Tetenal C-41 (rapid 2bath kit) + Paterson tanks questions (see resulting images)

[mshchem]

Use a stop bath or wash in RUNNING 38 F water for at least a minute between developer and blix. I have thermostatic mixing valves so it's super easy to maintain wash temperature. I would seriously consider looking at Kodak Flexicolor C-41 RA chemistry used in minilab machines. You can buy the machine cartridge or the bulk chemistry. There's several threads on this. For color film you should have separate bleach and fixer. The RA chemistry has the same 3:15 developer time but bleach is 1 minute, fixer is 1.5 to 2 minutes , wash for 3 minutes skip the stabilizer and use Flexicolor final rinse in distilled water. Only takes about 8 to 10 minutes. Minilabs use the RA (rapid access ) washless process. Developer, bleach, fixer then 3 stabilizer baths in sequence. Never is rinsed, stopped or washed, comes out dry in about 8 minutes.
To use the RA chemistry in a small tank, with proper washing you still have 3:15 developer, I rinse for 30 seconds, then bleach minimum of 1 minute, I usually go a bit longer but it's complete at 1 minute with continuous agitation, then fix for 2 minutes, wash for 3 to 5 followed by Flexicolor final rinse, not stabilizer. Nothing at all wtong with using stabilizer instead of the Flexicolor final rinse, just wash the film well before the final dip into nice clean stabilizer. Then no further rinse. No squeegee, just hang and dry.
I've gotten mixed results with the 2 bath kits they work but are expensive, give inconsistent results and the capacity is overstated in my opinion.
You're doing great work, get some first class Kodak or Fuji chemistry.

If you develop enough film replenish. Using the directions on Alaris website.
Best Regards Mike

 

[iandvaag]

I agree with what others said about the stop bath. I also wanted to mention that the blix step goes "to completion", so adding more time will not hurt anything. Incomplete blixing can affect grain, and 4 minutes strikes me as rather short, especially for high speed films like Portra 800 which presumably contain a lot of iodide. When I use blix, I use 18 minutes (triple the 6 min recommended time for arista C41 kits). It's also probably best to use chemicals shortly after they are mixed since the activity of the blix continually decreases after mixing. As Mike mentioned, a kit offering separate bleach and fix is really the best option.

Of course it's not always possible to see with web uploads, but your photos don't appear terribly grainy. The content of the photos is really amazing, very well done. Thanks for sharing. I think it's really awesome that you are shooting 16 mm as well.

 

[mshchem]

I also wanted to mention that the blix step goes "to completion", so adding more time will not hurt anything.

Absolutely agree. If you are trying to get maximum capacity out of the two bath kits, you need to extend blix times dramatically 16 minutes sounds right. The Flexicolor C-41 RA Bleach is complete in 1 minute with constant agitation, Kodak say's 1 to 6 minutes is fine. You won't over bleach.

 

[jm94]

I always stop between CD and Blix, albeit with a water stop, but i found that to be the case.

 

[sperera]

Thanks to all for them advice and kind words