C-41 processing for neophytes

[polyglot]

But…once you get your processes sorted it is no harder than b&w.
Just a bit more labor intensive.

Certainly. Just takes a bit more setup and a few more things to mix together. If you have a temp-controlled bath it's really no harder at all.

I haven't tried without a temp-control bath (non-standard temperatures invite colour crossover) but have experimented with adjusting times a bit (pulling for contrast reduction to fit with modern high-contrast RA4 papers), and I can say that time control isn't really critical.

[madgardener]

I read on another thread about a year ago that one of those turkey roasters would make a good heated bath for C-41 chemicals. Has this been confirmed by anyone? It's the temp control that gets me in trouble.

[bvy]

Turkey roasters, aquarium heaters, etc. all sound like an awful lot of trouble. Temperature control is critical but not that critical. Even so, the developer is the only temperature-critical step, and three minutes goes by fast. I fill a Playmate cooler with hot water and after several dry runs, found a water bath temperature that maintains the 100F developer temperature through the duration. I repeat the test periodically as variables change -- ambient temperature, developer loss, etc. -- and adjust accordingly.

I'm not an expert -- just started doing this myself. But this is working well for me thus far...

[kerne]

The roaster is set it and forget it. I've got two marks there on the dial. One for 97F RA4 and one for 105F E6. Keeps it +-2F all day long.

[polyglot]

The roaster is set it and forget it. I've got two marks there on the dial. One for 97F RA4 and one for 105F E6. Keeps it +-2F all day long.

I'm kind of terrified that you can buy a food-warming device that will happily keep your food right in the middle of the bacterial-growth zone.

[michaelbsc]

I'm kind of terrified that you can buy a food-warming device that will happily keep your food right in the middle of the bacterial-growth zone.

We make up for it by government mandated safety packaging on razor blades and stuffed children's toys.

[macandal]

You can buy colour stuff separately (and that's how labs do it, 50L+ at a time) but there are so many components that the manufacturers tend to sell kits. It's the easy way to make sure you aren't missing a component.

A proper C41 process requires a developer (3 concentrates), bleach, fixer and stabiliser. That's 6 different concentrates you need to mix up into 4 baths, which means that buying separately is annoying, especially if you don't know exactly what you need. E6 is slightly more complicated again.

Ok. So which "kit" do you recommend?

[polyglot]

The Fuji or the Rollei, depending on availability. The Rollei has had issues with leaky packages and developer parts DOA, but it's easier (in the EU anyway) to buy the Rollei components separately in small (i.e. 100mL and 1L, not 20L) quantities. I think the Fuji costs more, the Rollei has slightly higher dev capacity in the kit and the Fuji has twice the bleach/fix capacity in the kit.

[Sirius Glass]

Remember that for decades the high priesthood of color proclaimed how difficult it was.

Oh! Gosh! What?? I never got that memo! In the '60s [19 not 18] I processed Ektachome in the basement sink and did not think it was hard.

[macandal]

The Fuji or the Rollei, depending on availability. The Rollei has had issues with leaky packages and developer parts DOA, but it's easier (in the EU anyway) to buy the Rollei components separately in small (i.e. 100mL and 1L, not 20L) quantities. I think the Fuji costs more, the Rollei has slightly higher dev capacity in the kit and the Fuji has twice the bleach/fix capacity in the kit.

This is what they have available at Freestyle (great place to shop):

http://freestylephoto.biz/c1001-Colo...ls-Color-Print