E-6 Recipe for first developer?? Anybody got one?

[Jim Galli]

About 3 years ago I wasted a lot of time and film trying to sidestep the whole E -6 kit thing (pay extra for hazard shipping and then it poops out before you've developed enough cu.in.) by mixing the stuff myself from dry chems.

Obvious benefits are you can batch the stuff to size needed anytime you want, an d the dry chems last a LONG time. I had some success BUT never really got the b ugs out and eventually gave up. The 1st developer is my bugaboo! Color, bleach and rinse are fairly easy.

Anybody out there fiddling with this? Got anything working REPEATEDLY?

Thanks to anybody brave enough to stick their neck out on this one. Jim

[John H. Henderson]

I don't know if this is your problem, but one problem with cutting down a large batch to smaller, whether with liquid or powder, is that the raw chemicals won't be well mixed - regardless of how much you shake and mix. The smaller batches won't have the correct relative amounts of chemicals.

I'm interested in see what comes of the tablets that Tetenal is developing. Don't recall if they were doing E-6. I do know they were doing C-41. It would be nice to have a tablet for one roll of film or a handful of sheets.

[David Ivison]

I was looking for the same thing a while ago and found this recipe. Hope this helps!

SOLUTIONS First developer Sodium hexametaphosphate (Calgon) 2.0 g Sodium sulphite, anhydrous 39.0 g Potassium carbonate, anhydrous 14.0 g Sodium bicarbonate 12.0 g Phenidone 0.6 g Hydroquinone 6.0 g Sodium bromide 2.2 g Sodium thiocyanate 1.0 g Sodium hydroxide 3.3 g Potassium iodide, 0.1 per cent solution 4.5 ml Water to 1.0 litre

Stop bath 1 Sodium acetate, anhydrous 30.0 g Acetic acid, glacial 6.0 ml Water to 1.0 litre

Colour developer Sodium hexametaphosphate (Calgon) 2.0 g Trisodium phosphate crystals 36.0 g Sodium hydroxide 3.0 g Sodium sulphite, anhydrous 4.5 g Sodium bromide 0.65 g Potassium iodide 0.1 per cent solution 30 ml Sodium thiocyanate 1.3 g Citrazinic acid 1.25 g CD3 11.0 g Water to 1.0 litre

Stop bath 2 As for Stop Bath 1, but do NOT interchange them after use Bleach Potassium ferricyanide 80.0 g Potassium bromide 20.0 g Disodium phosphate, anhydrous 12.0 g Acetic acid, glacial 5.0 ml Water to 1.0 litre

Fixer Sodium thiosulphate, crystals 200.0 g (or anhydrous 125.0 g) Sodium sulphite, anhydrous 5.0 g Sodium metabisulphite 0.5 g Water to 1.0 litre

Stabiliser (optional) Formaldehyde, 40 per cent 5.0 ml Wetting agent 1.0 ml Water to 1.0 litre

PROCESSING Step Time Temp deg C

1st develop 6.25 min 38+/-0.3 Stop bath 1 2 min 33-39 Wash 2 min 33-39

Reversal exposure ? see note 1 2 mins each side to No 2 Photoflood at 10 inches

Colour dev 6 min 38+/-1 Stop bath 2 2 min 33-39 Wash 2 min 33-39 Bleach 5 min 33-39 Rinse 0.5 min 33-39 Fix 5 min 33-39 Wash 6 min 33-39 Stabilise 1 min 33-39 Dry See note 6