what i was thinking of doing was getting hold of five 2.5 litre plastic containers and mixing up all the baths, then keeping the 5 separate baths - for use in one extended session - at 20 degrees C in the darkroom, then just pouring out what i needed. have several Lomo's so i can process films individually - need to do this cos i like to solarise footage.That way also i wouldn't have to be recycling chemicals from one tank to another, and so avoid the bleach contamination issue?
mixed concentrates into 2.5 litre polyethylene containers. this gave me enough solution to develop 2 carts of Super 8 and one reel of Double 8 without re-using bleach - although i recycled the developer each time for second development then discarded.
Why do you make experiments with the bleach part of the Foma process? In my opinion the bleach is the most critical part when processing Fomapan-R. I would suggest mix it use it as it is described in the Foma papers and discard it after one film is processed. On the other hand you can simply make your bleach bath from components you can buy at your local drugstore. KmNO4 and H2SO4 are cheap components. If you have the original Foma bottle with H2SO4 you can measure the density of the acid part (when I am remembering right it is about 15%), and calculate how many acid (drugstore strength) must be used to get the right strength for the working solution. This ist the first step to manage Foma delivery problems. You also can substitute the developer with Fomadon-LQR and the clearing bath with Na2S2O5, any fixing solution can be used. This ist for processing Fomapan-R, if you process other brands of b/w reversal film, things even might be a bit more sinply.
Walter
walter wrote:Why do you make experiments with the bleach part of the Foma process? In my opinion the bleach is the most critical part when processing Fomapan-R. I would suggest mix it use it as it is described in the Foma papers and discard it after one film is processed. On the other hand you can simply make your bleach bath from components you can buy at your local drugstore. KmNO4 and H2SO4 are cheap components. If you have the original Foma bottle with H2SO4 you can measure the density of the acid part (when I am remembering right it is about 15%), and calculate how many acid (drugstore strength) must be used to get the right strength for the working solution. This ist the first step to manage Foma delivery problems. You also can substitute the developer with Fomadon-LQR and the clearing bath with Na2S2O5, any fixing solution can be used. This ist for processing Fomapan-R, if you process other brands of b/w reversal film, things even might be a bit more sinply.
Walter
thanks - um - the bleach worked fine ... it appears ... the only problem was the final rinse water for the final film which was too warm, taught me a good lesson there however to critically control even the wash water, won't make that mistake again
would love to source an apothecary who supplied the raw ingrediemts for film processing - the culture here is not very supportive of customised service :-| unless it comes pre-packaged they look at you like you were nuts or up to something. if i walk into my local store and ask for a bottle of sulphuric acid they will probably call the cops or have me detained in a secure mental health unit somewhere [lol]
<3 Foma just now anyway - gets me cool film + chemicals just round the corner from the darkroom ;)
