Hello all. Looking for people who develop film or have done so in the past. I'm looking to start developing my own. Found a kit to order. My question involves the chemicals. Most sites and videos show that you can reuse the chemicals multiple times. How many rolls can be developed? How do you know if the chemical needs to be changed?
black and white or colour? they are different.
i do black and white, and so far have only used kodak d76 developer, i made up 3L and have used it for a year and not run out, it still works but the instructions say it should only last months... would be better for me to only make 1L at a time, as i have only developed once or twice a month. . i put it in several softdrink bottles so i could squeeze the air out in between uses, this helps keep it fresh
.developer is used once, and thrown away after, but you can use the same fixer many times before it gets exhausted. you test fixer by adding a drop of hypoclear and if it goes cloudy it needs replacing, but i just use it about 8 times and pour fresh.
stop bath is basically dilute acetic acid,/ white vinegar you can do also just use three changes of water to do the same job.
hypoclear is used after the fixer and you only use about 60ml each time so that lasts a while,
you can use a drop of dishwashing liquid in the final rinse you dont really need photoflo
@kali66 Thanks so much Kali. Really appreciate the info and help. Been trying to get my rolls to any place that will develop them....but the cost and distance just aren't worth it. So I think I'm gonna order the kit and see how it goes. Haven't decided on B&W or color. For now it'll have to color since the last three or four rolls are C-41 color. Maybe down the line I'll work on B&W.
i know temperature is more crucial for color , i think a cooler is a good item to have to keep them warm as you work...and you can do about 15 rolls with a c-14 kit, its also best to use it up in a shorter time , accumulating some rolls before you start might be a good idea. But i think the process is fairly similar, just dont get your chemicals mixed up and pour them back into the wrong bottle, as that will ruin them!
there are a lot of youtubes about this stuff, a lot of people say it calls for being methodical and painstaking but i get away with being a bit slapdash lol
I agree with @kali66 about the reuse of the chemicals. The developer is for one use and the rest can be used many times. On my packages the amount of use is mentioned, maybe different from different brands. The only problem I have had is that the developer was to old and I spoiled some films before I realised that was the problem. I did this when I was young and everything worked fine even if I kept the chemicals and didn't bother about temperature, now I'm very thououg. B&w that is. Good luck and have fun!
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i do black and white, and so far have only used kodak d76 developer, i made up 3L and have used it for a year and not run out, it still works but the instructions say it should only last months... would be better for me to only make 1L at a time, as i have only developed once or twice a month. . i put it in several softdrink bottles so i could squeeze the air out in between uses, this helps keep it fresh
.developer is used once, and thrown away after, but you can use the same fixer many times before it gets exhausted. you test fixer by adding a drop of hypoclear and if it goes cloudy it needs replacing, but i just use it about 8 times and pour fresh.
stop bath is basically dilute acetic acid,/ white vinegar you can do also just use three changes of water to do the same job.
hypoclear is used after the fixer and you only use about 60ml each time so that lasts a while,
you can use a drop of dishwashing liquid in the final rinse you dont really need photoflo