A caffenol question

[Pfiltz]

I don't shoot a lot of film, and am thinking of possibly trying out the caffenol route. Is it even worth the time/effort? I hate wasting developer because I don't use it quick enough over time, and have to throw it away.

The solution that I've seen used online is

In one container mix up:
6 oz of water
5 teaspoons of instant coffee
1/2 teaspoon of Vit.C powder

In a 2nd container mix up:
6 oz of water
3 1/2 teaspoons of washing soda

Then mix the two solutions together. That makes up my developer. I have stop/fixer.


TIA

[JeRuFo]

I've seen great results using caffenol, but have no experience with it myself.
If you don't shoot a lot of film I would buy a commercial developer that will give you consistent results, plus it saves you the hassle of having to keep all the ingredients and testing your formula. Most liquid developers (rodinal, hc-110, pyrocat hd etc.) have a long shelf life in concentrated form, just mix up what you need every time.

[jnantz]

hi pfitz

have you checked out the http://www.caffenol-cookbook.com or
http://caffenol.blogspot.com/2010/03...m-recipe.html?
there in depth recipes + discussions there ...

typically the teaspoon route goes

8 oz. water
4 slightly rounded tsp. instant coffee
2 tsp. washing soda
1/4 tsp powder Vitamin C

if you have a scale and want to do things a bit more precise you can
measure for caffenol c-m
which is

1L water
54g washing soda
16g vit c
40g instant coffee


the main thing you need to keep track of is make sure you are using the cheapest of the cheap instant coffee ..
vit c ( not fruit fresh or weird stuff ) and washing soda (not baking soda ) .. and you should be OK ...
if all you can find is baking soda, just heat it, force out the moisture and convert it to washing soda ...

to be honest, i am kind of the black sheep of the caffenol crowd
don't measure any of my ingredients
i mix my coffee first, then just put other ingredients in there ..
i also use roasted coffee beans ( robusta ) that i roast myself ( and sell )
instead of cheap instant coffee ... and make about 1L at a time ( 10 cups of coffee )
around 11-12 scoops / 10-11 "cups" of water
ive been using caffenol c in one form or another for almost 8 years as my primary film developer.
its as good as most any other developer i have mixed and used ...

have fun
john

ps. i sell 1L kits for sumatranol-c ( its with beans you brew, not instant ) feel free to PM me if you are interested

[HoodedOne]

The easy way.....

http://www.labeauratoire.com/caffenol/cc.html

[Terry Christian]

It really does work! I use Caffenol-C-M. Keep in mind that it is a staining developer, so it may not look like much until you print or scan.

[Pfiltz]

Kewl. I appreciate the info. I may just give it a whirl on a test piece of film or two. I've had some folks that still shoot film, recommend to me that Rodinal and HC developer too.


Again, Thanks.

[jp]

It works (at least on low speed film; there are variants for higher iso films) and it's fun.

If you only want to mix up a little developer at a time, the long shelf life "mix a little as you go" options I've tried are pyrocat-hd in glycol and hc110.

[Pfiltz]

One other thing...

The film I currently have and have exposed is 320 ASA Ilford

[Andrew O'Neill]

I used it in the past. Works well. Filter before use to get rid of any grit that didn't mix in.

[adelorenzo]

I've never used Caffenol for film but I do use it from time to time for developing paper. Powdered vitamin C is difficult for me to find to I just dissolve tablets. I'm not too careful with mixing stuff up and it gets good results.

Nothing against Caffenol but if your problem is longevity why not use something like HC-110 or Rodinal that has a very long shelf life?