working solution, at four rolls per quart, for a total of 32 rolls of 35mm or 16 rolls of 120 (unless double rolling back to back on a 120 reel or end to end on a 220 reel, in which case you get 32 rolls per gallon even with 120 film). IMHO, a pair of 220 reels and a one quart Nikkor tank would be a worthwhile investment, so you can do four rolls of 120 at a time and get the most out of your chemistry.