I don’t know if you have the 3litre wine boxes we have in the U.K., but they are brilliant for storing a batch of D-76. Once the wine box is empty you can carefully prize the tap off the bag and give both a thorough wash then hang your bag up to dry totally inside. Fill it with the D-76 and push the tap back back in. As you empty the box using the developer it remains air tight and so it doesn’t have any oxygen the stiff bottles have. You just turn on the tap every time you want some, and it comes out totally fresh.
I never thought that a "how to mix chemicals" video would be useful but I watched this one before getting started on the weekend and it was VERY valuable. Fortunately I only had a small packet of D76 to mix up (1 litre) but knowing what to expect and having some idea of how others go about it was really helpful in bringing the stress levels down. Thanks for putting this up.
If you got a container like the one in the video you could also pour in glass marbles to get rid of the air. Or get a bellows bottle. You don't want the D76 to be in contact with air. Nice video! Thanks.
My recommendation to store it is to use wine bottles and wine stoppers to remove all the air, which you can do after every use. Plus wine bottles are 750 ml, which is perfect is you need 250 ml. Just make sure the bottle is clean (so avoid red wine, especially old). Also I'd recommend to protect your hands, nose and eyes with the appropriate gear and wipe any spills immediately.
Thanks, Wendy, I'm happy my video was helpful for you. A gallon of D-76 can develop 16 rolls. That's if you do not reuse the developer. If you use D-76 diluted 1+1, as I do, then it cannot be reused. If you use it straight, undiluted, then you can reuse the developer, increasing the developing time for each roll done until you reach the developer's capacity. You'd have to look at Kodak's tech info on this, as I cannot remember the details. I do not recommend reusing any developer, as it does not give the highest image quality possible. Developers are cheap enough for home use that such economizing is unwise.
@@williamstroud5449 Exactly, that's why I don't recommend reusing developer to save money. The chemicals aren't expensive, film is (plus the cost of traveling to reshoot if the pics don't come out), especially now that film is $10 a roll.
Hi Chris. Thanks for this excellent video. I'm having a hard time understanding the difference between the initial mix and the dilution process (this is my first time mixing my own chemicals, in the past, they have been mixed for me!). To clarify, The initial powder mix is different than the dilution? When you first mix the solution as you did in this video, this is the full strength. You dilute the full strength 1:1 with water when you want to develop film, for single use? The initial full strength mix lasts 6 months, with no air? Thank you in advanced for bearing with my long series of questions!
Yes, the solution you get when you dissolve the D-76 powder is the 'full-strength' developer. You can use it as is, or you can dilute it 1+1 with water. I always use it diluted, as it gives slightly nicer tonality. When diluted, it can only be used once. Keep in mind that the diluted developer is not as strong as the un-diluted solution. If you develop one roll of film, you should use a two-reel tank (put an empty reel in to fill the extra space). Developing in a one reel tank will result in underdeveloped film, and so will developing two rolls in a two reel tank. If you need to do two rolls at a time, use a four-reel tank. The full-strength solution lasts 6 months in a full container. Exposure to air is what makes it degrade. One way to extend life is to package it in smaller bottles. Instead of keeping a gallon of D-76 in a gallon jug (which has a lot of air-space once you begin using the developer), put it in four quart size bottles.
@@christophercrawford777 Hi Chris, I thought UA-cam would notify me of your reply, but I guess not! Thank you for your reply and clarifying! This is very helpful. I used the full strength because when I mixed it I had nowhere to store it, it turned out ok. I think I'll try diluting next time.
When mixing a liquid fixer, such as Ilford Rapid Fixer, do I still need to mix the water and fixer in a separate container before adding it to my Datatainer, or will it be fine to pour them straight into Datatainer and give it a shake to mix it? Thanks.
+StickyVinny If you just pour the water and fixer into the storage bottle, they won't be completely mixed together. I mix them in a measuring graduate using a stirring rod before pouring into the storage jug.
I wish I had seen this before I mixed up an old can of Acufine from the early 1960's. I didn't get the water hot enough and had particles floating around.
can you help me please in mixing xtol developer film and photo paper. i want to use only onefourt of the film developer powder and photo paper powder. please let me know the procedure on how to mix it.
You cannot mix part of the powder, you have to mix it all at once. The reason is that developers actually contain several chemicals. It looks like its is all one chemical because its a bag of white powder, but that powder is made of several chemicals that all look the same. If you try to measure only a part of the powder to make a smaller amount of developer, you probably will not get all of the needed chemicals. They're not evenly dispersed in the bag, and the part you measure may contain too much or too little of some of the chemicals that make it up. This is true of ALL powdered photo-chemicals, not just Xtol.
No, you can't do that. The reason is that D-76 is actually made up of several chemicals mixed together in the package of powder. The different chemicals may not be evenly distributed in the package, so if you measure off a part of the powder, you will probably get too much of some of the chemicals and too little of others, making your D-76 not perform like D-76. You have to dissolve the whole package of powder at the same time. If you want to extend the lifespan of the liquid, you can store it in several small bottles, instead of one large jug. This is because when you use some of it from the jug, air is left in the jug along with the developer, and exposure to air is what makes the developer deteriorate over time. If you divide it into several small bottles, filled to the top, then the D-76 will only be exposed to air in one bottle at a time, as you use it.
D-76 can be used full-strength (the chemical you get when you dissolve the powder into water) or it can be diluted 1+1. When diluted, it can only be used once and must be thrown away after use. This is how I usually use it. Full-strength D-76 can be reused, but you have to add time to the developing time after the first use. I can't remember how much to compensate, I'd have to dig up Kodak's tech info booklet on it. I don't recommend it, though. You get the best results using fresh developer one time. Reuse is done mainly be people doing high-volume work as a way of saving money, but if you're a hobbyist developing a few rolls at a time, the cost of developer is not high anyway.
Christopher Crawford d76 is great for small format films like 35mm as it is a solvent developer undiluted, the more you dilute it, say 1:3 it becomes more of a high definition non solvent developer and acts differently. Be aware of these changes.
Today I mixed kodak d-76 but made a mistake. Instead of putting 3.8 liters (1 gallon) I put 4.188 liters. I did the wrong measurement. Can I use it anyway? Do you think that will have some problem when developing?
Your film may be slightly underdeveloped, since the developer has been slightly diluted by the additional water. I'd add 10% to the developing time to compensate (multiply the normal developing time by 1.1 to get the new time).
No problem there. D-76 is rarely use at stock concentration. It is commonly used further diluted 1 part stock to eioher one or two parts water. You will need to calculate the lesser amount of water you need to add to stock to reach your preferred working solution, then use the working solution at time/temp recommended.
Yeah, mixing chemicals in cooking pans is a bad idea. If the pans are used for cooking too, its a safety hazard. Chemicals should never go anywhere near anything used for food.
If you cannot use up a full gallon of D-76 before it goes bad, or if you find mixing up a gallon too difficult, consider Ilford ID-11. It's the same developer formula, but it is also sold in 1 liter packages, which are much easier to handle. Kodak used to sell D-76 in 1 quart packages, but dropped that product, leaving only the one gallon package. Why? Who knows, Kodak has done a lot of odd things in their its marketing since management drove the company off the cliff.
I find the directions on the package very misleading. The first symbol tells you to put 3.0 L from the tap. The second to pour and stir the powder. And the third one shows twice as much water, and says 3.8 L, which might lead to believe you need to add 3.8 L, when actually only 0.8 L need to be added.
The directions mean that you continue adding water until you reach a total of 3.8L. The actual amount may be less than 0.8L because the powder takes up some volume in the solution as it dissolves.
It doesn't dissolve fast enough for that to work, and the water temperature will be going down the whole time. The D-76 powder won't dissolve in cold water, so you need to pour it all in when the water is at the right temperature.
Let me explain what I meant: 1. Get you water at the right temperature. 2. Stir with one hand and drop the contents of the bag at the same time, I'd say 2 tb sp a second 3. Continue stirring after the bag is empty So much water is not going to get colder in the few dozen seconds this happens.
Why mix in a bucket? Why not just add it to a gallon brown bottle/jug and shake. The advantage being it does not cool off so quickly as an open bucket and dissolves fairly quickly.
Shaking it doesn't get it all dissolved and perfectly dispersed within the solution. Also, shaking allows a lot of air to be absorbed into the solution. Oxygen is the enemy of developers, causing them to die prematurely. Stirring lessens the amount of oxygen that the solution absorbs while mixing, giving a longer-lived chemical.
Are you sure that your bucket graduations are accurate? I seriously doubt that the WalMart bucket is accurate. I would rather trust a quality graduate. It doesn't matter if you measure it the same way every time. What I used to do is carefully measure out one gallon into a bucket and mark it. That way I knew it was accurate. Totally unnecessary but more for my curiosity than anything else :) The developer time/temperature is so much more important that the developer dilution.
D76 is a bit of a pain to mix. Ideally, I would use a magnetic impeller stirrer, if I could afford it! But I am only an amateur and not too active these days.
People say that you can't make up small amounts because it's made up of several chemicals I hear it all the time. I find it very difficult to believe that even in the 1960s let alone 2016 that the chemical quality control automated machines would not fill packets with evenly mixed chemicals. Personally I think it's just BS just to sell us more. If it was true what they say then each individual packets you buy could have uneven amounts of different chemicals in each packet ....It just doesn't make sense. Imagine having different machines to put each individual chemical into a bag, doesn't make good buisness sense this stuff is delivered in one mix for each packet. :):) I have a 5 litre packet of IDII I will work out 0.5 of a litres worth and see how I go.
It doesn't matter if the chemicals were evenly mixed in the bag at the factory; the materials can and do shift around a lot in shipping. Is it worth ruining your film, which costs more than a pack of D-76, and having to reshoot photos that might not be possible to reshoot, just to save a few dollars? If you're so convinced that Kodak is trying to cheat you, then buy liquid chemicals like Tmax Developer or HC-110. You can safely measure out small amounts of those, and both of them have long lifespans compared to D-76 (D-76 last almost forever in powder form, but once dissolved in water it has a short lifespan compared to Tmax and HC-110)
Super helpful, I looked all on You Tube and you're the only one that made actual sense to me. Thanks!
I don’t know if you have the 3litre wine boxes we have in the U.K., but they are brilliant for storing a batch of D-76. Once the wine box is empty you can carefully prize the tap off the bag and give both a thorough wash then hang your bag up to dry totally inside. Fill it with the D-76 and push the tap back back in. As you empty the box using the developer it remains air tight and so it doesn’t have any oxygen the stiff bottles have. You just turn on the tap every time you want some, and it comes out totally fresh.
I never thought that a "how to mix chemicals" video would be useful but I watched this one before getting started on the weekend and it was VERY valuable. Fortunately I only had a small packet of D76 to mix up (1 litre) but knowing what to expect and having some idea of how others go about it was really helpful in bringing the stress levels down. Thanks for putting this up.
Your very experienced chris, videos are Great.
i like your demonstration it help to learn in mixing chemical
If you got a container like the one in the video you could also pour in glass marbles to get rid of the air. Or get a bellows bottle. You don't want the D76 to be in contact with air.
Nice video! Thanks.
My recommendation to store it is to use wine bottles and wine stoppers to remove all the air, which you can do after every use. Plus wine bottles are 750 ml, which is perfect is you need 250 ml.
Just make sure the bottle is clean (so avoid red wine, especially old).
Also I'd recommend to protect your hands, nose and eyes with the appropriate gear and wipe any spills immediately.
Thanks Chris-good video
Thanks man, this helped a lot.
Thank you.
Really helpful. Thanks!!
Great video - so down to earth. How many rolls would a package develop? Thank you.
Thanks, Wendy, I'm happy my video was helpful for you. A gallon of D-76 can develop 16 rolls. That's if you do not reuse the developer. If you use D-76 diluted 1+1, as I do, then it cannot be reused. If you use it straight, undiluted, then you can reuse the developer, increasing the developing time for each roll done until you reach the developer's capacity. You'd have to look at Kodak's tech info on this, as I cannot remember the details. I do not recommend reusing any developer, as it does not give the highest image quality possible. Developers are cheap enough for home use that such economizing is unwise.
Thank you
@@christophercrawford777developer can be replaced. Lost images not so much.
@@williamstroud5449 Exactly, that's why I don't recommend reusing developer to save money. The chemicals aren't expensive, film is (plus the cost of traveling to reshoot if the pics don't come out), especially now that film is $10 a roll.
Very helpful. Thank you!
Thank you very much for this. It helped a lot and all went well :-)
Hi Chris. Thanks for this excellent video. I'm having a hard time understanding the difference between the initial mix and the dilution process (this is my first time mixing my own chemicals, in the past, they have been mixed for me!). To clarify, The initial powder mix is different than the dilution? When you first mix the solution as you did in this video, this is the full strength. You dilute the full strength 1:1 with water when you want to develop film, for single use? The initial full strength mix lasts 6 months, with no air? Thank you in advanced for bearing with my long series of questions!
Yes, the solution you get when you dissolve the D-76 powder is the 'full-strength' developer. You can use it as is, or you can dilute it 1+1 with water. I always use it diluted, as it gives slightly nicer tonality. When diluted, it can only be used once. Keep in mind that the diluted developer is not as strong as the un-diluted solution. If you develop one roll of film, you should use a two-reel tank (put an empty reel in to fill the extra space). Developing in a one reel tank will result in underdeveloped film, and so will developing two rolls in a two reel tank. If you need to do two rolls at a time, use a four-reel tank.
The full-strength solution lasts 6 months in a full container. Exposure to air is what makes it degrade. One way to extend life is to package it in smaller bottles. Instead of keeping a gallon of D-76 in a gallon jug (which has a lot of air-space once you begin using the developer), put it in four quart size bottles.
@@christophercrawford777 Hi Chris, I thought UA-cam would notify me of your reply, but I guess not! Thank you for your reply and clarifying! This is very helpful. I used the full strength because when I mixed it I had nowhere to store it, it turned out ok. I think I'll try diluting next time.
When mixing a liquid fixer, such as Ilford Rapid Fixer, do I still need to mix the water and fixer in a separate container before adding it to my Datatainer, or will it be fine to pour them straight into Datatainer and give it a shake to mix it?
Thanks.
+StickyVinny If you just pour the water and fixer into the storage bottle, they won't be completely mixed together. I mix them in a measuring graduate using a stirring rod before pouring into the storage jug.
I wish I had seen this before I mixed up an old can of Acufine from the early 1960's. I didn't get the water hot enough and had particles floating around.
can you help me please in mixing xtol developer film and photo paper. i want to use only onefourt of the film developer powder and photo paper powder. please let me know the procedure on how to mix it.
You cannot mix part of the powder, you have to mix it all at once. The reason is that developers actually contain several chemicals. It looks like its is all one chemical because its a bag of white powder, but that powder is made of several chemicals that all look the same.
If you try to measure only a part of the powder to make a smaller amount of developer, you probably will not get all of the needed chemicals. They're not evenly dispersed in the bag, and the part you measure may contain too much or too little of some of the chemicals that make it up.
This is true of ALL powdered photo-chemicals, not just Xtol.
For lasting longer, can I dilute less powder in less water, proportionaly?
No, you can't do that. The reason is that D-76 is actually made up of several chemicals mixed together in the package of powder. The different chemicals may not be evenly distributed in the package, so if you measure off a part of the powder, you will probably get too much of some of the chemicals and too little of others, making your D-76 not perform like D-76. You have to dissolve the whole package of powder at the same time.
If you want to extend the lifespan of the liquid, you can store it in several small bottles, instead of one large jug. This is because when you use some of it from the jug, air is left in the jug along with the developer, and exposure to air is what makes the developer deteriorate over time. If you divide it into several small bottles, filled to the top, then the D-76 will only be exposed to air in one bottle at a time, as you use it.
+Christopher Crawford Thanks for the answer
It's a one time developer right? So as soon as i develop a film in my 485ml tank i can throw the developer right after?
D-76 can be used full-strength (the chemical you get when you dissolve the powder into water) or it can be diluted 1+1. When diluted, it can only be used once and must be thrown away after use. This is how I usually use it.
Full-strength D-76 can be reused, but you have to add time to the developing time after the first use. I can't remember how much to compensate, I'd have to dig up Kodak's tech info booklet on it. I don't recommend it, though. You get the best results using fresh developer one time. Reuse is done mainly be people doing high-volume work as a way of saving money, but if you're a hobbyist developing a few rolls at a time, the cost of developer is not high anyway.
Christopher Crawford d76 is great for small format films like 35mm as it is a solvent developer undiluted, the more you dilute it, say 1:3 it becomes more of a high definition non solvent developer and acts differently. Be aware of these changes.
Today I mixed kodak d-76 but made a mistake. Instead of putting 3.8 liters (1 gallon) I put 4.188 liters. I did the wrong measurement. Can I use it anyway? Do you think that will have some problem when developing?
Your film may be slightly underdeveloped, since the developer has been slightly diluted by the additional water. I'd add 10% to the developing time to compensate (multiply the normal developing time by 1.1 to get the new time).
Thanks! I will post the results after the development.
No problem there. D-76 is rarely use at stock concentration. It is commonly used further diluted 1 part stock to eioher one or two parts water. You will need to calculate the lesser amount of water you need to add to stock to reach your preferred working solution, then use the working solution at time/temp recommended.
Mixing it in the bucket is way better!! I saw someone mixed it with a pot in the kitchen...
Yeah, mixing chemicals in cooking pans is a bad idea. If the pans are used for cooking too, its a safety hazard. Chemicals should never go anywhere near anything used for food.
If you cannot use up a full gallon of D-76 before it goes bad, or if you find mixing up a gallon too difficult, consider Ilford ID-11. It's the same developer formula, but it is also sold in 1 liter packages, which are much easier to handle. Kodak used to sell D-76 in 1 quart packages, but dropped that product, leaving only the one gallon package. Why? Who knows, Kodak has done a lot of odd things in their its marketing since management drove the company off the cliff.
Water level would not rise if something is 'dissolved' in the water. The product when dissolved, resides in the space between water molecules.
I find the directions on the package very misleading.
The first symbol tells you to put 3.0 L from the tap. The second to pour and stir the powder.
And the third one shows twice as much water, and says 3.8 L, which might lead to believe you need to add 3.8 L, when actually only 0.8 L need to be added.
The directions mean that you continue adding water until you reach a total of 3.8L. The actual amount may be less than 0.8L because the powder takes up some volume in the solution as it dissolves.
I think it would be easier to mix the powder like you would mix flour. Stir and add a little at a time.
It doesn't dissolve fast enough for that to work, and the water
temperature will be going down the whole time. The D-76 powder won't
dissolve in cold water, so you need to pour it all in when the water is
at the right temperature.
Let me explain what I meant:
1. Get you water at the right temperature.
2. Stir with one hand and drop the contents of the bag at the same time, I'd say 2 tb sp a second
3. Continue stirring after the bag is empty
So much water is not going to get colder in the few dozen seconds this happens.
Use a cheap MAGNETIC.stirrer.....really mixes it....
Why mix in a bucket? Why not just add it to a gallon brown bottle/jug and shake. The advantage being it does not cool off so quickly as an open bucket and dissolves fairly quickly.
Shaking it doesn't get it all dissolved and perfectly dispersed within the solution. Also, shaking allows a lot of air to be absorbed into the solution. Oxygen is the enemy of developers, causing them to die prematurely. Stirring lessens the amount of oxygen that the solution absorbs while mixing, giving a longer-lived chemical.
Are you sure that your bucket graduations are accurate? I seriously doubt that the WalMart bucket is accurate. I would rather
trust a quality graduate. It doesn't matter if you measure it the same way every time. What I used to do is carefully measure out one gallon into a bucket and mark it. That way I knew it was accurate. Totally unnecessary but more for my curiosity than anything else :)
The developer time/temperature is so much more important that the developer dilution.
I did the same thing you did, checking the accuracy. The one gallon mark was actually correct, though the other marks, strangely enough, were off!
D76 is a bit of a pain to mix. Ideally, I would use a magnetic impeller stirrer, if I could afford it! But I am only an amateur and not too active these days.
People say that you can't make up small amounts because it's made up of several chemicals I hear it all the time. I find it very difficult to believe that even in the 1960s let alone 2016 that the chemical quality control automated machines would not fill packets with evenly mixed chemicals. Personally I think it's just BS just to sell us more. If it was true what they say then each individual packets you buy could have uneven amounts of different chemicals in each packet ....It just doesn't make sense. Imagine having different machines to put each individual chemical into a bag, doesn't make good buisness sense this stuff is delivered in one mix for each packet. :):)
I have a 5 litre packet of IDII I will work out 0.5 of a litres worth and see how I go.
It doesn't matter if the chemicals were evenly mixed in the bag at the factory; the materials can and do shift around a lot in shipping. Is it worth ruining your film, which costs more than a pack of D-76, and having to reshoot photos that might not be possible to reshoot, just to save a few dollars?
If you're so convinced that Kodak is trying to cheat you, then buy liquid chemicals like Tmax Developer or HC-110. You can safely measure out small amounts of those, and both of them have long lifespans compared to D-76 (D-76 last almost forever in powder form, but once dissolved in water it has a short lifespan compared to Tmax and HC-110)
It's physics dude, powdered things can not be mixed homogenically.