Processing Black and White Photos

1.) Materials to process black and white films:

• A metal or plastic film tank
• Three dark plastic containers to hold chemistry
• Graduates (used to measure chemicals)
• A darkroom timer
• A can opener
• A room that is totally light proof (not even the slightest sliver of light should be visible).
• Developer (see other sidebar)
• Glacial Acetic Acid (optional, for Stop Bath)
• Fixer (Kodak Rapid Fixer with Hardener is highly recommended)
• Hypo Eliminator

2.) Chemicals used for processing B&W film:

• Film Developer
• Fixer with hardener
• Stop bath
• Hypo Eliminator Bath

3.) Summary

So basically in the darkroom, you would have to remove your film from the cassette. You load the film onto either a metal or plastic film reel. After that, you place the loaded reel in the film tank and cover it as directed. You can turn on the light after that because the film is now in a light tight container. Here comes the actual processing part. First of all, you would have to set up your chemicals in front of you which include a film developer, a stop bath, a fixer with hardener, and a hypo eliminator bath. You want to make sure that the temperature of the chemicals is carefully controlled because they are affected by the speed of the film and the temperature of the developer. The next step is pour developer into the open part of the sealed film tank also known as the pour spout and cover it. Leave it there for a certain amount of time required. When your done, take the lid off the tank's pour spout and pour it out. Now pour running water into the pour spout for one minute to stop development. Now it is time to use a fixer with hardener to fix your image so then it could be viewed in normal light. Usually fixing takes around 5 to 10 minutes. After that, you remove the tank cover completely and let the film sit in cold running water for five minutes. Now you are going to remove all traces of the fixer to avoid the appearance of white stains on the negatives. Then pour in a tankful of Hypo eliminator and agitate for 2 minutes. Finally you wash it for another 5 minutes. Now pull the film out of the tank and use washing pins or film clips to hang the film to dry in a dust-free area. The film will be dried in about 1 to 2 hours.
4.)

Film Tank 

5.)

Film Developer

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Words Definitions

1. Contact sheet - a photographic image produced from film
2. Agitation - keeping a chemical moving
3. Enlarger - a specialized transparency projector used to produce photographic prints for film
4. Developer - causes the silver iodide of the film or paper emulsion to darken if it has been exposed to light
5. Stop Bath - removes the undeveloped silver iodide from the emulsion (to stop development of the film)
6. Fixer - removes the undeveloped silver iodide from the emulsion