Basement B&W Processing?

[C4D]

Anyone here do B&W film processing anymore?

I'm wanting to start something in my basement for developing B&W 4X5 sheet film, thinking maybe starting with a tray system to start things off simply. I was wondering if anyone here still does processing in their home and wanted to know what set up are you using. I have a perfect dark spot in my basement to use... just need to get some sinks in the near future

[Reverend]

Originally Posted by C4D

I have a perfect dark spot in my basement to use...

I didn't realize you still use that section of your basement. I'll stop bringing the hookers I kidnap to that corner. I'll be over later to uninstall the wrist and ankle chains from the walls.

[C4D]

I tried to kick that one girl out... for some reason she will not leave

[astrnmr]

I do B&W processing in my garage at Night. Need to clean off the tables and get things setup again. Love working with film.

[Naturalist1]

I know longer do that but I used to shoot B&W exclusively prior to transitioning to transparencies and then going with the digital format.

I used to develop using D76 or Microdol. It was fun stuff back then. (35mm format only)

[C_Notch]

Two years ago i build a little room in my basement as a darkroom. No running water and nothing fancy. Besseler Printmaker35 a few trays and Ilford chemicals.

[Naturalist1]

Besseler Printmaker35

Yup! Great little enlarger!

[C_Notch]

Originally Posted by Naturalist1

Yup! Great little enlarger!

Best part, i got it for FREE!
Gonna try and get more use out of it but with the new DSLR on its way, i doubt it.

[Naturalist1]

Free is an excellent deal!

I bet if you go to yard sales, or run an ad in the paper, you may be able to get a lot of darkroom gear for pennies on the dollar!

[C4D]

Can some of you give me examples on exactly what equipment your using in your home setup? maybe a detailed list of all equipment used to complete your home darkroom setup, what products do you recommend, and any other tips about the equipment used in the process.

I would like to start off with a simple setup to get me started with processing B&W 4x5's at home and slowly improve the setup over time, so what would you recommend to get me started?

[Naturalist1]

This is what I used for B&W film developing and printing. I did my own B&W film exclusively and not color as I really liked shooting B&W it was processing in 3 basic steps whereas color print film has 8 steps, and a couple of those steps are temperature critical (must hold to ±1/2°F), so I never got excited about color printing.

I purchased bulk B&W film (Kodak Plus-X, Tri-X and later T-Max) in 100 ft. reels and used a Watson bulk film loader and reusable film cassettes loading all cassettes with 36 exposures.

Here is a list (best to my memory as the last time I developed film was in 1998) of what I used.

For Film Developing:

• Kodak film developing chemistry book. This told all the times and temperatures for various films and ISO ratings based upon chemicals used and ambient temperature as you developed. The warmer it is the less development time is needed.
• 12” Long thermometer – used when mixing chemicals.
• Large (12-20 ounce) Cylinder for mixing of chemicals.
• Stirring rod.
• 3 each, 1 gallon jugs for holding the chemicals: Developer, Stop and Fixer.
• 35mm Stainless steel tanks and reels – one held a single roll of film while another held 2 rolls at one time.
• Kodak D76 or Microdol developer (I usually used Microdol but that was just my preference)
• Kodak Photo-Flo. This rinses the film prior to taking it off the reel to aid in preventing water spots as the film is drying.
• Rubber film squeegee – do not use the cheaper sponge types.
• Wire across the inside of a closet that is rarely used (to eliminate dust).
• 2 ea. of the heavy binder clips. One is used to clamp the developed film onto the wire while the other clip is clamped onto the free hanging end of film as a weight to prevent curling of the film as it dries.
• Archival quality negative pages to store the dried and cut negatives in.
• 3-Ring binder to hold of the archival pages full of processed film and their contact sheets.

For Printing the Photos:

• Darkroom safe light
• Enlarger
• Nikon 35mm enlarger lens
• Enlarging easel – to hold the paper flat
• Kodak print scale
• Glass plate for creating contact sheets
• Negative brush
• Craylab Timer
• Enlarger timer (forget the brand name) – plugged into the Craylab timer it controls precisely how long the enlarger stays on while exposing the paper. (Stopwatch works well, too)
• Assorted B&W papers.
• 3 ea. 11”x14” (or larger) developing trays.
• 3 ea. Tongs – one for each tray.
• 1-Gallon of Developer.
• 1-Gallon of Stop.
• 1-Gallon of Fixer.
• Bath tub or sink full of water.
• Large Squeegee (must accommodate largest print size).
• Plexiglass sheet (must accommodate largest print size).

DEVELOPING PROCEDURE
WHILE IN TOTAL DARKNESS: Load bulk film into the bulk film loader. Afterwards, turn on the lights and load your 35mm cassettes.

After shooting, and WHILE IN TOTAL DARKNESS, pop the cassettes open, load the film onto the developing tank reels, place cover on top of the tanks and turn on the lights.

Process the film in normal room light as the tanks have daylight proof lids.

After the film has been processed it is hung to dry.

After drying, the processed film is cut into strips of 5 frames each and filed into archival quality pages in a 3-ring binder.

PRINTING PROCEDURE
Set up your trays of chemicals.

WITH ONLY THE SAFE LIGHT ON, make a contact sheet of the film, then return the film back into the archival sheets binder.

After processing the contact sheet, place it into the 3-ring binder immediately behind the archival page holding those negatives.

Now you can review the contact sheet, pick and choose which images to develop and print and, after doing so, note the enlarger lens f/stop, time and paper used on the back of the contact sheet so you can reproduce additional images of the same quality and appearance relatively easy.

Print your images and run them through developer, stop and fixer, then into the tub of water.

After a thorough water rinse, turn on the room lights and squeegee excess water from the prints.

Lay the prints out to thoroughly dry, mount, frame, hang and enjoy!