My experiments with Caffenol

[keenmaster486]

So I'm planning on shooting a roll of 100-ISO B&W 120 film in a Brownie camera this week, and I need some advice on developing it in Caffenol.

First let me say that I've done this before, and it worked great - but it was with 35mm. I developed it in a bin-full of Caffenol using a homemade rack. The end result looked pretty cool.

But I do not want to deal with racks or reels for this 120 roll, so what I want to know is this: Does anything change if I use the "see-saw" method with my plastic bin full of Caffenol? Would I have to increase the developing time from the usual 7-8 minutes, and, if so, by how much?

Also, how should I go about scanning those negatives, since all I have in the scanning equipment department is a standard all-in-one printer and a dedicated 35mm scanner?

Thanks!

 

[480sparky]

The see-saw method would work, but you'll be doing it in total darkness. So don't expect perfect results every time.

You shouldn't have to increase the develop time.

You'll need more than an all-in-one printer since all-in-one usually means printing, copying, faxing and scanning positive images. A dedicated 35mm scanner won't work with 120 film.. you'll need one that can scan 120 film. I can personally recommend the Canon CanoScan 9000F Mark II.

 

[w.out]

I've got adequate results scanning 120 film with a $40 HP all-in-one - providing you just want them on your Instagram account, or similar sized pics on a webpage, and the image is B&W. Colour scans or hi-res... well, then the deficiencies of the hardware show up.

Great collection of cameras on your webpage, by the way. I've done paper-in-camera photography and developed caffenol-c with old Kodak folders and mid-fifties pocket cameras. They're great old beasts.

(The second link in your sig didn't work me, btw.)

 

[removed account4]

So I'm planning on shooting a roll of 100-ISO B&W 120 film in a Brownie camera this week, and I need some advice on developing it in Caffenol.

First let me say that I've done this before, and it worked great - but it was with 35mm. I developed it in a bin-full of Caffenol using a homemade rack. The end result looked pretty cool.

But I do not want to deal with racks or reels for this 120 roll, so what I want to know is this: Does anything change if I use the "see-saw" method with my plastic bin full of Caffenol? Would I have to increase the developing time from the usual 7-8 minutes, and, if so, by how much?

Also, how should I go about scanning those negatives, since all I have in the scanning equipment department is a standard all-in-one printer and a dedicated 35mm scanner?

Thanks!

hey keenmaster486

not sure if you have actually finished your development but i have a few suggestions for you ...
one involves buying an IR goggles from a toy store. from what i understand they are not expensive
and come in handy if you need to see whatyou are doing in the dark.
i have procesed old 116 film using the see-saw method, and it was ortho film so i was lucky and able to
use a red light, and it wasn't painful. processing your film that way is do-able but it might end up being more trouble than it is worth
seeing a 120 reel and tank might not cost very much ( who knows it might even be free ).
with regards to your all in one scanner .. i have 2 suggestions ... one involves scanning your film
with a sheet of white paper behind it. sometimes caffneol negatives are thin enough that you can scan them without the backlight/film lid.
i have done this for the better part of almost 2o years. my second suggestion is make contact sheet with the sun
... take a piece of photo paper and make a contact print in the sun. it takes a little bit of time but by brute force you will have images. you can also make ez cyanotypes.
you can scan them with your flatbed ... be warned the sun prints ( photo paper ) are ephemeral
and can't be fixed/developed, the cyanotypes you can soak in a weak solution of washing soda
to remove the blue, and black tea to make them look like "normal" b/w prints.
careful these things can become an addiction, like making paper negatives ..

i am not sure what kind of all in one you have, but i have a feeling it might do OK, i just got one and it does ok (see signature link for details ) ...
good luck !
john