The hardest part about developing film is getting the film onto the reels.
Developing film, whether it is color, black and white or slide film, is a process with specific steps that must be completed in a certain order, for an exact length of time at the correct temperature. While all steps are equally important for producing quality results, the developing step is the most critical. If you leave the film in the developer too long, or the temperature is off, your results will be inconsistent from roll to roll.
Instructions
1. Take the film out of the canister. This needs to be done in complete darkness. Any light at all will affect the film. Handle the film by the edges only, and if you don’t have a darkroom or closest, use a changing bag (available at most camera stores).
2. Insert the film onto reels. This is by far the most difficult step. You are in complete darkness or using a changing bag in which you cannot see what you are doing. When you're loading the film onto the reels, the film cannot come into contact with itself, or that part of the film will be ruined. Before doing this process with an exposed roll, consider practicing a few times with a test roll of film. A test roll is any roll of film that has not been used in a camera but has been exposed to light, therefore making it unusable.
3. Place the reels into the tank and attach the lid. At this point the film is in a light-tight canister, so you can turn on the lights.
4. Mix 20 oz. of photo developer and water at 72 degrees Fahrenheit as per the developer instructions. Pour this into the tank. Once the solution is in the tank, agitate it by rotating your wrist from side to side for the first 30 seconds. Give the tank a gentle tap on a table, let it sit for 25 seconds and then agitate again for 5 seconds. Repeat this process for the entire developing time. At the end of 7 minutes, pour out and discard the used developer.
5. Mix and pour into the tank 20 oz. of stop bath and water (mixed per the instructions), agitate for 30 seconds, pour out and discard the used stop bath.
6. Mix and pour 20 oz. of fixer and water as per instructions, agitate for 15 seconds and let sit for 45 seconds. Repeat for four minutes. Fixer and developer can be reused; follow the recommendations of the chemical manufacturer for adding additional time if using used solution.
7. Remove the lid from the tank. The developing process is now completed and the film can be exposed to light. Leave the reels in the tank and run fresh cold water into the tank for five minutes. Add a wetting agent: a soapy chemical that is used to help remove water marks as the film dries. The amount required varies per manufacturer, but on average it is two drops for a two-reel tank.
8. Take the reels out of the tank, remove the film from the reels and, using either clothes pins or film-drying clips, hang the film to dry. Ideally this is done in a dust-free room or a film dryer, which looks like a clothes wardrobe that has air flowing through it. Allow the film to dry for two to three hours.
9. Remove the film from the clips, cut into strips of five or six frames and insert into negative sleeves for storage and protection.
Tags: into tank, film onto, film onto reels, onto reels, agitate seconds, complete darkness, discard used