Kodak D-76

I'm semi-decently knew to darkroom and was wondering, when you mix water with the D-76 powder solution, would that be considered a 1:1 solution or a 1+0 solution?

When you mix the powder, that becomes the full strength stock solution. Commonly the stock is diluted 1:1 for use.

alright, well could somebody spot me on what I'm doing wrong here b/c the developer doesn't seem to be sticking to my 120 film and when I'm washing it the film is completely purple.
I'm using Ilford Delta 400
I agitate D76 in the tank for 9.5 minutes.
Put stop for 1/2 a minute
and then 3 minutes on the fixer. I have no idea what I'm doing wrong,help pleaseee?

Hello and welcome to APUG.

When you mix a box of powder solutions for initial mixing of D76 you have made what is called stock solution.

You can develop films in this stock solution, once it has cooled to the correct temperature, which is generally regarded as 20C you can though develop films at temperatures from 20C to 24C with a time in the developer change to develop the films correctly.

1+1 is a dilution which is very popular. You take 1 part of stock solution and 1 part of normal water to make up the required amount of developer needed to develop your film(s).

I myself use D76 1+1 virtually exclusively for film developing, and have for many years.

If you use D76 at 1+1 dilution, then you shouldn't use the used developer again, you need to discard it.

If you use straight stock solution as a developer then you can re-use the solution, however subsequent uses of the developer will normally require longer times in the developer to get the same result. The developer basically weakens with each roll that it develops.

Hope this is helpful.

You may wish to do a search of developers using D76 as a key word, you will be amazed at what turns up.

Mick.

"when I'm washing it the film is completely purple. "

Sometimes the purple thing happens to me too, can't figure out why. It happened last week for the first time in a long while with Tri-X in D-76 1:1 followed by a 30 sec water rinse then Ilford's rapid fixer for 3-4 mins. I just doubled my rinse time from 10 mins to 20 mins and the purple went away.

The coloring is the anti-halation coating on the film. If you pre-rinse your film for 2 or 3 minutes before development most of it will be gone by the time you fix it. The color varies from film to film.

I'm by no means an expert in the darkroom, but maybe this will help: Sometimes the purple is either not fixing long enough (your fixer may be partially exhausted), or you didn't rinse the film enough. If you add a hypo-clearing agent step, it seems to make the washing much shorter, at least for me.
Hope that helps,
Jed

I don't know what fixer you are using, but 3 minutes sounds too short. Try 5-6 minutes and see if that helps.

Richard Wasserman

I heard that 3 minutes would work just fine, but I'll definately try 5 or 6 minutes next time.
Thanks for all the help!

If you aren't using a rapid fix, then 3 minutes is probably not long enough. Even if it is a rapid, it may not be long enough, if it's not fresh. Ilford says slightly longer times are recommended for Delta vs products like HP5.
How long are you washing the film after the fix?

I'm using the Ilford rapid fixer.
and I have been washing for around 20 minutes now and still no results whatsoever.
what should I do? is my whole roll messed up completely?

Try a washing aid like Kodak Hypo Clearing Agent or Permawash. Proper fixing, a wash aid, and wash according to instructions on the wash aid should remove the dyes.

Would you suggest me going back and adding the hypo clearing agent to it even if, I can't see the image on the negative at all.
Does this dye normally happen?

kinkedsb said:

I'm using the Ilford rapid fixer.
and I have been washing for around 20 minutes now and still no results whatsoever.
what should I do? is my whole roll messed up completely?

Click to expand...

Check the instructions for the Ilford Rapid Fixer and ensure you have made up the solution correctly for film (you dilute the concentrated liquid with water).
Assuming that you have prepared the solution correctly you can do no harm to the film by fixing again, i.e. same process as before, this may clear the purple colour. You will have to rewash of course after this. A slight purple tint to the film base won't stop you getting good prints anyway so don't worry too much about it.

kinkedsb said:

...I can't see the image on the negative at all...

Click to expand...

You should see something on the negatives, if no image detail at all then you have some other problem (like film didn't go through the camera, grossly underexposed, went into fix before dev - I've seen all these happen).

Any places near you that offer darkroom courses? May save you a lot of time & money!

I would suggest that you re-fix your film, either in the same fix solution, or preferably in a fresh fixer solution.

If you still cannot see an image, then there is something else not right.

This can be anything from the film being loaded into the camera, back to front. When this happens the backing paper, which keeps the light from getting to the film, is exposed, not the film. I've done this.

If, after fixing for a second time, the film isn't clear in at least some places; you should be able to see the manufacturer's markings on the side and there should be some clear film between each frame, about 3mm or 1/8" and you cannot see somewhere some clear film, then there is more than likely a processing fault, like Dave from Ottawa says.

By clear film, I mean that you can look straight through, like a piece of flexible glass.

Where in the world are you? It might be that there is a member of this forum reasonably close, you never know!

Mick.

3 minutes with the Delta is way too short. As far as I remind myself, isnt the Delta a special T-crystal film, which needs longer fixage, try 5-7-min.

However, the purple is, as mentioned above, anti-halation coating. These get washed out in the alkaline milieu of the developer. But if dev.-time is short (or else...), some stay in the film and get fixated in the acid stop water again. Then they get (in your case only partly) dissolved again in the alkaline fixer to be finally washed out in washing.

Try pre washing, or after stop bath fill the tank once with water to wash out all acid stop bath before fixage, so that the alkaline milieu of the fixer works better, or at least a warmer washing at the end helps, too.

If nothing helps, just lay the negatives for some time in the sun. The UV light does the rest

Can you see numbers or letters on the edge of the film (the 'rebate')?

kinkedsb said:

I heard that 3 minutes would work just fine, but I'll definately try 5 or 6 minutes next time.
Thanks for all the help!

Click to expand...

Fix to twice the time it takes to clear the film. How do you know this you ask?

Easier with 35mm or sheet film, but you need a small bit of the same kind of film you are going to develop. 35mm, just use the leader end you clipped off to get a square edge for loading the reel. Sheet film, sacrifice a sheet, by cutting a strip with scissors. Roll film, if you practiced with the same stuff you used, a bit of that. If not, a sliver from the end just before you finish rolling.

You film is safely in its tank, but dry right now. With the lights on just drop the snip of film into fixer. I have a bunch of $1 store clear plastic measuring cups I've marked for various chemicals. I just use the one labeled Fixer. Make sure the film snip is submerged. Start timing. If it goes from gray/purple to clear (with a little purple or blue is OK) after 3 minutes then you should fix for at least 6 minutes.

DO NOT MIX THE HCA (Hypo Clearing Agent) WITH ANYTHING ELSE. You will screw things up royally.

Briefly and with what some will consider callous disreguard for proper procedure, but it does work!

1) Load tank.
2) Measure out into their own cups ($1 store is great, get a bunch of cheap ones and use your one "good" graduate to calibrate them with marks on the outside) the following, distilled water for pre-rinse, developer, stop (can be distilled water or acetic, fixer, HCA. Make sure you are using sufficient volume to cover the film in your tank.
3) When all are at the right temperature (20C for example, temper in a water bath in the sink as needed) pour in the distilled water. Seal tank, agitate for 2 minutes. Agitation style varies, lets just say 4 inversions + 1 rotation every 30 seconds. YMMV!
4) Dump out pre-soak water at end of 2 minutes. Pretty color?
5) Pour in developer, start timer, seal tank, agitate continously for first 30 seconds. Then at 30 second intervals afterward. Tap the tank hard to dislodge bubbles before setting it down to rest between.
6) Times up, pour out developer. Save if using from stock, discard if diluted.
7) Pour in stop bath. Seal, agitate 30 seconds minimum. If using a water bath, do this twice. If using acetic acid, one time is enough. Save or discard the acetic acid. I discard because I mix fresh each time or use distilled water. Save if you are using one with the indicator chemical, unless it is purple!
8) Pour in fixer. Seal and agitate per film techinque for your pre-determined time. 6 minutes probably.
9) Pour out fixer. Save but keep track of volume of film. Fixer has a limited capacity but can be reused several times. The manufacturer will give a capacity or if you mix from scratch, easier just to use a hypo check.
10) Quick rinse, tap water if yours is reasonably free of "crud" is OK. 30 seconds to 1 minute. Agitate and dump.
11) HCA into the tank. 3 to 4 minutes should be sufficient. This was mixed down from stock so you will discard the volume after use. More agitation
12) One more quick rinse of 30 seconds. Then dump all water and follow your normal wash routine. 10 minutes of gentle wash or several fill, rest and dump cycles, say 10 with a 2 minute rest between should be fine. YMMV and there are ways to test for residual fixer.

So, isn't that simple? Jay Brunner has a series of silly videos on YouTube that you might find helpful. It is a simple process but look how much I typed! Kinda like writing instructions for making a peanutbutter and jelly sandwich. Simple in concept, but can be complex in execution!

PS : don't eat your PB&J while working with the chems and film...