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Art Design Graphics for Print and Web |
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black & white photography |  |
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Developing
and printing
 Development
of the filmWind the film onto the spool. This takes practice, with an old film, maybe an expired film free from your dealer. Persevere, it gets easier.. It is very important to ensure the spool is completely dry before trying to wind the film onto it. Once the film is successfully loaded onto the spool (in darkness), and inserted into the tank, the Developing tank has its light-safe pouring lid attached, and lights can then be turned on. The developer is mixed to the correct dilution with water at 20°C, the timer (or watch) is set, as the developer is poured into the tank, and the tank is banged quickly twice on the bench (to release air bubbles) and the watertight lid put on. Immediately invert the tank, agitating for the prescribed time. Every developer has different agitation requirements so check this first. Note: 'agitate' refers to turning the tank upside-down briefly, twice, then placing tank back onto the bench. Film development times are important.. these vary between developers and film speeds, so refer to the data sheet enclosed with the developer for these. Here is a general chart for Agfa Rodinal developer, times vary slightly between different film brands:
1+25 = 12ml + 300ml Agitation is continuous for the first minute, then every 30 seconds. (My preference is for Ilford films, and at a dilution of 1+25 the times I use are: PanF: 4 mins; FP4: 4.5 mins; HP5: 6.5 mins) Start pouring out the developer 10 seconds before the time ends, to avoid over-development. While developing is in progress, make sure the stopbath is close to the correct temperature (20°C). Check stop-bath temperature, and pour this into the tank, closing the lid and inverting the tank a couple of times. Agitate several times, and pour out after approximately 30 seconds. Check the fixer temperature, pour into the tank, agitate and leave for the prescribed time (about ten minutes), agitating frequently. Pour fixer back into its bottle, and pour in the first change of wash water (which is the same temperature as the fixer etc), agitate and pour out after about a minute. Repeat two or three times, gradually reducing the water temperature, until it is about the same as the tap water, then insert the wash hose from the tap, into the tank, and allow to rinse for 20 minutes. Note: if there is any doubt about the freshness of the fixer, you can test it by placing a scrap of undeveloped film into it and timing how long it takes to go clear. Double this time for fixing your film. After one water rinse has been through the tank, you can carefully pull out a couple of frames of film off the spool (film has lost all light-sensitivity after contact with the fixer) and check to see if the clear areas of film are at all cloudy, which indicates insufficient fixing. However, you must be very careful to not crease the film if you do this. If you find after washing and drying, that the film is still cloudy in areas that should be clear film (insufficient or exhausted fixer), once the film is dry you can reload it onto the spool, and re-fix it with fresh fixer. Once the film is washed, it has a couple of drops of film wetting-agent added, which is a special 'soap' that cause water to run off the film cleanly. Lid is replaced, and tank agitated, then the film is pulled off the spool, after it has first been loosened, and placed back in the tank solution to be drawn out for hanging up to dry. The film is then hung up to dry, away from air disturbances, to minimise dust sticking to it. It's good to hang up the film to dry immediately as you finish work in the darkroom, returning later to cut it into sections. I don't use squeegees etc to 'wipe' the film (hastens drying), because of the danger of dust scratching the soft emulsion surface. The film is cut into sections, 5 or 6 frames each, plus what's left over. This size fits negative storage envelopes. If storage envelopes are not to hand, the negatives can be placed into a folded sheet of A4 paper.
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