Many years ago I did some E6 processing just to try it but I have always sent out my E6 work to labs. That was not problem when I had a lab right down the street. I could drop it off and pick it up two hours later. But that lab and many more have closed. I have been sending my E6 work to Gamma Lab in nearby Chicago but I have decided that it would be better to do my own processing for several reasons. First, I often have only 4-6 sheets to process and it costs far more just for shipping than the processing itself. Gamma charges over $20 just to ship it back and add to that my cost to ship it there. The other and more important reason I plan on doing my own E6 processing is that not having a nearby lab has actually inhibited my color photography. I pass up opportunities unless I know I will have enough film to make sending it out worthwhile.
So, I need suggestions about doing my own E6 processing, taking my shooting patterns into account. I often go for a month or more without shooting color sheet film. However, I make at least two long trips a year and I have quite a bit of film to process when I get back. I have a fully equipped darkroom and I process quite a bit of b&w film and I do a lot of b&w printing. I have accurate temperature control so that isn't a problem. I generally process my 4x5" and 8x10" b&w film in trays but I also process it in deep tanks when I have a lot of film to process after a long trip. I do not want to process E6 in trays but I could if necessary. I would prefer to do it in deep tanks. I know someone will suggest that I get a Jobo but I am not going to do that because I simply don't like processing in drums (I have done it) and I am not going to invest in a Jobo. Besides, I simply can't afford to at this time.
Keeping in mind that my smallest deep tanks hold about 1/2 gallon of chemistry and I may not process film for up to a month at a time, should I go with an E6 kit (Kodak, Tetenal, etc.) or with separate E6 chemicals? How long do the chemicals keep after being mixed?
Any other suggestions to help get me started in an efficient and sensible manner would be appreciated.
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