Developing Color Film At Home - Easier Than You Think


Hey everyone! Welcome to Photog with a Blog, where I talk about all things photography! Are you tired of Walmart taking 3 weeks to develop your film and not returning your negatives to you for $20, not including the cost of the film? Me too! Today, I’m going to teach you how to develop your own colored film in the comfort of your home!

Color Film - Photog with a Blog

What You'll Need

One item you’ll need before you begin is your color developing kit, and for this blog post, I will be going off of the instructions for Cinestill’s Cs41 “Color Simplified” 2-Bath Kit. This is the product I am using and is what I recommend for beginners (I’m a beginner at colored film too!)

-              CineStill Cs41 “Color Simplified” 2-Bath Kit

-              Chemical storage jugs (preferably quart-sized, specifically for the kit I’m using, but if your kit is bigger, then go with that size)

-              Thermometer

-              Something to stir with

-              Distilled water (optional for pouring water into chemicals)

-              Film development tank

-              Film reels

-              Film can opener

-              Scissors

-              Gloves (optional, but recommended- any will work)

-              Respirator mask

-              Beaker

It’s best if you don’t use personal items in this process, as you are dealing with chemicals.



*Please note that if you purchase from any of the above links, I will receive a commission as part of the Amazon Affiliate Program.

Step 1: Mixing the Chemicals

The first part of this process is mixing the chemicals. For the developer, start by heating 20 oz of water to 120°F, and then while constantly stirring, mix in parts A, B, & C into a beaker in that order. I recommend using distilled water so that it’s nice and filtered, but tap water works too, just be cautious of particles. When you are finished mixing, pour the developer into one of the containers and make sure you properly label it that it’s developer. Failure to label it can lead to confusion or, in the worst-case scenario, ruin your film. 


Next is the Blix. After cleaning out your beaker really well, pour 18 oz of water and heat it to 125°F. Repeat the same process as before by mixing A, B, & C. 


Lastly is the Stabilizer/Final Rinse. Pour 30 oz of 75-102°F water into your beaker after thoroughly cleaning it again. While stirring, pour in the only bottle that is marked Stabilizer/Final Rinse. When you are finished, make sure all three chemicals are poured into their respective containers and are labeled properly.

Color Film - Photog with a Blog

Developer

Color Film - Photog with a Blog

Blix

Color Film - Photog with a Blog

Final Rinse/Stabilizer

Color Film - Photog with a Blog

Clearly mark you developer, blix, and stabilizer bottles

Color Film - Photog with a Blog

Step 2: Loading the Film into the Development Tank

This video from CineStill explains it much better than I ever can. Make sure you are loading your film in complete dark, and instead of doing this in a bag, you can do it in any room that is 100% dark. This means ZERO light, including underneath door crevasses. If you do not have a room like this, then I would suggest purchasing the bag mentioned in the video.

Step 3: Developing the Film

Once your film is loaded into the developing tank, you can do a 1-minute pre-rinse. Just set the tank under running water for 1 minute or more and let it rinse out. This is to help stop any colors on the film from coming off into your developer.


While you do your pre-rinse, heat your developer bottle to 102°F. You can do this by placing the bottle in a bowl of really hot water. Since the room I used at school does not have hot enough water, I brought a Keurig and was using that to heat up all my water for the entire process.


When you are done with the pre-rinse, dump out any remaining water. Once you pour in the developer, agitate the tank consistently by using the agitator that came with your tank, or by putting on the lid and flipping the tank upside down and back 10 times. After that, you will agitate again 4 times every 30 seconds. The time you should set on your timer is 3:30. There is a chart you can follow on Cinestill’s website regarding time changes for lower temperatures, but I would only recommend developing at 102°F for the best, most contrasty results. Also to note, since water can cool quickly, it is possible to heat the tank to 103°F since the temp will drop over time before developing. Make sure your temperature is almost right on, though, because 2 degrees off can drastically change your results. 


Once you are done with the developer, use a funnel to pour out the remainder of your developer into its respective jug. It may look a different color upon development, but this is completely normal and doesn’t harm your developer at all.

Color Film - Photog with a Blog

Additional information if you decide to be adventurous

Step 4: Blix

Next is Blix. This one is not temperature sensitive for developing the film, it just has to be between 75-102°F. Pour this into your tank and let it sit for 8 minutes. Like the developer, agitate constantly for the first 10 seconds and then 4 inversions every 30 seconds. Pour back into the container when finished.

Step 5: Rinse

Rinse your film under constant running water for 3 minutes to ensure the chemicals are washed out. Water at 75-102°F will have the best results.

Step 6: Final Rinse/Stabilizer

This step is really up to you, but it’s meant for preserving the film over the years. Some expired older films from 20+ years ago may not be compatible with this step, so verify that before this. If you choose to do this step, pour it into the tank and agitate it for 1 minute, and then pour it back into its jug. 

Step 7: Squeegee and Dry

Use your fingers to squeegee down the film to remove excess water. Then you’re pretty much done! I recommend letting it air dry but do have a place to hang it up. You can take your film into a place and have it scanned or just invest in your own scanner and scan it from home. You will have to scan and reverse your images before you send them off to be printed if that is your plan (or have your college photography bestie scan it for you).

Color Film - Photog with a Blog

This is what my 20-year old expired film looked like after development

Conclusion

If you’re a visual learner (like me), this video, also by CineStill, was great in helping me the first time I developed color film.

Have you ever developed your own film before? If so, what type of film was it? Let me know!


I'm Sadie Lynn, and thank you for reading this edition of Photo with a Blog. Until next time, bye guys!

Color Film - Sadie Lynn