Squeeze the bulb and as long as you are not a vampire the temperature should start going up. I chose thermometers that were long (for easy use and easy reading) and that were fast. This is where your good thermometers and bathtub come in. The later stages of Blix and Stabilise are not as critical. Of this the most important stage is the Development stage. The whole thing should take place at 39 degrees C plus or minus 1 degree. I also have two beakers that I found I didn’t need but they come in handy for holding the thermometers and funnel.Ĭ-41 chemistry is very temperature sensitive. I must have spent close to $20 on decent lab quality thermometers and a good lab quality glass funnel. The next thing you need (in addition to a bathroom with a bath and sink) is a good thermometer (or two) and a good funnel. If you can keep them airtight, cool and dark they will last longer than your nerve to keep using them! My current batch was mixed more than six months ago. Light, heat and oxygen are the enemies of your chemistry. I store them in boxes in a dark cupboard. You will notice that the glass is not brown or opaque. I replaced them with some laboratory stoppers that are. They came with some cheesy glass stoppers that were not airtight. In fact, you could do a lot worse than the bottles I found in a discount store locally for a few dollars brand new: A narrow neck will be a big help in keeping air out and a wide base will be a big help in not tipping them over when working. You need airtight containers which plastic containers are NOT (they breath) so I recommend GLASS. You mix up the chemistry into three containers and each will be one litre when mixed. It may be by Jobo or Tetanol or something else but but if it is a three bath powder kit selling for around $29.99 then that’s the one! You will find they sell a three chemical powder kit called a “Press Kit”. Here is a 4×5 film “taco” and four of them arranged in the Paterson tank: I then arrange them around the central column. I bend them gently in half (emulsion side facing inwards) and hold the “tacos” together with a rubber band. However, you can also process four sheets of 4×5 film at once in the tank if you remove both reels (you need to keep the central column to keep it light proof). So this one tank lets you do two 35mm rolls at once or one 120 or 220 roll. They fit on the central column as you can see in the picture. Give one a twist and it extends to a size that takes 120 or 220 film. No need for any darkness in your “darkroom” with one of these. This is your ticket to daylight processing. The first thing you are going to need is one of these magical things: In reality, it’s EASY to do your film at home. All of these other guides seemed to be a little incomplete and that lack of detail made me wait longer than I should have before taking the plunge. If you are doing 35mm it may be hard to justify when you can get process only from any fast photo place for $2-3 a roll and never do any work at all! For roll film or sheet film I think it makes sense to do it yourself.I know there are a few guides out there for home processing, some of which were instrumental in helping me get over my fears. If there is a downside its that the 1 liter kit is relatively expensive and the 5 liter kits might be hard to use up before they go bad.Īs far as does it make sense to do it yourself, that you have to answer. If you do a fair amount of C41 a Jobo CPE2 is well worth the money. The subsequent steps can vary a bit with no harm at all. A big tray of water for your chemicals and your tank will do the trick. You need to keep it at 100.4 degrees for 3:15 Thats not too hard. The time in the color developer is short so if you get your water bath right on its not going to cause you a problem. The first step (color developer) is the only serious challenge temperature wise.
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