Getting back into B&W developing. Have questions.

[cooltouch]

Well, I'm hoping there's still a few film users left here that still develop their own. I know Wayne and Wes are. Dunno about the rest o' y'all.

It's probably been close to twenty years since I've done any B&W developing. Sold off all my darkroom stuff years ago, but have recently reacquired enough pieces to at least develop my own film: tanks, thermometers, graduated cylinder.

Do I really need to buy some of those weighted clips to pull the film straight while it's drying? Maybe clothes pins with fishing weights attached would work too?

Mostly I'm asking for advice about developers and fixers. And any other chemical I might need, like Photoflow or something. Other useful pointers for home developing will also be welcome . . . like the best way to hang film while it's drying.

I used to use Kodak D-76 with Tri-X and T-Max. Don't recall the fixer I used. And I believe I had some photoflow or some sort of surfactant so that the water would be more slippery.

I'll most likely order the chemicals from Freestyle, and when I do, I'll pick up some rolls of their house brand B&W that Wayne's mentioned is just respooled Kodak. Good enough for me.

Mostly I'm just interested in going with chemicals that are easy-to-use and cheap. I can start getting more fancy after I've gotten a bit more experience behind me.

Mine will be a "hybrid" darkroom. The darkroom itself is a changing bag. I'll be either scanning my negs with my Epson 4990 or using a slide duplicator and reversing the negs in my image processing software. Output will be to a printer using photo paper. So I won't have to bother with an enlarger and trays and a for-real darkroom. There's a custom lab close to where I live, so if I come up with something really special, I can have them print it.

So what sort of chemicals do you like that will fit my needs? I'm tempted just to go with D-76, since it worked well in the past, but I'm always willing to entertain other interesting/worthwhile options.

[Daniel W.]

Clothespins themselves will do. I do two on the end and hang it, it does leave marks of course. Binder clips also work, they have a bit more grip and weight.

Developer: D76 is good stuff, so is HC110 for general work. (I've got a surplus of HC110, see my FT thread in the buy/sell forum). Go with what you know though.

Stop bath: I use arista odorless, some use vinegar, some use water.

Fixer: I use arista again, some use Kodak (two part, fixer and hardener). Odorless. Also get a bottle of stain-out (arista) if you're planning on wearing nice things.

Hypoclear (Again, I use Arista, see a pattern?), helps wash the fixer off completely. Also available from Kodak, we've got a powder bag of it just in case.

Photoflo (specifically a Kodak product) Keeps the dust and water from spotting. A bottle of this lasts years.

The Kodak film from Freestyle is a bit different but not to make a difference. The Arista Premium (red box) is Tri-X. But it is imprinted with Arista and has a purple base, while Tri-X has a neutral grey base. That being said, I can't tell the difference between the two. I'm told the Arista EDU is Foma, running it through in 120 it proves to be very contrasty. They are blue and it does wash out blue after the developer stuff, but it's a pretty blue so no worries

[venchka]

Ii had been buying 1 gallon size of Kodak Raoid Fix. Then Wes told me about Freestyle's liguid fix in the 1 gallon stock size. I think it makes 15 gallons. Way cheaper than Kodak. You just have to be careful with Freestyle's $25 minimum. Photoflo is the only other chemical I buy. Oh, developer. I seem to have accumulated quite a few. I've been using Xtol 1:3 for over a year after switching from D-76 that I had used since the Ice Age.

Camera Co-op has everything.

Good luck!

[wclavey]

Dan seems to have summed it up... the only thing I do differently is that I don't use a stop on film (water is just fine for me) and I use either Diafine or Tmax developer. Other than that he hit the nail on the head... down to the Freestyle brand. I have even use the Freestyle Photoflo equivalent, if I needed it then I was placing an order...

[Daniel W.]

I don't worry about the $25 min. It's adding zeroes to that figure I worry about!

[tropicpine]

Originally Posted by Daniel W.

Photoflo (specifically a Kodak product) Keeps the dust and water from spotting. A bottle of this lasts years.

To be specific a 4oz bottle will last you for years.

I use D76, Kodak Indicator Stop Bath, Kodak Rapid Fix, and Photoflo. Additionally a small bottle of Hypo Check will allow you to test you fixer.

All of these items are available locally at Camera Co-op.

Welcome back to the dark slide.

[cooltouch]

Thanks guys,

Yeah, I'm aware of Camera Co-op and also Houston Camera Exchange. And I'm sure both stores have fair prices on their darkroom products. What was enticing me to go the Freestyle route was the cheap prices on its film. Add a couple of rolls of B&W (or fewer?) at the Co-op or the Exchange to the cost of the chems, and I'm at that $25 minimum. May as well get more film for the buck as long as I've reached it. As it is, I shop both stores for incidentals, and scrounge through their used stuff on a regular basis. I've found some real gems at both stores.

[zebulus]

Im the odd man out here! I use UFG Developer, Tap water (straight, no chaser), and Ilford rapid fix. Works fine for me. :)

[ronocnikral]

I agree with dan, i've never had an issue with the freestyle $25 min. I usually put everything i want in the cart, take a look at it and start cutting things. If I get out of there for under $100, it's a good order imo.

i would say stick with the d76 if that is what you have used in the past. i've been using diafine mainly because it is fairly simple (at least how I understand it). Good for scanning too!

[Valerie]

Another vote for the D76-- works great for the Arista/TriX. Kodak stop (water works fine too). I use Ilford Hypam to fix right now. And LFN instead of Photoflo. But any of the above suggestions are fine.

Clothespins will hold your film straight to dry. I bought a cheap plastic hanging garment bag to hang my film in while it dries.

Have fun!! That is THE most important ingredient of all!

[The Philos]

I like T-Max and HC-110 Developer, Ilford Stop and Fixer. I'm going to switch to Freestyle stuff when I run out.

[chris00nj]

All this talk about developing, and I'm tempted to start developing myself. I took a class in high school, but never did any darkroom stuff since. I don't have the proper space to do any printing, but a sink and a changing bag is all I'd need.

I recenty got a tank and some photoflo a couple months ago at Camera Coop, because I wanted to straighted some old 35mm that I wanted to scan.

I guess all I'd need now is some developer, stop bath, fixer, thermometer, and a changing bag. Am I missing anything?

I plan on sticking to Tri-X and Kodak developer products until I'm more comfortable.

[ronocnikral]

chris, i can toss a pack of d76 your way if you want something to get started with.

pm me and you can stop by and pick it up...we are just a couple miles from the coop.

[venchka]

Stop bath is totally optional. However, any money going to Rochester is fine.

In the summer a dishpan that fits your sink to hold water and ice and your chemicals is most handy. Any kitchen appliance timer will work. Microwave, stove, etc. Hang wet film from the shower curtain rod to dry. Close the door, run the shower long enough to get the room steamy to settle the dust. Then hang film. Keep the bathroom closed up.

Archival pages to store negatives.

[cooltouch]

Heh. Thanks for resurrecting this thread that I started a few months back. Just to provide y'all with an update, I finally got busy again doing my own B&W processing. No need to get complicated. For chemistry, I'm using D-76 and Kodak Fixer, and that's it. No stop bath, no Photo Flow. I did buy a Patterson tank from Camera Coop, though, after getting some weird streaks from my first 120 roll that were determined to be caused by the spin agitator in the tank I used. Seems that 120 film is more sensitive to spin agitation than 35mm is. I used the good ol' inversion method with the Patterson tank with my next couple of rolls of 120, and problem solved.

Here are a couple of shots taken with my Yashica Mat 124. Kodak Tri-X 400 Professional (400TX):









I really like this 400TX. It's the best B&W film I've ever used.