Get your Chemicals up to TemperatureĪll of the chemicals need to be warmed to 38☌. Your developing tank is now light-tight and it's safe to turn the lights on or take the tank out of the changing bag. Put the cone lid on and turn it until it locks in place. Slide the loaded reel right to the bottom of the centre spindal and put it in the tank with the flange downwards. Once you have loaded the spiral reel, it's plain sailing. It's very tricky so make sure you're in a relaxed mood before you start and are not in any rush. If it won't seem to load, try loading from the other end of the film. You may need to release the curled film a bit so that it can enter the spiral reel. Now turn both sides of the reel in an alternate back and forth motion, which will move the film along as you go. Slide the end of the film under the two notches and pull it gently until it is about a quarter of the way around the reel. To load the reel, make sure you can feel both notches on the outer edge of the spiral, and that they are aligned.
If you are using 35mm film you will need an opener for the film canister and some scissors to cut the leader straight before loading. For 120/127 film simply remove the film from the backing paper before loading it onto the spiral. Read the instructions that come with your tank carefully and if possible, use some old exposed film to practice loading the spiral in the light. The double cuffs prevent light getting in while you work in the bag. A changing bag is a lightproof bag with double cuffs to put your arms in. If you don't have a completely dark space available, you can use a changing bag. This needs to be done in complete darkness. Load → Pre-wash → Develop → Bleach/Fix → Rinse → Stabilize → Dry Loading film into tank Mix well and put into dark coloured glass or plastic storage bottles. To make up 1 litre of Tetenal Stabilizer, mix 800ml water and 200ml STAB part 1. To make up 1 litre of Tetenal Bleach Fix, mix 600ml water, 200ml BX part 1 and 200ml BX part2. To make up 1 litre of Tetenal Colour Developer, mix 400ml water, 200ml CD part 1, 200ml CD part2 and 200ml CD part3. Developer : Blix : Stabilizer Tetenal Colour Developer (CD)