Stupid question about developing B&W film.

[Aubrey]

Hi - I'm a complete newbie to developing 35mm B&W film (I've only done it once before, and it was in a classroom environment), and on the last batch I did, the numbers along the edges of the film aren't as dark as they are on previous batches. (The images look paler.) What's the most likely cause of this? Did my developer solution have too much water in it? Did I not develop it for as long as I should have? All of the above? (Admittedly, this is my fault for having lousy measures and no proper timer, but I was daft enough to think I could wing it in this instance. Fortunately, it wasn't an important film or anything, I was just getting the practice in.)

 

[dazzajl]

Hello Aubrey

It could be any of those things, the dev solution was too waek, the time too short or the temp to low. Or possibly just a little of all 3. There is far more room to wing it with anything b&w over colour processes but it still needs to be pretty close.

If it was just a test then you at least you don't need to stress over it. Will probably all dissapear in a couple of weeks if the fix was the same anyway.

 

[Dave Scanlon]

Hi Aubrey and welcome to TP
theres no such thing as a stupid question
only stupid answers ! hopefully this isnt one of them
When I do a B&W film i always use fresh developer - in my case kodak t-max. it doesnt cost much, but if it has been mixed a while it goes 'off' learned that lesson the hard way... the stop bath is a mild acid, that one lasts ages, and the fixer - Ilford rapid fix- in my case can be used again too.
temperature is critical, get a thermometer -
I microwave the developer after it is mixed - no film yet!!!
to 20deg, stop and fix are at room temp
and time it accurately inverting every 30 seconds as per instructions
after the fix bath wash it under a running tap for about 15 mins, and hopefully you should have some lovely punchy negs.

let us know how you get on.

 

[Aubrey]

Thanks for the tips, guys.

Fortunately, I'm pretty sure I got the temperature and fixer right, if nothing else. (I run a bath full of water so that I can get it to 20 degrees and and use that for all my solutions. Never thought of microwaving it, though - might try that in future.)

I use Jessop's econofix 2 and econodev 2, 'cos I'm cheap. I've been using water as a stop, so I might as well pull my finger out and buy some proper stop. (Oooh, the extravagance.) I know you can use acetic acid, but commercial stop seems worth the money.

Also: how many times can you reuse developer and fixer? (I've been using fresh batches so far, because I only recently read that developer can be reused, and I keep accidentally throwing my fixer away. :bang Can you reuse the developer until it goes straw-coloured? I can't see anything on the bottle that explicitly says how many times you can re-use it. With the fixer, I assume that it can be reused 3 times, as it has 'capacity: 3' mentioned on the back of the bottle.

 

[antonroland]

Hello and welcome to TPF!!

Here is what I used to do:

I always used Ilford ID-11 in stock solution ( 1l undiluted). I think they do specify the shelf life at 6 months or so and I always used to dump it at six months even though I have used some that was a year or so old and I got excellent results.

Do store it in a dark glass bottle, tightly sealed and out of light.

I am quite sure that you can develop any reasonable number of films in it BUT I wouldn't push for 1000!:bonk:

Never worried much with stopbath and I can show you negs from the early 90's developed without stopbath and they are still fine! Good rinses inbetween steps vital though!

Ilford paper fixer for fixing and obsessive about mixing fresh fixer for every film tank I processed.

As far as temperature goes, do not bust your a** to get it to 20 deg:bonk:

Inside the ID-11 box is a time table to adjust developing times for colder and warmer than 20 degr. If you store it in a dark cupboard your temperature will be constant, so whether it is 18 or 23, simply adjust your developing time.

Oh, and while developing agitate/ stir the mix for at least 10 seconds of every minute (also while fixing if you like)

HTH!

Cheers

 

[Neil]

Hi - I'm a complete newbie to developing 35mm B&W film (I've only done it once before, and it was in a classroom environment), and on the last batch I did, the numbers along the edges of the film aren't as dark as they are on previous batches. (The images look paler.) What's the most likely cause of this? Did my developer solution have too much water in it? Did I not develop it for as long as I should have? All of the above? (Admittedly, this is my fault for having lousy measures and no proper timer, but I was daft enough to think I could wing it in this instance. Fortunately, it wasn't an important film or anything, I was just getting the practice in.)

Aubrey, if you want good results and know a competent film processor, find out what a really good negative looks like, so you know what to aim at. Then buy some proper measures, use fresh chemicals mixed consistently, standardise your working proceedures and use a thermometer (same film, same dev, same tank, same temperature etc). Keep a few notes and within maybe 5-10 films you'll be able to turn out an acceptable standard negative. After that you can go off and experiment however you like.

Of course the real trick to film processing is getting the exposure right in the first place. Good luck, Neil.

 

[donut]

i only use developer the once then throw it .in fact some developers are use once then throw away anyway check the instructions on the box for details . stop bath can be used many times , most are an indicator stop bath , that is when they are exhausted they change colour , the one i use changes from yellow to purple .Fixer can also be used many times , but you may need to check the clearing time before you use it .( to check the clearing time of fixer ,,save a bit of film leader when you cut the end off before you wind it onto the spool ,pour a little fixer into a tray ,in my case i use the fixer bottle lid , put the leader into the solution then time how long it takes the film leader to go clear . if the fixer is alright it should clear the film in half the time you fix the film in . that is if you would normally fix the film for 3 mins the leader should be clear in 90 secs MAX .

i would also add that if you are just experimenting dont just wing it because you really need consistant results for developing , so you know what to expect each time and for each film. oh and dont forget to use wetting agent at the end !

sorry neil i got so engrossed in writing you beat me to the bit about consistency

 

[antonroland]

The one thing I forgot to mention was wetting agent in your final rinse.

You might even still get some water marks once your film is dried.

If you do, take a soft cotton glove and wipe them off gently. They (water marks) normally appear on the glossy rear of the film but it is possible to get scratches on your film if you overdo the wiping part.