Useful info, thanks It sounds as if you are saying that while the developer gets darker and cloudier it efficacy doesn't alter within the time period you specify?You’re going to get a flurry of conflicting opinions on this question. I can tell you what I do—a process that I’ve been using since I started developing C-41 in 2012. Bear in mind that I shoot for pleasure; I don’t try to make money from it (although I’ve had over 50 photos hung in various galleries and sold five or six) and I don’t think I’m the next Robert Frank and that MoMA is going to come to my door begging for archival-quality negs. So, ultimately the choice is yours and I’d recommend experimenting until you find a method that suits you.
I just developed a roll of Portra in chemistry that I mixed on September 5. (I label and date my mixes.) This was the 11th roll from that batch of chemistry. On Sept. 5 as always I mixed up a batch of chemistry from powders (I use and like the Unicolor As the developer gets old, it gets darker and cloudier; this last batch showed a strong difference between used and new chemistry—the first batch, which I discarded in early December after the 7th roll, was significantly darker than the “new” batch which looked exactly as it did when I mixed it.
I'm just getting into it, so take this as my basic research on it
My thinking is that if I freeze the developer, there will be minimal oxidation as everything slows down
You may have to do a bit more research. Virtually everything you said was wrong.
Yes, this in principle will work and @BMbikerider has tried it; I'm sure he'll chime in and offer his experience.
In my experience, freezing isn't necessary, since storing the working strength developer in entirely full, glass bottles with a properly fitting cap is sufficient to effectively halt oxidation and preserve the developer for 1+ years. So this is similar to what @Tel describes, although I prefer to use clear glass as it makes it easier to see the color of the contents of the bottles. They need to be stored in the dark, though, since the developing agent will decompose (slowly) under influence of UV. The bottles do not need to be refrigerated. I personally usually use my developer one shot, contrary to @Tel. YMMV.
Fixer likes to be stored in isolation from oxygen, like developer, but is a whole lot more robust. In general, with Fuji C41 fixer, I don't bother decanting it into glass bottles. It survives fine in the partially full plastic jug it comes in from the factory before it's all used up, in my experience.
Bleach is easy; it's basically indestructible. I'm pretty sure you could put it in an open tray in a corner of your patio/balcony/deck, come back after a year and it would still work just fine after filtering the dead squirrels and butterflies out of it. I personally prefer to not go that far and just keep it in the factory packaging, like the fixer, until it's used up - which takes ages.
Hi blee1996,I use 500ml or 1L aluminum foil lined wine bags, and squeeze out all the air. This way, my C41/E6/ECN-2 working solution developers, fixers and bleach can last at least one year with intermittent use in between.
Well, sort of but not exactly. I find that properly stored the developer can deliver acceptable results (for me) up to 3 or even 4 months after being mixed. There are people here who are much more particular than I am and will argue that it’s only good for a few days. The danger is that the dev doesn’t give a clear warning that it’s about to fail, though I have consistently gotten good results for months after mixing it. To be cautious, I do a clip test before developing anything I consider important, like LF sheet film, if the dev is more than 2 months old. I have, in the past when I was testing longevity for my own information, had dev fall of the cliff and fail completely, but only after exceeding the 15-16 roll target. I did make it to 20 rolls once and others have told me they went further than that. The darkness of the dev is a rough indicator of its deterioration I think, though I haven’t done any rigorous testing to find out of this is true or useful.Useful info, thanks It sounds as if you are saying that while the developer gets darker and cloudier it efficacy doesn't alter within the time period you specify?
Am I right in this
pentaxuser
Hi blee1996,
What specific brand have you found works for you?
Thanks!
I’m asking, not because I want to develop many roll of film in one batch, but because at the moment my developer will have aged before I’m past my second roll. That’s a waste, and it’s expensive.
The brands keep on changing on eBay and Amazon, and similar items appear and disappear. I looked up the most recent Amazon order of 50 1L bags just a few months back, and that item no longer exists. This is a similar one that is available now on Amazon.
View attachment 387101
The brands keep on changing on eBay and Amazon, and similar items appear and disappear. I looked up the most recent Amazon order of 50 1L bags just a few months back, and that item no longer exists. This is a similar one that is available now on Amazon.
View attachment 387101
I have mixed fuji Hunt 5l kit and have frozen developer in 500ml plastic bottles. When I have 10 to 12 rolls, I thaw 2 bottles, makeup 1litre chemistry and use them. For the time being I have not seen any color issue and the way I test this is if the same film (like Portra 400) prints on the same RA4 paper with roughly the same filter settings without any color issue, till now I am successful. But again, I am not a Pro.
sorry, deleted it, as I am obviously in the wrong forum, if you don't help people understand their mistakes.
I'm never wrong! My wife can testify to this.
Koraks is passionate about C-41
And knowledgeable and helpful.
But I'm prepared to tell him that the way he said what he said was too brief
But I'm prepared to tell him that the way he said what he said was too brief
sorry, deleted it, as I am obviously in the wrong forum, if you don't help people understand their mistakes.
This list was non-exhaustive; there were more problems with your post.* Mixing from powder or concentrated solutions does not imply one shot or repeated use.
* Stabilizer has nothing to do with replenishment.
* One-shot use is literally that: use once and discard.
* The 'staining dye' in C41 developer works very simply put as follows: a colored dye is formed as the reaction product of an oxidation product of the developer combined with a color coupler that's present in the film. This is contrary to how B&W staining developers work, where the colored dye is the oxidation product of the developer alone. The mechanism is sort of similar.
* The dye formation process as described above has nothing to do with freshness of the developer as such; it's an inherent, by-design property of how the material works.
* Your comments about environmental load of aged developer do not have any basis in fact.
I suspect it was both, with a dash of unfortunate/ambiguous formulation and a good dose of confusing interpunction thrown in.the reference to what you posted being "wrong" was a reference to what your research indicated - your sources were incorrect - not to your understanding of them.
Yes I will add my two pennorth although I have a feeling this has been said before.You may have to do a bit more research. Virtually everything you said was wrong.
Yes, this in principle will work and @BMbikerider has tried it; I'm sure he'll chime in and offer his experience.
Like your good self I agree about full bottles being the best and I have gone one step further and frozen them (Call it a belt and braces approach) In the past I have also pre-mixed quantities of developer and decanted them into 150cc bottles and because the bottles will vary in capacity there is always a space at the top which will be left uncovered.In my experience, freezing isn't necessary, since storing the working strength developer in entirely full, glass bottles with a properly fitting cap is sufficient to effectively halt oxidation and preserve the developer for 1+ years. So this is similar to what @Tel describes, although I prefer to use clear glass as it makes it easier to see the color of the contents of the bottles. They need to be stored in the dark, though, since the developing agent will decompose (slowly) under influence of UV. The bottles do not need to be refrigerated. I personally usually use my developer one shot, contrary to @Tel. YMMV. but
I have had problems with bleach! A bottle of RA4 Champion bleach was screwed shut after pouring out enough to dilute and fill my 12x16 NOVA process and 1 or 2 x 1/2 litre bottles. When I went to mix some more I found the concentrate had separated out into a dark creamy sludge and a dark brown liquid. A second bottle I bought at the same time but had not opened was still the same when bought.Fixer likes to be stored in isolation from oxygen, like developer, but is a whole lot more robust. In general, with Fuji C41 fixer, I don't bother decanting it into glass bottles. It survives fine in the partially full plastic jug it comes in from the factory before it's all used up, in my experience.
Bleach is easy; it's basically indestructible. I'm pretty sure you could put it in an open tray in a corner of your patio/balcony/deck, come back after a year and it would still work just fine after filtering the dead squirrels and butterflies out of it. I personally prefer to not go that far and just keep it in the factory packaging, like the fixer, until it's used up - which takes ages.
You’re most welcome. I’m just thinking that the reason I came back to APUG/Photrio was the frank exchange of differing ideas and experiences. Sometimes it gets a bit sharp but I think most of us are here to share and learn. And thanks to the moderators who know when to step into the fray and calm things down.Thanks for your reply to my post Tel
pentaxuser
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