Intro and Question About Storing Chemicals
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greasemonkey
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Intro and Question About Storing Chemicals
Hello everybody! My name is Michael Brady and I live in Olympia, WA. I am 24 years old and have been shooting with a Yashica 25. I know on some message boards they really tear into you if you don't post an intro first so I thought I should do that. I am getting ready to develop the first four cartridges I shot (Plus-X and Tri-X) and wanted to know what kind of containers I can use to mix and store the chemicals in? I don't want to buy new containers designed for film chemicals because I don't want to spend too much on equipment. Also considering that on average 80% of the waste generated by a household is packaging and containers I don't see much sense in buying more. Can plastic coke bottles or milk jugs be used without ruining the chemicals? I was also interested in making my film have a grainy high contrast image to look more like older footage. Is there a film stock that best poduces this (I will probably be doing all my future filming with Foma 100 but if something works better I'll try that) or what could be done while processing to make that effect? Thanks for any help
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christoph
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Re: Intro and Question About Storing Chemicals
generally speaking, you should store chemicals in an airtight container and keep them at a dark, reasonably cold place.
actually all of the bottles used for drinks i can think of will do just fine, plastic or glass... you will want a tight tap though. glas is slightly better for long term storage since it doesnt transpire oxygen. personally, i use dark brown glas fruitjuice bottles with plastic caps (you dont want to use metals anywhere near your chemicals, unless it's really high grade stainless steel or something) but i also had milk jugs for a while since the larger opening made it easier to pour the stuff back into the bottle.
better clean them before though ;)
...and label them with DO NOT DRINK (UNLESS YOU LIKE HALUCINATIONS)!
a lot has been written about processing already (as about storage i guess) so use the search function and do a bit of reading.. keywords like "push" "processing" "grainy" "grain" etc..
hope that helped a bit
++ christoph ++
actually all of the bottles used for drinks i can think of will do just fine, plastic or glass... you will want a tight tap though. glas is slightly better for long term storage since it doesnt transpire oxygen. personally, i use dark brown glas fruitjuice bottles with plastic caps (you dont want to use metals anywhere near your chemicals, unless it's really high grade stainless steel or something) but i also had milk jugs for a while since the larger opening made it easier to pour the stuff back into the bottle.
better clean them before though ;)
...and label them with DO NOT DRINK (UNLESS YOU LIKE HALUCINATIONS)!
a lot has been written about processing already (as about storage i guess) so use the search function and do a bit of reading.. keywords like "push" "processing" "grainy" "grain" etc..
hope that helped a bit
++ christoph ++
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monobath
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Welcome, greasemonkey. I agree with what christoph already said, but I thought I'd expand on a couple of things.
Dark brown glass bottles with tight fitting lids or stoppers are the best choice for storing chemicals, without doubt. Well, at least in terms of gas permeability. If your hands are wet and you drop one, it will not fare as well as a plastic bottle.
Glass bottles are not expensive if you buy them in quantities of a dozen or so on the net. But ask at local pharmacies or shops that sell massage and aromatherapy oils and supplies. The often stock a few sizes, and many will order you any size bottles you want. More expensive than ordering off the web, but you don't have to buy a dozen at a time.
Now here's an idea. Are you a beer drinker? Do you like the wonderful English and Irish ales and stouts that come in 1 pint 2.6 ounce botles like Fuller's ESB or 1845, Young's Oatmeal Stout or Double Chocolate Stout, Guinness Extra Stout, and so forth? How about the even larger 750ml Belgian Abbey ales, like Maredsous? They all use nice heavy dark brown amber glass. So you don't have to buy storage bottles. Just beer. You just have to find a source of various sized rubber stoppers. They should be readily available on the internet, and maybe at places like The Container Store, or a chemical supply store.
Plastic works too. All of the plastic darkroom type bottles I've ever seen are HDPE 2 plastic. But in fact, soft drink bottles, which are made of PETE plastic are even less permeable than HDPE. Thickness, however, is also a factor, and soft drink PETE bottles are usually very thin. They work for chemical storage, but simple handling over time weakens them. Replacements, of course, are cheap and plentiful.
If you want slightly thicker and sturdier plastic, use HDPE instead of PETE. Those translucent white milk and juice jugs come in convenient gallon, half gallon, and quart sizes. There are also the liquid laundry soap containers, fabric conditioner bottles, and so forth. Just look for the HDPE symbol on the bottom. PVC will also work, but it is more gas permeable than either PETE or HDPE.
So, yes, you can get by using beer bottles or food and laundry product bottles just fine. You don't really need anything fancy for storing chemicals. Like christoph said, though, keep your bottles tightly capped and in a dark, preferably cool, place.
Now for the other question, Tri-X is already sufficiently grainy to evoke that "old" look you referred to. Though I really think it is a small gauge look, as opposed to a necessarily "old" look. If you want it to more contrasty too, just overdevelop it (first developer) by 20%.
Dark brown glass bottles with tight fitting lids or stoppers are the best choice for storing chemicals, without doubt. Well, at least in terms of gas permeability. If your hands are wet and you drop one, it will not fare as well as a plastic bottle.
Glass bottles are not expensive if you buy them in quantities of a dozen or so on the net. But ask at local pharmacies or shops that sell massage and aromatherapy oils and supplies. The often stock a few sizes, and many will order you any size bottles you want. More expensive than ordering off the web, but you don't have to buy a dozen at a time.
Now here's an idea. Are you a beer drinker? Do you like the wonderful English and Irish ales and stouts that come in 1 pint 2.6 ounce botles like Fuller's ESB or 1845, Young's Oatmeal Stout or Double Chocolate Stout, Guinness Extra Stout, and so forth? How about the even larger 750ml Belgian Abbey ales, like Maredsous? They all use nice heavy dark brown amber glass. So you don't have to buy storage bottles. Just beer. You just have to find a source of various sized rubber stoppers. They should be readily available on the internet, and maybe at places like The Container Store, or a chemical supply store.
Plastic works too. All of the plastic darkroom type bottles I've ever seen are HDPE 2 plastic. But in fact, soft drink bottles, which are made of PETE plastic are even less permeable than HDPE. Thickness, however, is also a factor, and soft drink PETE bottles are usually very thin. They work for chemical storage, but simple handling over time weakens them. Replacements, of course, are cheap and plentiful.
If you want slightly thicker and sturdier plastic, use HDPE instead of PETE. Those translucent white milk and juice jugs come in convenient gallon, half gallon, and quart sizes. There are also the liquid laundry soap containers, fabric conditioner bottles, and so forth. Just look for the HDPE symbol on the bottom. PVC will also work, but it is more gas permeable than either PETE or HDPE.
So, yes, you can get by using beer bottles or food and laundry product bottles just fine. You don't really need anything fancy for storing chemicals. Like christoph said, though, keep your bottles tightly capped and in a dark, preferably cool, place.
Now for the other question, Tri-X is already sufficiently grainy to evoke that "old" look you referred to. Though I really think it is a small gauge look, as opposed to a necessarily "old" look. If you want it to more contrasty too, just overdevelop it (first developer) by 20%.
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greasemonkey
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Great advice. I feel like I have a doctorate in storage containers now. I believe around here you can get Grolsch Lager in the big green bottles with the ceramic and rubber captive stoppers. Those should be perfect. I'll have to suffer for my art and empty them all. Also my father owns a carpet cleaning business so he should have an assortment of plastic jugs. I believe most of the ones he has are HDPE 2 and very thick. Thanks