How many 4x5 sheets per E6 kit?

[Paul Ewins]

I've been developing B&W 4x5 successfully for a few years now and thought I'd like to try E6. I bought the Tetenal 500ml 3 step kit and that worked well, but I had trouble working out exactly how many sheets I could develop before the chemicals were exhausted. In most cases the first developer appears to be the critical factor.

I tried the manufacturers websites, but only Agfa had any details that I could find. If anybody is using the home E6 kits (500ml -> 5 litre) from Tetenal, Agfa, Kodak, Paterson, Photochem, Fuji etc I'd be interested in knowing how many 4x5 sheets you can process from each kit. FWIW, I'm processing on a JOBO CPP in 2500 series tanks.

thanks,

Paul

[Larry Gebhardt]

You can get 60 rolls out of a 5 liter Tetenal 3 bath kit, so 240 sheets of 4x5. I usually mix up 750ml at a time and do 3 batches of 12 sheets each. I have never had any problems doing this, with the first and last sheets coming out visibly the same.

[Nick_3536]

4 4x5 sheets equals one 8x10 sheet. 1 8x10 is supposed to equal 1 36 exposure 35mm roll. The instructions may give numbers for square inches of film.

[Calamity Jane]

I have been using two Agfa AP-44 500 mL kits for E-6 in a Combi-Plan tank but I have never exhausted the chemisty!

Because the first developer goes into a dry tank, there is a small volume loss from the first devloper. Since the Combi requires 1.050 L and the 2 AP-44 kits make 1.000 L, I start getting an undeveloped edge after about 50 sheets.

Next batch of AP-44, I am going to make 5% more dilute and wet the film/tank prior to first developer. Agfa advise this will require a longer first developer time. Normal first devloper time is 7:30 so I'll try 8:00 and see what happens.

[Nick_3536]

Jane have you done any tests to see just how well the chemistry is working after you exceed the rated capacity? I guess 32 sheets. I think if I was going to keep chemicals around I'd replenish and use lab chemicals not home kits.

Paul is using a Jobo so he might have to worry about oxidation more then the combi tank.

[Calamity Jane]

"Have you done any tests to see just how well the chemistry is working after you exceed the rated capacity?"

No. I just assess the quality of the slide. I can't see any difference beween sheet #1 and sheet #40

[David L.]

I've gotten great results using Kodak's 5 litre e-6 kit to develop 8x10 and 120/220 in a JOBO CPP-2 with Expert Drums (3005 for the 8x10 and 2563 for the 120/220). Kodak provides a wealth of information in the Technical Publications found on their website. Tech Publication J-83 notes that the capacity of the first and color developers for the One Gallon kit is 134 sheets of 4x5 (multiply this by 1.31 to get 175 sheets for the 5 liter kit - I get about 40 sheets of 8x10 per each 5 liter kit). A few points - you need to extend the first developer and color developer time by 30 seconds after you've used them to about 2/3 of their capacity (the cutover rates are noted in the Tech Pub). The capacity of the other solutions is about 3 times that of the developers but I usually only push it to about 2 times (in other words I buy 1 5 litre kit and an additional first developer and color developer - actually it's a bit of a pain because the individual components are only sold in 1 gallon size - go figure). Also, the reversal bath DOES NOT need to be made into a 60 percent solution if you are using the 5 litre kit.

[Paul Ewins]

OK, going on AGFA's published yield of .45sqm/l I should get 36 sheets from one litre of chemistry, but Jane's experience suggests 48 sheets. Larry's experience says the Tetenal kit will likewise do 48 sheets, while David says the Kodak kit delivers 36 sheets per litre. It's interesting that they are all multiples of 6. I use gramatics so that is actually very handy.

I'll have to give the AGFA kit a try, as that seems to be a lot cheaper than the Tetenal one at the moment.

Thanks again folks.