Measure out how much developer you need for your tank, if you’re unsure just fill your tank all the way. It’s now safe to open your dark bag and your film is safely loaded and light sealed ready to develop. Slide your now loaded film reel onto the tank spindle, place it inside your development tank and secure the lid. Once the film is on you can tear off the backing paper for 120 film (it’s usually held with masking tape) or cut off the canister for 35mm film as close to the end of the roll as possible. Once the film has pushed into the reel you should be able to crank it on with small back and forward rotations until you get to the end of your film roll.
For 35mm film you’ll want to cut the tag end of the film so it’s square to make it easier to wind on. You will need to open your 35mm film canister with the bottle opener (just pry one of the ends off) or peel open your 120 film.įind your film edge by feel and feed in into your film reel that you’ve preset the sizing for. Can opener and scissors (if doing 35mm film).Place everything you need inside your dark bag and double check you haven’t missed anything. Once you’ve done it a few times it will be second nature. Loading your film in a dark bag takes some practice, you’ll be doing everything without sight so this is something you might want to practice with a test roll outside the bag a few times. You can buy chemicals in either powder or liquid form, either is fine and it’s entirely up to you. Make sure to clearly mark your bottles so you don’t mix up your developer and your blix! Mixing your chemicals is straight forward – follow the instructions that came with your kit. I always use 1L kits with 1L storage bottles and measuring jug so I’m not wasting larger amounts of chemicals if I don’t develop new film for a while. You should try to match your chemical quantity with your storage bottles. CineStill’s CS41 “Color Simplified” Powder Kit They are consistent, easy to use and affordable. There are many colour development kits available from different manufacturers, but I personally use the CS41 2-Bath Kits by CineStill. This means our five step process can be shortened to just three! Modern film stocks also include chemical stabilizers in the film emulsion, so the stabilizer bath step is no longer needed unless you’re processing older film from the 1990’s or earlier ( CineStill agrees). These are called 2-bath kits, and are what I recommend starting with. Thankfully, many modern development chemical kits for C41 now combine the bleach and fix into a single step to make everything easier and quicker.
The traditional colour or C41 development process takes up to five stages
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