-
In complete darkness - load your
film, put it into the tank and close it securely. You can't open
the tank again, in the light, until you are ready to wash the
film.
35mm
film
120
Roll Film
-
Once
you have loaded the film onto the spiral, and closed the tank,
you can turn the light back on and
proceed in the development of your film.
-
Check
the temperature of your chemicals. They should be at 20 C, this
is the usual recommended temperature set by manufacturers. Conveniently
this is also room temperature.
-
Set
your timer according to the instructions with the developer. If
your developer is not at 20 C you will have to alter the development
time. There will be a chart, supplied with the film or developer,
to help calculate these changes. You may find it easier to use
a water bath to raise, or lower, the temperature of the developer.
For small tank processing try to keep the temperature between
18 and 22 degrees centigrade.
-
Make sure you have arranged all your chemicals, apparatus etc.
within easy reach.
-
Start
your timer.
-
Pour
in your developer, put the lid back on and seal it tight. Gently
tap the tank on the work surface to dislodge any air bubbles -
then agitate for 10 seconds. If you don't do this you will get
areas of your negatives that have not had the full development
time and these will appears as lighter area's of the negative.
-
Agitation
is important to keep fresh chemistry in contact with the film
surface. It is generally performed in one of two ways. Either
by inverting the tank ( turn it upside down ! ) 4 or 5 times at
the start of each minute, or rotating the spiral inside the tank
for 10 seconds at the start of each minute by rotating the centre
spindle. A tool to help with this would have come with the tank
.
-
About
10 seconds before the development is due to end start to slowly
pour out the developer
-
Pour
in the stop bath and agitate for about 30 seconds then pour out.
-
Pour
in the fixer, agitate continuously for 30 seconds then every minute
for the duration of fixation.
-
When
fixing has been completed pour it out.
-
Take off the developing tank top and place the remainder of the
tank under a cold water tap. Wash the film in running water for
at least 30 minutes.
-
If
using wetting agent add a few drops to the wash at the very end
.Wetting agent is used to aid the drying process by preventing
drops of water from forming on the film surface which can cause
" drying marks". Only use a few drops of the agent as
to much can cause problems by leaving marks on the film surface.
-
Take
the spiral out of the tank and shake of excess water. Carefully
pull the film free of the spiral and hang it to dry somewhere
warm and dust free.
-
A
word about film squeegees. The best advice I
can give is do not use them.
If you have purchased one of these please throw it away. They
can cause untold damage to your negatives.
If a piece of grit, from the water, is on the film - using the
squeegee can scratch the negative because this
grit will be dragged down the film and cut into the emulsion.
-
When
the film is dry cut it into strips and file in negative file sleeves.
Don't cut them into individual frames but strips of 6.
-
For accurate process times/temps etc. always consult manufacturers
instructions.
-
Remember
photographic chemicals are poisonous . Be extra careful if you
are working in a kitchen. Any utensils you use preparing chemicals
can only be used for that purpose. If working in the bathroom
make sure no chemicals come into contact with face cloths, towels
etc. as they can cause skin problems.
