Developing Film
My personal process for developing B&W film.
Introduction
There are plenty of detailed guides on the internet by people more educated and knowledgeable than me. I develop film somewhat infrequently, and I have written this guide mostly for myself, in order to make the process easier, faster, and more consistent.
Basic Supplies
You’ll need the following supplies to develop film:
Chemicals
Equipment
- Film tanks (1000ml, 500ml)
- Film reels (120, 35mm)
- 1000ml graduated cylinder
- Thermometer
- Alkali-resistant gloves
- A way to hang your film (I use a coat hanger and binder clips)
Optional
- Funnel: These allow air to escape when you are pouring chemicals into the tank.
- 300ml graduated cylinder: Nice to have for smaller batches.
- Dark bag: Great for loading film onto reels.
- Storage bottles: I use these both for saving chemicals and for prepping the dilutions before developing.
Chemicals
I have very little experience using different chemicals or brands, and there may be better options available. However, I have been using the following chemicals for the past 5 years with good results:
Arista Premium Film Developer
Basic Facts
- 64 oz bottle makes 5 gallons and costs $16
- 1+9 dilution
- MSDS
Shelf Life
- Unmixed: 2-3 years
- Mixed: 6 months to 1 year
- In use: You can reuse it, but I typically don’t since you have to modify the development time for each use.
Arista Premium Odorless Stop Bath
Basic Facts
- 16 oz bottle makes 4 gallons and costs $11
- 1+31 dilution
- MSDS
Shelf Life
- Unmixed: Up to 10 years
- Mixed: Several months
- In use: Dozens of rolls of film; turns purple when exhausted.
Its longevity is primarily because it’s used to neutralize the developer, which is an alkaline solution. Since the stop bath is acidic, it neutralizes the developer, and its effectiveness only diminishes as it becomes less acidic over time.
Arista Premium Odorless Fixer
Basic Facts
- 64 oz bottle makes 2.5 gallons and costs $19
- 1+4 dilution
- Tech Sheet
- MSDS
Shelf Life
- Unmixed: 1-2 years
- Mixed: 3-6 months
- In use: 20-30 rolls of film
- You can use hypo check to see if it’s exhausted. It will form a white precipitate when it’s exhausted.
Arista Premium Hypo Wash
Basic Facts
- 32 oz bottle makes 11 gallons and costs $19
- 1:43 dilution
- MSDS
Shelf Life
- Unmixed: 3-5 years
- Mixed: 6 months to 1 year
- In use: Multiple rolls of film, depending on the amount of use and dilution ratio. Replace it if the clearing times increase or if a sulfurous smell develops.
Developing the Film
On Reusing Chemicals
If you are going to be developing several batches of film within a week or two, you can reuse the developer, stop bath, and fixer to save money.
As the developer wears out, you will need to increase the development times. The stop bath will turn purple when it is exhausted. You can use hypo check to see if your fixer is exhausted. If you are really pinching pennies, adding water rinses between developing steps can help extend the life of your chemicals.
If I know that I won’t be developing any additional rolls for a while, then I will discard the chemicals after use, if only to save me from having to remember how used they are.
Rolling the Film
The very first step is getting the film onto the reels and into the tank.
- Put the film, reel, and tank in the dark bag.
- Roll the film onto the reel.
- Angrily curse the film for not cooperating.
- Put the reel into the tank.
- For the love of God, make sure the tank is closed properly.
Despite using the overly expensive Hewes reels that are supposed to make this easier, I will never not hate this step. A few tips, though:
- When you first get the film into the clips, it is essential that you feel with your fingers to ensure that an even amount of film is poking out of each side of the clip. I do something like half a finger’s width. This will make sure the film is straight and begins to roll onto the reel evenly.
- As I roll the film, I bend it gently into an upside-down U shape. This helps the film to roll onto the reel more easily. The U goes hotdog style along the length of the film.
- Periodically run your fingers along the outside of the reel. If you can feel the film poking out more than usual at any spot, you can gently push it back in and save it. If gently pushing doesn’t cause it to reseat, you will need to re-roll.
- Always, always re-roll if you think something has gone wrong.
Mixing the Chemicals
I develop in two main batches: 500ml and 1000ml, depending on how many rolls of what kind I am developing. I always start by pre-mixing all the chemicals and getting them laid out in a row. I use the following dilutions:
| Chemical | Ratio | 500ml | 1000ml |
|---|---|---|---|
| Developer | 1+9 | 50 + 450 | 100 + 900 |
| Stop Bath | 1+31 | 15 + 485 | 32 + 968 |
| Fixer | 1+4 | 100 + 400 | 200 + 800 |
| Hypo Wash | 1+43 | 12 + 488 | 25 + 975 |
Develop
- Develop
- 7 minutes at 20°C
- Agitate for 10 seconds per minute
- Stop Bath
- Agitate for 1 minute
- Flush with water 2 times
- Fixer
- Agitate 90 seconds
- Hypo Wash
- Open and flush with water
- Close and agitate hypo wash for 2 minutes
- Open and rinse with water
- Dry
- Hang to dry
- Don’t get your nasty fingers all over it