Rollei Digibase C-41

Rhodes · Mar 24, 2012

Not at all, I was just trying to see if I did some mistake, because the digibase kits have a set of instrutions and then in the chemicals bottles, they have diffrent ones (and in the pdf instr. file, they have mix ones also, the temp for doing the solutions is what i remember better).
I did my first stab with tap water but had problems, because the negs were all cover in white foam, the water here is very har, so I did a second stab solution with distiled water for yesterday. But got the same problem, not has much or has much visual, but after scanning few negs were full of white spots.
By the way, in the Landfords Darkroom Guide book, in the color developing, the kodak times have a wash cycle after fixer and before stab, is that right? Or do you all do a wash after fixing?

Edit: found the answer myself. Yester day I forgott to wash after the fixer, arrrggggghhhhhhh!!!

darkroom_rookie · Mar 25, 2012

Just did my very first C-41 4x5s using maxi kit and they turned out absolutely flawless! 9 negs in a Jobo 3010 with a DIY "cupped" expert cap (500ml cup half-open at the top epoxied to the bottom). Used boiled water left to cool for everyhing, 416 ml chems, preheated for 2-3 minutes, two short presoaks, pulled a bit (2'55"-3'00") to reduce contrast (internegs on 100T). Drum was vigorously rolled back and forth on a 6-foot table, temp kept with a "modified" 300W steel fish tank heater in a home-made large epoxy/polyurethane tray and used drift-through (start at 39 deg.C). Stabilized in a separate plastic container. Questions: how much replenishment necessary for the developer to reduce development variation enough?

shuttershane · Mar 25, 2012

Rhodes said:
Edit: found the answer myself. Yester day I forgott to wash after the fixer, arrrggggghhhhhhh!!!

So your suppose to wash after the fixer? The directions don't say this. What other steps are you suppose to wash for the Digi c41 kit?

tnabbott · Mar 25, 2012

shuttershane said:
So your suppose to wash after the fixer? The directions don't say this. What other steps are you suppose to wash for the Digi c41 kit?

I thought washing after fixing was standard on all processes (e.g., BW, E-6, C-41)...?

Rhodes · Mar 25, 2012

I and as many other people use the kodak or fuji times anf steps for c-41 dev with the digibase kits. And yes, we must wash after fixing. I asked about the consequences and how/what to do to the negs, in a different thread: (there was a url link here which no longer exists)
I think when first developed c-41 I wash after fixing, but when I was looking to the steps/time table that I made to be near the processor, I thought, strange, in E6 one must wash after the fizer, but the c41 only have a wash cycle, but never thought of going to see all the steps here.

Terry Christian · Mar 25, 2012

I wash for one minute after the bleach step, and then for just over three minutes after the fixer step. I added these steps to the included instruction sheet so that I wouldn't forget them. I don't know if these wash steps are strictly required, but I read about them here, incorporated them, and get great results. It seems logical to me to wash after bleach and fix so that the chemicals undergo as little contamination as possible, especially since bleach and fix have such larger reuse life.

markwny · Mar 25, 2012

The Jobo cpa-2/cpp-2 manual says to rinse for 3 minutes after bleach and 5 minutes after fixer. It also says the number of water changes is important and recommend changing the water at 30 second intervals throughout the rinse period. They also note that a rinse should not be inserted between developer and bleach, as doing so may increase contrast and density. Lastly, it says to use the stabilizer out of the tanks and reels or processing contamination will eventually result.

fotch · Mar 25, 2012

darkroom_rookie said:
Used boiled water left to cool for everyhing

Why do you boil the water? It does not make it distilled, if that is the reason.

shuttershane · Mar 25, 2012

Thanks for the tips. Hopefully my stabilizer and fix are not ruined. I have only developed 5 of the 20 plus rolls.

I did find it a little odd that it didn't say to wash. I know on my e6 kit it clearly says when to wash

wblynch · Mar 25, 2012

They ere not ruined. Keep going.

polyglot · Mar 25, 2012

While they were not ruined, they still need washing. If you haven't done a post-fix wash, you need to do that now to get the fixer out - give it a good 15-minute soak.

You may find Dead Link Removed useful. Ignore the PHP deprecation warnings up top; my webhost has buggered stuff up lately.

shuttershane · Mar 25, 2012

Polyglot, thanks for that info. Great information.

MattKing · Mar 26, 2012

I have to ask.

Can anyone explain why this interesting thread has had more than half a million views?

More than the Joke Thread!:confused:

michaelbsc · Mar 26, 2012

fotch said:
Why do you boil the water? It does not make it distilled, if that is the reason.

It does not make it distilled. But if you have a problem with dissolved oxygen it will drive out the O2.

But I suspect that's kind of an off beat problem.

mklw1954 · Mar 30, 2012

Thanks to this thread I discovered I had the oxidized (purple) Part C developer. I got the Midi kit in December and fortunately I checked here a couple of days ago to see if there were any tips on using the kit before using it for the first time. Freestyle is sending me the replacement. My previous experience with C41 was using the Unicolor 1-liter powder kit once (with nice results for 15 rolls).

Terry Christian · Apr 13, 2012

FYI, according to the latest (as of this writing, Spring 2012) Freestyle Photographic Supplies catalog and website, evidently Freestyle is no longer offering the largest Rollei Digibase C-41 kit, the one that processes up to 50 rolls. They only offer the small and medium kits now.

That's a bummer, because buying the largest kit gave me the best economy and lasted me pretty much an entire year. I don't shoot enough color consistently to warrant spending the big bucks on stocking up on bulk Kodak Flexicolor chemistry, as in the sticky forum thread above.

Rhodes · Apr 17, 2012

Just a question on the mixing of the color dev. The pdf files says water at 49ºC and for a 250ml of solution, 172,5 of water plus 25ml of A,B and C parts and 2,5 (I think ml) of starter. The kit bottles gives the following infor for doing the same amount of solution: 155 ml of water at 38ºC and 25 ml of the three parts plus 20ml of starter.
So wich one which one should one follow?

Photocrack · Apr 18, 2012

250ml of solution, 172,5 of water plus 25ml of A,B and C parts and 2,5 (I think ml) of starter

For a 250ml working solution this is OK.

Nemidaelios · May 8, 2012

Does anyone replenish their Digibase developer?

I usually process 4 or 5 B&W rolls a month, tops, and I would really like to do color at home. In order to make that work, I'm really going to need to get as much longevity out of my chemistry as possible or it just won't be worth it (especially in terms of waste disposal). Would replenishment (Flexicolor replenisher?) be a good solution for long-term use of working-strength C-41 chemistry? What other components might be replenishable?

My #1 goal is to minimize the frequency with which I must dispose of waste chemistry, given a volume of 5-ish rolls per month.

David_A · Sep 8, 2012

Hi all
Does anyone know why ag-photographic have stooped stocking this? I would like to get hold of some so if anyone knows where from in the UK preferably with the ability to buy the individual chemicals ie dev part a, part b etc.

David

wblynch · Sep 8, 2012

Nemidaelios said:
Does anyone replenish their Digibase developer?

I usually process 4 or 5 B&W rolls a month, tops, and I would really like to do color at home. In order to make that work, I'm really going to need to get as much longevity out of my chemistry as possible or it just won't be worth it (especially in terms of waste disposal). Would replenishment (Flexicolor replenisher?) be a good solution for long-term use of working-strength C-41 chemistry? What other components might be replenishable?

My #1 goal is to minimize the frequency with which I must dispose of waste chemistry, given a volume of 5-ish rolls per month.

I get 18 months or more out of my C-41 chems. I keep them under the sink in ambient temperatures (60-90* f).

Keep the air squeezed out of your color developer. The bleach and fix last much, much longer than the color developer.

pentaxuser · Sep 8, 2012

David_A said:
Hi all
Does anyone know why ag-photographic have stooped stocking this? David

I hadn't realised this but you are right. Possibly ominously he doesn't say out of stock with a projected delivery date. It is as if it is off the list. It might be worth asking the question of Matt at Ag. If he won't be stocking it again then this leaves only the Fuji Hunt kit out of the Ag stock as having a separate Bleach and Fix.

pentaxuser

Diapositivo · Sep 8, 2012

pentaxuser said:
If he won't be stocking it again then this leaves only the Fuji Hunt kit out of the Ag stock as having a separate Bleach and Fix.

Or you could order it by an internet shop in Germany. I did so when I bought it, works well. No customs formalities or duties between Germany and the UK.

bvy · Sep 12, 2012

I ordered the 10 roll Mini kit from Freestyle. I've read this whole thread. There's a lot of information about the stabilizer, but a lot of it is conflicting.

Can someone confirm, hopefully conclusively, that the Mini kit makes only 250ml of stabilizer (and 500ml of the other solutions)? 250ml isn't enough to cover one 35mm reel in my Paterson tank.

Can someone translate the cryptic statement from Rollei (post 228) that the stabilizer can be used "twice without agitation"? With only 250ml of stabilizer, I'm necessarily going to have to resort to some ad hoc method to coat the film anyway. Is it enough to hold the tank diagonally and rotate it by hand?

Finally, I've read about drying problems with these kits. I've also read that I shouldn't add Photo-Flo to the stabilizer. I mix all my chemicals with distilled water. Also, I complete any tap water rinse with a cycle of distilled water. Am I likely to have any problems?

Thanks!

Terry Christian · Sep 12, 2012

Yes, the mini Digibase kit only makes 250ml of stabilizer. Yes, you'll have to hold the tank horizontally and roll it. I set it in the floor and roll it with my foot.

No, do not add Photo-Flo to the stabilizer. The stabilizer should be the last liquid that touches the film. If you do a distilled water rinse, do it after the post-fixing wash, and do the stabilizer last.

And yes, the stabilizer will last for many, many rolls of film -- at least as long as the bleach and fix.

Rollei Digibase C-41

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