How I Develop Film in 2023
I only develop black and white film. Color negative film rolls are given to the care of a trusty photo lab. I don’t see the benefit of processing them myself.
My favorite film stock is Kodak’s Tri-X. I rate the exposure at 800 ISO and push process for 1600 ISO most of the time. The key element here is to push process a stop over the exposure value. Keep in mind that this does not overexpose the film; but it achieves steeper contrasts and crunchier grains.
I use Adox’s D-76 formula, to develop my film. I rince the film from below with a force washer. Before hanging the strip to dry, I give it a quick bath in a wetting agent diluted in demineralised water. Nothing special beyond that. In the recipes below, I included the development time for 20°C and 24°C, stock dilution. To be clear, I use a single development bath. I just pick a time according to the temperature.
Tri-X 800 ISO pushed for 1600 ISO
| Step | Time | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| D-76 20°C | 13:15 | Continuous agitation for the first minute, then 20s every minutes |
| D-76 24°C | 09:34 | ↑ |
| Stop bath | 01:00 | Continuous agitation |
| Fixer | 05:00 | Continuous agitation for the first minute, then 20s every minutes |
| Wash | 06:00 | Use force washer |
| Wetting agent | N/A | Diluted in filtered water |
Tri-X 1600 ISO pushed for 3200 ISO
| Step | Time | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| D-76 20°C | 16:00 | Continuous agitation for the first minute, then 20s every minutes |
| D-76 24°C | 11:34 | ↑ |
| Stop bath | 01:00 | Continuous agitation |
| Fixer | 05:00 | Continuous agitation for the first minute, then 20s every minutes |
| Wash | 06:00 | Use force washer |
| Wetting agent | N/A | Diluted in filtered water |