How much do you get out of Kodak Flexicolor?

Oh, yeah, okay, there's one for "sink line". That's the one to use for "small tank" processing -- which, even with a 5-reel Paterson, is what Kodak considers our application. FWIW, my replenishment amounts have been running 20-something for a 24 exposure slow film, to less than 40 ml for 120 400/800 speed.

"Sink line" is open tanks (the kind used with hangers for sheet film, or tall stainless tanks that take five-plus stainless reels on a lifter rod), processed by dip and dunk in the dark.

Now, if you have a Jobo and run it on a rotary base or CPP, or you're processing 8x10 in a drum with minimal solution, see the instructions for that -- which basically say to one-shot your developer.

I've been using the data from table 3-2

Thank you destroya, Donald and mgoddard. I really appreciate your input

I am new to C41 processing. I have used Rollei C41 kit and Cinestill. I am a low volume user, but would like to try flexicolor with separate bleach and fixer. My concerns are, it seems a 1L solution will only develop a few rolls without replenishment. I don't mind investing in replemisher, but have additional concerns about its shelf life. Honestly not sure if I even know the right queztions to ask. I am using two Paterson tanks. . .one 2 roll, one 3 roll. I usuall will shoot 15 rolls over months, then when I have my 15 rolls I will process. I've had good results with chemistry I have been using, but would like to improve/decrease the graininess associated with blix. Any advice ar references to documentation would be greatly appreciated.

Mr502go said:

I am new to C41 processing. I have used Rollei C41 kit and Cinestill. I am a low volume user, but would like to try flexicolor with separate bleach and fixer. My concerns are, it seems a 1L solution will only develop a few rolls without replenishment. I don't mind investing in replemisher, but have additional concerns about its shelf life. Honestly not sure if I even know the right queztions to ask. I am using two Paterson tanks. . .one 2 roll, one 3 roll. I usuall will shoot 15 rolls over months, then when I have my 15 rolls I will process. I've had good results with chemistry I have been using, but would like to improve/decrease the graininess associated with blix. Any advice ar references to documentation would be greatly appreciated.

Click to expand...

You have a similar use case to myself. I've tried replenishment - which is possible and some people claim good results using - but I think it requires more and more regular processing to be viable. Replenishing the fixer and the developer, and only using the working solutions every other month, resulted in very inconsistent processing output. Wonky colors, streaks, etc. I find I get much much better results if I mix fresh developer and fixer for every batch I run. Bleach I have been replenishing.

Regarding capacity, I am noticing that after about 4 rolls through 1L of dev working solution, stuff starts going out of spec again. Going forward, I am going to limit myself to 5-6 rolls per 1L developer.

Shelf life of the developer replenisher (which is what you mix up to be 5L worth of stuff) is quite impressive. I've kept mine in a wine bag for at least 8 months and it seems to be fine.

Take this with a grain of salt as I am still quite inexperienced with all this.

Mr502go said:

improve/decrease the graininess associated with blix

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I'm very skeptical that you'll see much improvement by switching to a separate bleach and fix. While arguments have been put forth that blix cannot remove all silver from C41 film, actual demonstrations of a visual effect so far have never been offered.

Having said that, at some point I wrote a bit about my experience using 'higher volume' chemistry: https://tinker.koraks.nl/photograph...ta-using-color-c41-and-ra4-chemistry-at-home/ My baseline is Fuji chemistry, but the same applies mostly to Flexicolor just the same. Maybe the article helps answering one or two questions.

Thank you for the replies. . .I will mull through the link you left and ponder a bit more. Thusfar, I haven't gotten bad results with the blix, but I wonder if I could get better results.

radialMelt said:

You have a similar use case to myself. I've tried replenishment - which is possible and some people claim good results using - but I think it requires more and more regular processing to be viable. Replenishing the fixer and the developer, and only using the working solutions every other month, resulted in very inconsistent processing output. Wonky colors, streaks, etc. I find I get much much better results if I mix fresh developer and fixer for every batch I run. Bleach I have been replenishing.

Regarding capacity, I am noticing that after about 4 rolls through 1L of dev working solution, stuff starts going out of spec again. Going forward, I am going to limit myself to 5-6 rolls per 1L developer.

Shelf life of the developer replenisher (which is what you mix up to be 5L worth of stuff) is quite impressive. I've kept mine in a wine bag for at least 8 months and it seems to be fine.

Take this with a grain of salt as I am still quite inexperienced with all this.

Click to expand...

Koraks. . .you mention that you are not sure I'd get better results with separate bleach/fixer. . .can you expand on that subject? Thanx again for all your help! =)

Mr502go said:

Koraks. . .you mention that you are not sure I'd get better results with separate bleach/fixer. . .can you expand on that subject?

Click to expand...

I think that blix-based chemistry does a reasonably good job at removing the silver. As a result, I expect that the visual difference between blix-processed negatives and bleach-then-fix-processed negatives will be virtually invisible. It may very well be measurable or visible on very close inspection, in a well-controlled, side-by-side test. I emphasize the 'controlled' bit, because that's crucial - it'll have to be the same film, same scene, same exposure, same developer, same scanning, same post processing - same everything except for the way the silver is removed. I don't recall having seen anyone post anything along those lines.

FWIW, I've run Flexicolor LORR (when I was able to develop color semi-regularly) with developer replenishment but reuse the fixer and bleach. The bleach seems to last nearly forever (I've run 20-30 rolls through a liter, then mixed up the pour-back and had to replace it), likely because I give a long bleach time to ensure the process is carried to completion, and fixer likewise lasts well -- I've used long-stored fixer concentrate for 20+ rolls per liter, once again with more fixing time than would be granted in an auto-processor line, and seen no evidence of retained silver or halide.

As far as I've been able to tell, with 2L of color developer stored in a full PET beverage bottle, and replenisher stored in wine bags, the stuff keeps for more than a year. I do not have control strips or a colorimeter, nor have I ever attempted RA-4 prints, so my results are based only on scanning with (for the past few years) an Epson V850 and Vuescan, and I've been happy with those results (though there is some evidence I have a poor sense of bad color).