How to Develop Black and White Film

I have outlined a quick reference guide for how to develop black and white film with two of the most common developers: Kodak HC-110 and Diafine. Developing black and white film can be a lot of fun as well as a highly creative means to an end.  I think black and white film photography is the most beautiful and elegant of all photographic mediums.  If you are not familiar with Diafine you may want to check out the Flickr Diafine group as this is a good place to learn and ask questions or read my overview.  Kodak HC-110 is a traditional black and white developer.  When I say traditional I am making a distinction between normal developers and a compensating developer like Diafine.  With traditional developers you have the ability to expand and contract contrast unlike a compensating developer like Diafine.  If you don’t understand what a compensating developer is then read my Diafine overview.  With that control also comes a little more complexity and burden to calibrate in order to reach its full potential.

If you are just starting out then I can’t think of an easier and better solution than Tri-X and Diafine mo matter what format (35mm, 120 or large format) you use.  Many professionals that use a hybrid approach (capture on film, scan, print on inkjet) prefer this combination over any other.  Even if you want to stay in the darkroom it is a great combination for this process as well.  If you want greater control in your prints then a traditional developer like HC-110, D-76, Xtol and many others are the way to go.   I use the zone system to control the luminous values and densities on my negatives and ultimately on my prints so I use traditional developers for this purpose.

Normal Development with a Traditional Developer

In order for my notes to make sense to you I highly recommend that you read the Kodak technical brief on HC-110.  If you scroll to the bottom of the page you will see a PDF publication that you can download.  My approach may slightly differ than Kodak’s recommendation because I base my approach on results and experience.  I always try and use the 68F temperature in all my development and I recommend you do the same if at all possible.  This procedure below is for roll film (35mm or 120/220 medium format).  You could simply replace HC110 with D-76 or another developer on the relevant steps and my process will work just fine.  The key is to use the standard development time for your specific developer.

• Presoak = 1 minute (68F) with tap water.  (fill and let stand)

• Dev = Standard development time is 6 min at 68F for dilution B.

Agitate for first 30 seconds and then 5 seconds/two inversions every 30 seconds.

Tap at end of cycles to get rid of air bubbles.

Note: HC110-B = 1+31 ratio.  For my 16 oz steel tank I need 15ml (.5 oz) of HC110 to 465ml (15.5 oz) of distilled water.  For my 32 oz HP tank 1 oz/30 ml of HC110 and 31oz water.  I always use distilled water for my development.

Always put film on bottom if using spacer reels in tank.

When pouring in developer, tilt the tank so it will go in faster.

Start timer when developer is completely in the tank.

• Stop Bath = 30 seconds and agitate. Shelf Life of stop bath in container is about 1 month.
• Fixer = 4 to 5 minutes with constant agitation.  (Rapid Fixer)

(Tri-X 4 min and TMax 5 min) – 1 month shelf life.

• Rinse = 2 minutes with running tap water (68F) with top off.
• Kodak Hypo Clear Agent = 4 minutes with constant agitation.

(Mix Kodak Hypo at 1+4 from stock solution)

• Final Wash = 10 or more minutes in running tap water (68F).  Your film should be mostly clear and not have a pink or dark blue cast to it.
• Photoflo = 3 minutes (distilled water).  Just fill and let stand with top off.  A little agitation and then hang the film to dry.

Diafine Development Process

My method for roll film slightly deviates from the instructions that come with the developer but I have found through experience and help from other photographers that this method is reliable and works for all of my black and white film development to include 35mm, 120 medium format and 4×5 large format.

• Pre-Soak Film in 72-75 degree tap water for 2 to 3 minutes until clear
  • I highly recommend to use latex or rubber gloves throughout this process.
  • Fill tank and empty
  • Fill tank and empty
  • Fill tank, invert tank 3 times and empty
  • Fill tank, invert tank 3 times and empty
  • Make sure water is clear before you proceed to next step
• Solution A for 4 Minutes
  • Fill tank with Solution A, tap tank at angle and then sit tank down and start timer
  • At 1:30 gently and slowly invert tank 2 times and tap
  • At 3:00 gently and slowly invert tank 2 times and tap
  • Let tank sit until 4:00
  • Drain and pour Solution A back in container
• Solution B for 4 Minutes
  • Fill tank with Solution B, tap tank at angle and then start timer
  • At 1:30 gently and slowly invert tank 2 times and tap
  • At 3:00 gently and slowly invert tank 2 times and tap
  • Let tank sit until 4:00
  • Drain and pour Solution B back in container
• Rinse with Tap Water at 72-75 F
  • Fill tank with water and dump
  • Fill tank with water and dump
  • Fill tank with water, invert 3 times and dump
  • Fill tank with water, invert 3 times and dump
  • Fill tank with water and let soak for 1 minute
  • Dump water and proceed to next step
• Fixer – 5 min (Constant Agitation)
  • (You Can Typically Reuse for 1 Month) Refer to directions on your Fixer
  • Fill tank with Fixer.
  • Continually invert and rotate for 5 minutes
  • Dump Fixer back in Container
  • Film is now light safe

• Hypo Clearing Agent – 4 min (Constant Agitation)
  • Hypo Clear is an optional step that I personally recommend.  It really helps in removing the unwanted fixer and it also shortens your wash time
  • I do a quick rinse after fixing and then pout in the hypo clear.
  • Continually invert and rotate for 4 minutes
  • Dump hypo clear down the drain

• Final Wash for 10 Minutes at 72-75F
  • I wash with tap water, but some prefer to use distilled water or other methods that conserve water
  • Remove top of the tank and expose your film
  • Fill tank with water and dump 3 times
  • Fill tank with water and dump every 2 minutes until end of time

• Photo-Flo/ Wetting Agent
  
  • Pour Photo-Flo or similar wetting agent into your tank.
  • Submerse film for about 2 minutes and remove
  • Be careful where you pick up the film because it is very fragile
  • Dump the Photo-Flo
• Hang Film to Dry
  • Remove film and hang in dust free place for 2 to 4 hours until dry
  • If needed, soak up water drops off film with Kimwipes

Diafine and Sheet Films in Trays

When I shoot large format sheets I either develop them in my  HP Combi 4×5 sheet processing tank system or in trays in the darkroom. If I am on the road I will use the HP tank and any other time I will tray process my large format negatives.

For 4×5 sheet film I use 5×7 trays and for 8×10 film most 8×10 trays work because they are a little bigger by default. I don’t do a presoak routine with sheet film when I develop in trays as I do with roll films in a tank.  In the instructions below when I say film deck I mean two or more sheets of film being developed at the same time.

• Developed in A bath for 4 minutes.  I agitated for the first ten seconds at one minute intervals and shuffle the deck of films at the top of each minute.  I make the bottom film positioned so the notch is on the upper right corner and turn the test of the deck so the notch is on the lower left.  This allows me to keep track of where I am in the deck.
• Developed in B bath for 4 minutes and followed the same process as I did for the A bath.
• Washed in tray for one minute with a continuous shuffling of the films in the deck.
• Fixed in tray for 5 minutes with constant agitation.  My method for agitation is to slightly lift the front of the tray and set back down creating a rocking motion that moves the film from the front of the tray to the rear.  I shuffle the film deck at one minute intervals.
• Now that the film was light safe I turned on the lights and did a full wash under running water for 15 minutes.  I put the sheet film in film washing tank and let it do its thing.
• In the final step I put the film in a tray of Photoflo for 3 minutes before hanging to dry.

Be sure to leave your comments or suggestions at the bottom of this article. If you like my articles be sure to use the “Like” or “Share” buttons located at the bottom of each article so we can get more feedback from other photographers.

You can view more of my large and medium format images on my Flickr stream.

You can read more articles on large format photography by clicking here or on medium format here.

Tim Layton

© Tim Layton – All Rights Reserved – 2011. You may not republish or use any information or media of any format, in part or in whole, without my written permission. For permission and more information you can contact Tim Layton on the web at blog.timlaytonphotography.com or via email at tim@timlaytonphotography.com or via the telephone at 636-422-0002. Visit Tim’s latest photos online at Flickr.