How I develop Black and White Negatives at Home (with Rodinal and Adofix)
Equipment:
- Paterson tank (Super System 4 / PTP115, 2 x 35 mm)
- Darkbag from AliExpress
- small pair of scissors for children (safe to use in darkbag)
- JJC film puller
- plastic measuring jugs from the supermarket, pre-calibrated to 300 and 600 ml (3 x 1 l, 1 x 500 ml)
- 10 ml glass measuring jug from AliExpress
- brown HDPE bottle, 1 l (will switch to a dark glass bottle from the chemist)
- glueing clips, cloth hanger
- Paterson Force Film Washer
- Thermometer
Chemicals
Developer
- Rodinal (Adox Adonal, which is allegedly the same thing)
Stop bath
- white vinegar (will switch to citric acid)
Fixer
- Adofix (I prepare 1 l working solution and store it in the HDPE bottle)
Wetting agent
- shampoo (will switch to Adoflo or Fotonal)
Working solutions
| 1 x 35 mm | 2 x 35 mm | |
|---|---|---|
| Developer (1+50) | 6 ml Rodinal + 294 ml water1 | 12 ml Rodinal + 588 ml water |
| Stop bath (2% acetic acid) | 30 ml 20% vinegar + 270 ml water | 60 ml 20% vinegar + 540 ml water |
| Fixer (Adofix 1+4) | 300 ml Adofix working solution | 600 ml Adofix working solution |
| Wetting agent (water + drop of shampoo) | 300 ml | 600 ml |
Development time
I use these in the order of availability:
- Documentation provided by the manufacturer of the film stock
- The Massive Dev Chart↗
Method
I prepare the working solutions in the plastic jugs and let them stabilize at room temperature. I made sure to lable every jug with a note (DEV/STOP/FIX) so that I won't mix them up during development.
Using the darkbag, I load the negative(s) into the tank.
I haul everything into the bathroom, and put down the jugs in order.
I prepare my stopwatch.
I pour in the solutions in their designated order and agitate as per the recommendation of the manufacturer of the film stock. If no instruction is found, I use the method I found on this website↗.
The developer is one-shot (to be poured in a storing bottle, safely labeled, and to be taken away to the lab to get rid of it properly), the fixer can be reused until 20 (±5) rolls of film was developed. The health of the fixer can be tested with a simple test↗. Exhausted fixer also needs to be collected. Acetic acid is safe to go down the drain.
After fixing, I use the Force Film Washer to power wash the negatives for 8 (±1) minutes. At the end, I pour out the water and pour in the wetting agent and let it stand for a second. Then I take out the reel(s) and remove the developed negatives. I use my fingers to remove the water from the negatives and hang them up on the cloth hanger.
I let dry for a couple hours before taking down the developed negative(s).
I use distilled or deionized water to dilute the chemicals, except for the stop bath.↩