I love shooting photos, but hate having to wait for my film to be processed and the cost of getting it processed. There is an easy way to process your own film at home.
How To Process Film With Caffenol
The following recipe was tested on Tri-X 400 and Fuji Pro 160S. If your film is too thin, add more developing time and/or more coffee, too dark, less developing time. This process works on black & white or color film, but will produce only B&W images. Although I have not personally tested, I’ve read it works on slide film as well.
Ingredients
One 35mm (double for 2 rolls or one 120)
2 tsp Instant Coffee
3 tsp Washing Soda
1 tsp Vitamin C Powder
Fixer (follow instructions on bottle)
Note – Washing soda is not to be confused with baking soda. It may be hard to find in your area, but it is available online. I found Arm & Hammer Washing Soda at my local Kroger. It’s also known as sodium carbonate or soda ash. You can substitute washing soda for pH+ found in the pool section or at your local pool supply store. The instant coffee does not have to be name brand. Just be sure it is 100% coffee. If you don’t see Vitamin C powder at your store, any health food store should carry it.
Step 1: Mixing
Mix each ingredient separately in 3 glasses to ensure they dissolve completely. I used plain tap water at the coldest setting. On the washing soda, it is good to stir a little after each teaspoon. Otherwise it builds up as a big clump at the bottom of the glass. One everything has fully dissolved, pour the 3 mixtures into one larger container, like a 2 liter soda bottle. Let this mixture sit for 5-10 minutes to get rid of all the bubbles. Use within 30 minutes.
One 35mm (double for 2 rolls or one 120)
2 tsp Instant Coffee + 125 ml water
3 tsp Washing Soda + 125 ml water
1 tsp Vitamin C Powder + 100 ml water
Fixer (follow instructions on bottle)
Step 2: Develop
Pour the developer into the processing tank and start the stop watch. Agitate the film continually, by inverting the tank upside down and back upright, for the first minute. Then agitate 3-5 times every 3 minutes after that. I developed my film for 7 minutes using the above recipe, and the film turned out great.
Step 3: Rinse
Pour the developer down the drain. Fill the tank with water (again I used plain tap water at coldest setting) and pour it out. Repeat this process 5 times or until water comes out clear.
Step 4: Fix
Add the fixer to the tank. Agitate again for the first minute. Then, every 25 seconds, agitate 3-5 times. Repeat this process for 2-5 minutes. When finished, pour the fixer into a container to reuse later.
Step 5: Wash
You can remove the lid now to have a peek at your film. Fill the tank with water (again I used plain tap water at coldest setting) and pour it out. Repeat this process 5 times.
Optional Final Rinse:
As a final rinse add 2 drops of dishwashing soap (such as Dawn) to the tank and fill with water. Swish it around a bit and pour out. Run water in tank until there are no suds. This will help reduce the amount of water drops on the film.
Drying:
Unroll the film and use the sides of your fingers to squeegee excess water from the film. Hang film to dry. A plastic tube hanger works well. Just drape film over it and use a binder clip on each end to weigh the film down.
16 comments
idigtulsa
Excellent tipster!!! I'm trying this over the weekend for sure!! Great work, and thanks for sharing the "secret recipe" !!
stouf
Great ! I always wanted to try this !
natalieerachel
Wow! I'm assuming it only works if you want BW photos though right?
peacelovephoto
peacelovephoto
blormore
Great artilcle! Thanks so much for all the detail
casi
Great! Thank you
nfocusdesign
nfocusdesign
natalieerachel
Oh welllll, I would've loved to try that! Maybe on my next roll of BW film!
marianacapeletti
Great! I will try this.
scbaldwin
I've never developed on my own so this was very cool to read.
nyla
eremigi
It sounds a great (non-polluting as well!) solution. Two questions: 1) you do not mention the dilution for the developer (there is no indication of volume of water) and 2) are the ingredients for the developer and the fixer the same? I find it very unlikely - maybe a typo? Thanks!
don_hodgdon
toxicline