Developing C-41 film (Jobo?) tips/advice/etc

[Ian C]

I had random problems early on that were diagnosed by an experienced color film processor who advised me to always temper my film, reels, and tanks with a tempered water wash for at least 1-2 minutes before the developing step.

I adopted his recommendation in 1987 and have had no recurrence of the problems. It does the film no harm that I’ve seen. Therefore, it’s part of my standard film processing recipe.

[Dr.Pain-MD]

By resoaking them in Photo Flo, you removed the stabilization capability imparted to the film by the original stabilizer. To do a proper job on modern color negative films you must use a Stabilizer or Final Rinse with the proper chemistry before storage.

PE

I've read that modern films (Kodak films at the very least) don't actually even need stabilizer. Having very minimal knowledge of film chemistry, I cannot confirm this, but this was the only way I could see myself doing it. The Unicolor stabilizer is awful and a lot of people have trouble with it leaving watermarks, what other options do I have?

EDIT: Just read through the last page and I missed some stuff earlier. I've been doing around 1 minute in the stabilizer bath with about 20 seconds of that minute agitating.

[Photo Engineer]

I would like to see your sources that say modern Kodak (or Fuji) color films do not need a stabilizer. Kodak and Fuji once supplied a stabilizer, but now supply a final rinse. The contents are slightly different, but both are intended to stabilize your film against degradation.

If the Unicolor stabilizer is not to your satisfaction, use the Kodak or Fuji variant. It is inexpensive and can be purchased from many sources.

PE

[polyglot]

Since getting my Jobo, I've been doing stabilizer in a separate (1L ice-cream) tub after unspooling the film. I recently realized that that was causing small scratches and abrasions of the film, so I think I'll do stabilization in-spiral from now on. Maybe in-tank, maybe a separate container, but I don't plan to run it through the lift - spiral and tank is much easier to wash.

[Photo Engineer]

You are right. I never use the tank/spiral on the Jobo. I use it in the sink for stabilization.

PE