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Where to buy C41 solutions


cyrsm05

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Hello Everyone,

 

Would anyone know where else I can buy c41 solutions?

 

I usually use the tenetal kit but B&H have discontinued shipping them.  My location is in Los Angeles.

 

Does anyone know any alternatives?

 

I believe there is a product much more expensive (but longer usage) and more chemicals to mix, then tenetal but I have no clue how to put it all together as I have yet found anything online that describes detailed procudures.

 

 

thanks!

 

Cyrus

 

 

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Liquid solutions seem to pose problems for shippers for unknown/unjustifiable reasons. The dry presskit version of C-41 chemistry seems to be the same whether sold under the Unicolor, Jobo or Tetenal name. They are shipped without any problems and each is good for 8 to 12 (how fussy are you?) films. Freestyle sends me mine to Canada.

 

Chris

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I'm surprised Samy's doesn't carry them (at least on the web site - it may be that shipping thing). You might see if they have them for in-store pickup.

 

I get Kodak's C-41 chemicals locally in Denver: 2-liter kits (three small bottles of concentrates) for the developer (which is the only thing that really goes bad quickly); Bleach in 2.5-liter bottles (used straight from the bottle - 2 bottles per crate so 5 liters total); Fix (dilutes 1:1 or 1:4 or some such); and Stabilizer (which is basically just Photo-Flo with a preservative added, and dilutes 1/4 oz to a liter of water, so I get 10 liters from a tiny bottle of concentrate).

 

I understand the limits on consumer-shipping of the liquids - they can be very messy if they decide to leak in the FedEx/UPS truck or jet (after all, there are dye couplers in the developer, the bleach is an intense olive-green that stains like crazy, and the fix is heavily loaded with ammonia compounds) - I'd guess my store gets them on secure pallets via industrial ground shipping companies that don't make consumer (home) deliveries.

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Liquid solutions seem to pose problems for shippers for unknown/unjustifiable reasons. The dry presskit version of C-41 chemistry seems to be the same whether sold under the Unicolor, Jobo or Tetenal name. They are shipped without any problems and each is good for 8 to 12 (how fussy are you?) films. Freestyle sends me mine to Canada.

 

Chris

 

 

Hey Chris, thanks for the reply! The tetenal is a dry presskit and had no problems with it being shipped to me from New York ... until recently.  I'll go check out Freestyle.

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I'm surprised Samy's doesn't carry them (at least on the web site - it may be that shipping thing). You might see if they have them for in-store pickup.

 

I get Kodak's C-41 chemicals locally in Denver: 2-liter kits (three small bottles of concentrates) for the developer (which is the only thing that really goes bad quickly); Bleach in 2.5-liter bottles (used straight from the bottle - 2 bottles per crate so 5 liters total); Fix (dilutes 1:1 or 1:4 or some such); and Stabilizer (which is basically just Photo-Flo with a preservative added, and dilutes 1/4 oz to a liter of water, so I get 10 liters from a tiny bottle of concentrate).

 

I understand the limits on consumer-shipping of the liquids - they can be very messy if they decide to leak in the FedEx/UPS truck or jet (after all, there are dye couplers in the developer, the bleach is an intense olive-green that stains like crazy, and the fix is heavily loaded with ammonia compounds) - I'd guess my store gets them on secure pallets via industrial ground shipping companies that don't make consumer (home) deliveries.

 

 

I read this combo somewhere online, it sounds like a lot of work =P...but I'm sure it's also the higher quality.  Would you be able to tell me how much the estimated total cost is to get all these solutions?  Also, with the amount you listed, how many films would I be able to process?

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  Also, with the amount you listed, how many films would I be able to process?

 

I don't think you should look at how many films you can process but how many you can process before the chemicals go off. As you are aware the excellent Tetenal kit can do maybe 12-16 single films, but it can do more if you process the film in larger batches and at shorter intervals. The chemicals degrade by contact with the air slightly more quickly than they degrade by the amount of film processed, so process quick and often and you get more. But in any case the kit chemicals do not instantly fail so you should see some level of flatness or subdued colours and tones to warn you.

 

Steve

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Cost is a bit tricky, since the chemicals come in different minimum volumes.

 

Absolute price to mix 1 liter of all four chemicals (based on my dealer's prices - YMMV):

 

Dev. $8.50

Bleach $22.00

Fix $3.60

Final Rinse $0.95

Total: ~$35.00

 

I plan on 8 rolls per liter (combination of usage and aging, since it takes me about 2 weeks on average to shoot 8 color rolls) - 120 or 135-36 - so about $4.40 per roll. The fix and final rinse can be stretched a bit more.

 

Actual cost to get started, with the minimum available volumes sold - about $100:

 

Dev. kit for 2 liters - $16.95

Bleach 2.5 liters - $54.95

Fix for 5 liters - $17.95

Final Rinse for 10 liters - $9.50

 

Obviously once you get started, you will purchase new dev. and bleach about twice as often as fix or final rinse.

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