How to: Process b&w film

Posted on March 20, 2009 by By Veronica
tags: 120, 35mm, b&w, black and white, develop, developing tank, film, ilford, medium format, process, reel

i’m starting this out with a disclaimer: i am very new at this whole film thing and this is by no means the ideal way to develop film. it’s simply an explanation of how i do it, and perhaps can serve as a rough guide of how to get started from zero. that said, if you have suggestions to help me improve anytihng, let me know!

getting started:

when i wanted to start developing b&w film, i gathered bits and pieces of info from all over the (google) web, until i found ilford’s photo site. they have this great step-by-step guide to processing film. i have a print out of that in my bathroom (processing room). my process is pretty much exactly what ilford tells you to do, so i won’t get into the procedure in too much detail.

once i found out what i needed and what i needed to do, i realized i needed either a change bag or a very dark room and a bunch of supplies. my whole apartment is (unfortunately) quite dark, and there is no window in my bathroom, so that’s what i use. i hang a heavy blanket over the door to make sure there’s no light coming in, and stuff a towel or blanket (or something out of the laundry basket) at the bottom of the door, as the blanket doesn’t reach all the way down. to check if your room is light-tight, seal it up, get in, turn off the lights and wait about 5 minutes so your eyes get used to the darkness. if you see *no* light at all, you’re safe. if you can’t seal out all the light, you need to get a change bag.

once i read through the ilford tutorial a couple of times, i went to my local camera/photo store (i go to national camera and video exchange in the mpls area) to pick up chemicals and supplies. as this was my first time and i wanted to go by the (ilford) book, i bought ilfosol 3 developer, ilfostop and rapid fixer, as well as a bunch of ilford’s hp5 plus (i still love this film – very forgiving!). i also picked up some other supplies at natcam, target and kmart.

i was trying to write down everything i use, but figured a visual would be good here. the following are shots from my bathroom (where i process film) right after i processed my first roll using agfa rodinal (my first time not using ilford developer!).

necessary ingredients:

1: blanket to stuff under door

2: ilford’s processing your first b&w film print-out (see, i still have it handy!)

3: plastic measuring beakers (there’s a smaller one too)

4: chemicals: you need developer (ilfosol 3), stop (ilfostop), fixer (rapid fixer)

5: photo-flo to avoid water stains. i bought this after i had a problem with water stains…

6: paper towels! handy!

7: squeegee

8: film clips

9: lighter. i really don’t suggest having this around the chemicals.

3: there’s the smaller measuring beaker!

10: developing tank and spool (lid on left, tank and spool on right)

11: containers for mixed chemicals. i use 1qt rubbermaid brand bottles with the handy drinking lid (really helpful for clumsy pourers). i’ve labeled the lids and the bottles so i don’t mix up my chemicals.

12: funnel – very helpful for avoiding spills

13: gloves. they suck, i know, but you need them. trust me.

14: thermometer. i got this one really cheap at kmart. it was tough finding one that started at 0 deg (F only, unfortunately). i also picked up a digital one, but that one didn’t like the chemicals or something and died.

15: bottle opener for the getting 35mm film out of the canister

16: scissors – i use small ones because they’re less intimidating in a pitch black room. (tape isn’t numbered, but i tend to keep tape around whenever i have scissors)

17: not pictured: stop watch – very necessary (use cell phones at your own risk)

processing:

again, i pretty much follow the ilford tuotorial, but i’ll quickly run through some hints here.

first, you need to get your film onto the reel(s) and into the tank. i use the shelf you see above (holding the tank and containers) on top of the sink to give me a flat surface in my small bathroom. i always put what i need in the same spot on the shelf, so i don’t have to fumble around and knock things over in the dark. what you need in front of you when it’s pitch black:

tank and canister (keep it open/separate)
reels (if plastic, make sure they’re completely dry, or you’ll be SOL)
roll of film
scissors (optional if 120, needed if 35mm)
bottle opener (only for 35mm)

cut the curved leader off 35mm film to make it easier to wind onto the reel. you’ll also have to cut it off the spool at the end. on 120 film there’ll likely be tape at the end of the film. i know a lot of people cut this off, but i just peel the tape off and stick it onto the shelf. once your film is in the light-tight tank, you can turn on the lights and take the top lid off without harming the film (not the screw-on lid though!).

i develop as recommended – i suggest doing it exactly as you’re told until you’re used to it. i know experimenting is exciting, but you want to know how to do things right first. i use a smallish funnel that fits into the opening in my tank, so i can pour quickly without worrying about spills or splashing. developer is often called ‘soup’, so get used to seeing that. i agitate by inverting for the first 10 seconds of every minute. i have never seen anyone agitate or invert, so i have no idea if i’m doing it right. whatever i do seems to work, so i keep doing it. be sure to tap the tank on a hard surface (or your hand if you don’t want to wake/annoy people) every time you agitate to release bubbles from the film surface. when done developing, i pour it out into the sink and add the stop bath.

once the stop bath is poured, i agitate it a few times (ilford says only a couple of times, but i don’t trust that) and i let it sit for 15-20 seconds (i’m sure 10 secs is enough, but again… seems too little to me). i pour the stop back into the container (marked 2/stop bath for idiot proofing!) and quickly ready the funnel for the fix.

i agitate the fixer the same as the developer, as ilford suggests. however, 3 minutes has proven to be too short of a fixing time for me, so i usually let it go at least 4 minutes. make sure you agitate well, or you’ll have problems. about a minute or so before fix time is up, i start running the tap water to get it to the right temp. when fix time is up, i pour it back into the container (3/fixer) for re-use.

surprisingly enough, i use the ilford method of washing film. the first couple of times, i just washed it in running water, but then i remembered the whales and tried the other method. i fill the tank once and dump it out, fill it again and agitate (somewhat vigorously) at least 5 times, dump/fill, agitate at least 10 times, dump/fill, 20 times, then i usually go back for another 5 or so agitations to be sure. i then screw off the light tight lid and let it sit in running water for a few seconds while i grab the photo-flo.

photo-flo is supposed to be used in a 1:200 mix. i don’t have that kind of finesse, so i just invert the photo-flo bottle and hold the cap under the running tap water that’s filling my tank. once the tank is full, i move the spool-holder (dowel maybe?) around until the water is bubbly, then let it sit until most of the bubbles are gone. i then dump, refill once, dump and remove the film.

i used to be done there, but i kept getting bubbly developer due to not washing out all the photo-flo from the tank, etc, so i now force myself to not look at the film until i’ve thoroughly rinsed out all parts of the tank and spool. then i carefully unroll the film (the emulsion is very delicate at this point), fold over one edge so the clip holds, squeegee, then put another clip at the bottom for weight. i have a few nails up in my bathroom to hang film up to dry. you might also want to run the shower to steam up the bathroom so you avoid floating dust. the film will curl while it’s drying, but it’ll end up straight, so don’t worry. :)

and there you go – that’s how i process b&w film.

Comments

Posted by Andrew(Admin) on March 20th, 2009, 11:07 (Reply to this comment)
that’s a great write up! There’s not many places that give you a nice step-by-step guide (there’s some old ones but they sound dated!).

I know there is something great about seeing your negatives come out, but I live in a *tiny* flat, and have mates that work in a dev shop that do my stuff incredibly cheaply, so have always put off doing it.

Would you say all the fafifng around is worth it?
Posted by Veronica on March 20th, 2009, 17:23 (Reply to this comment)
thanks!

well, to be honest, i started processing my own film for price reasons (i have no mates in dev shops, unfortunately). my place isn’t huge – esp not my bathroom – so i can guarantee it doesn’t take up much room.

that said, even if i found a cheap place to dev my photos, i think i would still do it at home. it gives you an extra connection to your photos and is a lot of fun. it’s almost magical to put these things into the tank, pour in a few chemicals and then see your negs in 20 mins! it’s also very relaxing for me, and a great break from law school.

i guess the short answer would be – i think it’s definitely worth it! even if you only do some of your film at home and send out the rest. i got all my supplies for about $100 (again, no discounts anywhere), so even if you just want to give it a shot, it’s not a large investment.
Posted by Edward on March 26th, 2009, 01:05 (Reply to this comment)
this is awesome! i will have to do one on using hc-110 as the agitation and timing is completely different from d76 or id11.
Posted by Derek on April 9th, 2009, 01:43 (Reply to this comment)
I just processed my first roll of BW at home last night (last time I did my own was in 96 or 97). It was your article that got me off my duff, I had most of the stuff sitting around in the garage but I had been waiting until I could set up a proper darkroom. Your article made me realise that I didn’t need a perfect space to get going. I was making prints tonight with my 5 year old out in the garage and they turned out okay. One thing I did forget was stopper, so the prints probably won’t be archivial quality!
Posted by Veronica on April 9th, 2009, 05:55 (Reply to this comment)
@derek: glad to hear i got you re-started! i find it’s a ton of fun… i’m sure your 5 year old enjoyed it too! i hope to make prints sometime soon, but i really need more space for that, so the digidarkroom will be around for a while.
Posted by Andy Wilson on May 8th, 2009, 14:02 (Reply to this comment)
One thing that makes life easier if you’re using a liquid developer is a syringe. It means you don’t have to premix the developer – you only use the amount you need and it makes it very economical. I’ve got a 30ml syringe, so using LC29 @ 1:29 I measure out 19ml of concentrate and make that up to 570ml with water – a little generous for a 120 film in my tank. I’m lucky as my wife works in a hospital lab so syringes are easy to come by. Otherwise your local chemist/drugstore should sell them…
Posted by Making Negatives Releases Endorphins « Creative Camerawork on July 23rd, 2009, 13:35 (Reply to this comment)
[...] http://www.holgablog.com/2009/03/20/processing-bw-film-and-how-i-do-it/ is a pleasant tutorial by “Veronica.” It includes a link to an Ilford pdf of the same [...]
Posted by Happy Birthday Holgablog! « Holga Blog on April 16th, 2010, 15:30 (Reply to this comment)
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