Jump to content

First Darkroom, developing...


Ronan

Recommended Posts

Advertisement (gone after registration)

Ok so i did my research, did the ratios etc etc etc but i want to confirm (fresh) that what i got is right.

 

Developer, 500ml bottle of Ilford Ilfosol 3

Stop Bath, 500ml bottle of Ilford Ilfostop

Fixer, 500ml of Ilford Rapid Fixer

 

Our developing tank is 250ml, for 1x 35mm at a time.

We want to make this last so i figured ratios of:

 

1+14 for developer, 1+19 for stop bath, 1+ 9 for Rapid Fixer.

 

For 250ml our developer comes out to 17ml developer to 233ml of water. This is one time use as recommended by Ilford.

 

Our Stop Bath comes out to 12.5ml stop bath to 237.5ml of water. This is one time use?

 

Our rapid fixer i don't understand... The numbers Ilford gives do not add up (confusing information on the PDF itself...). This is the one: Welcome to ILFORD PHOTO

PDF: http://www.ilfordphoto.com/download.asp?n=1161&f=2011427111531653.pdf

 

What ratios? How many times can i use it? This is for 250ml (we mix, use it, then mix fresh when needed). Help :)

 

Thank you :)

Link to post
Share on other sites

Ok so i did my research, did the ratios etc etc etc but i want to confirm (fresh) that what i got is right.

 

Developer, 500ml bottle of Ilford Ilfosol 3

Stop Bath, 500ml bottle of Ilford Ilfostop

Fixer, 500ml of Ilford Rapid Fixer

 

Our developing tank is 250ml, for 1x 35mm at a time.

We want to make this last so i figured ratios of:

 

1+14 for developer, 1+19 for stop bath, 1+ 9 for Rapid Fixer.

 

For 250ml our developer comes out to 17ml developer to 233ml of water. This is one time use as recommended by Ilford.

 

Our Stop Bath comes out to 12.5ml stop bath to 237.5ml of water. This is one time use?

 

Our rapid fixer i don't understand... The numbers Ilford gives do not add up (confusing information on the PDF itself...). This is the one: Welcome to ILFORD PHOTO

PDF: http://www.ilfordphoto.com/download.asp?n=1161&f=2011427111531653.pdf

 

What ratios? How many times can i use it? This is for 250ml (we mix, use it, then mix fresh when needed). Help :)

 

Thank you :)

 

The developer and stop bath are one shot. You might be able to keep the stop, but it is so cheap that it is best to toss it and use fresh every time.

 

The Rapid Fixer fact sheet states that for film you should use 1:4 (not 1:9) dilution. It may not matter much but better do what you are told, your own until specific tests give you factual reasons to do differently.

 

Based on the fact sheet, you should be able to fix 5-6 36 exposure films in each 250ml of working solution. The fact sheet states trhat you can do 600 films in 5l of concentrate. At 1:4, 250ml of working solution requires 50ml of concentrate, or 1% of the bottled concentrate. Therefore 1% of 600 films is 6 - thus my estimate of 5-6 films in 250ml of working solution.

Link to post
Share on other sites

Whatever ratio you use (it probably says on the bottle), it is very important to thoroughly wash the film since all the fixer must be rinsed out or staining can result. I've always used one of the aeration film washers. I always use Photo-Flo to prevent spotting. Whether you need that or not depends on your water. Mine is very hard and prone to spotting.

Link to post
Share on other sites

The developer and stop bath are one shot. You might be able to keep the stop, but it is so cheap that it is best to toss it and use fresh every time.

 

The Rapid Fixer fact sheet states that for film you should use 1:4 (not 1:9) dilution. It may not matter much but better do what you are told, your own until specific tests give you factual reasons to do differently.

 

Based on the fact sheet, you should be able to fix 5-6 36 exposure films in each 250ml of working solution. The fact sheet states trhat you can do 600 films in 5l of concentrate. At 1:4, 250ml of working solution requires 50ml of concentrate, or 1% of the bottled concentrate. Therefore 1% of 600 films is 6 - thus my estimate of 5-6 films in 250ml of working solution.

 

Just a word on ratios, I've used Ilfosol at 1:9 and Ilfostop at 1:19. You don't really need more than that for the stop bath. A lot of people even skip using a stop bath and just thoroughly wash their film. I wouldn't recommend that as it wastes more water.

 

As for the fixer, you can use it over and over. I know that a 1:4 ratio of fixer is good for 5-8 films. You can make it last longer if you wash after your stop bath. What we do at the college I work in, is we set up a thermos with 2 liter mix of fixer, and once a week, I put in a test strip of film, unprocessed. If it clears up in less than 4 minutes, then the fixer is good. In theory you can fix your film for as long as you want, and nothing will happen to your images.

 

Good luck!

Link to post
Share on other sites

Just a word on ratios, I've used Ilfosol at 1:9 and Ilfostop at 1:19. You don't really need more than that for the stop bath. A lot of people even skip using a stop bath and just thoroughly wash their film. I wouldn't recommend that as it wastes more water.

 

As for the fixer, you can use it over and over. I know that a 1:4 ratio of fixer is good for 5-8 films. You can make it last longer if you wash after your stop bath. What we do at the college I work in, is we set up a thermos with 2 liter mix of fixer, and once a week, I put in a test strip of film, unprocessed. If it clears up in less than 4 minutes, then the fixer is good. In theory you can fix your film for as long as you want, and nothing will happen to your images.

 

Good luck!

 

I was going to use 1:9 for the developer, but that comes out to 16 35mm's. At 1:14 it comes out to 24. I am thinking buying a bigger bottle or (i was told) powder to mix? We are trying to be economical since we have a lot of film to process. We scan ourselves.

Link to post
Share on other sites

Advertisement (gone after registration)

I was going to use 1:9 for the developer, but that comes out to 16 35mm's. At 1:14 it comes out to 24. I am thinking buying a bigger bottle or (i was told) powder to mix? We are trying to be economical since we have a lot of film to process. We scan ourselves.

 

According to Ilford, 1:9 gives better results. I'm not sure if that's entirely true, as with other developers using a lower ratio extends the developing time, which gives the shadows more time to develop, and so making everything look sharper. Rhodinol is an example. I'm never honestly tried 1:14. I guess it wouldn't harm, and it wouldn't make a real difference unless you're using ultra fine grain and making enlargements.

Link to post
Share on other sites

For your Stop and Fixer you want to mix up much larger quantities, I usually make up 2.5 litres of each, sometimes 5 litres both at working strength. I use 5 litre bottles as storage, available if you buy de-ionised water, and you can use the water to mix the chemicals. Use it and pour it back into the storage bottles. If you only have the exact amount mixed up you always loose a small part as wastage, so before you know it you need to mix some more up. Stop bath lasts for ages, gradually increase the fixer time based on age and usage.

 

Steve

Link to post
Share on other sites

I was going to use 1:9 for the developer, but that comes out to 16 35mm's. At 1:14 it comes out to 24. I am thinking buying a bigger bottle or (i was told) powder to mix? We are trying to be economical since we have a lot of film to process. We scan ourselves.

 

According to Ilford, 1:9 gives better results. I'm not sure if that's entirely true, as with other developers using a lower ratio extends the developing time, which gives the shadows more time to develop, and so making everything look sharper. Rhodinol is an example. I'm never honestly tried 1:14. I guess it wouldn't harm, and it wouldn't make a real difference unless you're using ultra fine grain and making enlargements.

 

 

...Ronan, I have used your proposed combination (1+14 for developer, 1+19 for stop bath, 1+ 9 for Rapid Fixer) for years to great effect - I therefore vouch for it. All one shot, though, and I fully agree with FiZZ's comment on shadow detail.

Link to post
Share on other sites

Whatever ratio you use (it probably says on the bottle), it is very important to thoroughly wash the film since all the fixer must be rinsed out or staining can result. I've always used one of the aeration film washers. I always use Photo-Flo to prevent spotting. Whether you need that or not depends on your water. Mine is very hard and prone to spotting.

 

Hard water purges chemicals from the film more efficiently than soft water. After washing, soak your film with Photo-Flow (or equivalent) 1:200 in distilled water, then hang to dry. Do not use a squeeze device to the film.

Link to post
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...