Rolf-Werner
After developing a roll of Fomapan 400, the developer suddenly came back from the tank looking greenish-yellow or greenish-blue. There was still quite a bit left in the stop bath as well.
Will this affect the next roll of film? I’ve got an ADOX roll that I wanted to develop with it.
Hopefully someone’s online here today :)
Rolf
Rolf-Werner
Now that the film’s hanging up to dry: no colour on the backing, developed well. Was it the adhesive tape? Or does the emulsion just bleed like that? No idea.
Should I run the ADOX through it as well? It can’t really do any harm...
pittyman
Hi Rolf,
That’s perfectly normal; the colour comes from the antihalation coating. Different film, different colour.
Personally, I pre-rinse all my films, which removes most of the protective coating.
Pre-rinsing isn’t really necessary for most films, but:
- I’ve always done it this way; it works well, and
- it helps bring the development tank into the correct temperature range (pouring 20°C developer into
a 15°C cold tank is more hassle than pre-rinsing with 20°C water?)
Back to your question:
Most home users only use their film developer once. The advantage of this is that you’re always
working with fresh developer, so the development times are consistently the same. If you
want to use a developer multiple times (note: not every developer is suitable for this),
you must extend the time accordingly for each subsequent development process, as the developer
becomes increasingly depleted and all the substances are less active. Unnecessary extra effort,
in my opinion, unless you are developing film commercially and need to keep running
costs low.
So why should you go to the trouble? Use the required amount, carry out the development of your films and
then pour it down the drain. If you have concerns about the impact on wastewater, you can
also use environmentally friendly developers (e.g. XTOL).
Best regards
Dirk
Rolf-Werner
Oh well, I’ll just run that one roll through then.
That was a 1:1 D76 solution, and it held up perfectly right up until the fourth roll. According to the data sheet, it should be good for up to 12 films; I had 5. That’s based on square metres of surface area, not the number of films, and at 50% I’m on the safe side (if you disregard oxygen and such when filling it up).
I used to always have just one film and then throw the chemicals away; I (almost) never had several films. But if the data is to be believed, I thought... and first ran through 3 rolls of FP4, no problem, then the Fomapan 400, and now the ADOX is left. The Foma turned out very well, by the way – nice and dense with good detail – so the developer was still good for that.
Right, and now I’m reeling in the ADOX and heading off into the darkroom :)
Rolf
HenningH
From the Kodak data sheet:
“If you perform a dilution of D-76 developer in a 1:1 ratio, perform the dilution only immediately before use and dispose of it after development. [...] The diluted solution must not be reused or topped up.
You can develop one 135-36 film (203 cm) in 473 ml or two roll films together in 946 ml of diluted solution. If you develop a 135-36 film in a 237 ml tank or two 135-36 films in a 473 ml tank, increase the development time by 10% (see the table below).”
Photux
What’s more, D76 is so inexpensive that, in my opinion, it’s not worth the risk of developing a faulty film. I use D76 1:1 as my ‘standard developer’ and am very happy with it. In a full bottle with Protectan, the solution lasts considerably longer than Kodak specifies, so I just go for the 3.8-litre pack.
