Developing & Mixing ECN-2 Film
Mixing Process
You will be mixing 6 chemicals to use in development. Before you start mixing, label the cap, funnel and bottles. I use gaffer tape with a permanent marker, some people call them Sharpies. Keep in mind, the mixing and developing times are different with some of the solutions. The easiest way to mix is to keep the distilled water at 100°F for all chemicals. Distilled water will ensure better keeping properties, it has contaminants and minerals removed. High temperature enables chemicals to react and dissolve quicker. To mix the 1L kit, heat 3 glass amber bottles to 1L (33.814 ounces or 1000 mL) to about 102°F with my ANOVA Cooker, then pour the water into measuring cups and began mixing for each solution. For example, to mix developer I will heat 1L to 100°F, pour 200 mL into another measuring cup off to the side, then individually add each chemical to the 800 mL cup, stirring until dissolve. I will add the final 200 mL and keep stirring for a minute or two pretty aggressively since the chemicals are still reacting. I’ll do that with each solution. The official word from Kodak says you should keep agitating the solution, in the measuring cup for best results. Prebath, developer, stop bath and final rinse for 5 minutes; fixer for 10 minutes and bleach for 15 minutes. In my experience, I didn’t mix for the exact length of those times, I think maybe Kodak is just being conservative. When I reuse the chemicals I give the bottle a good shake before pouring into the tank.
ECN-2 Mixing:
Note: Mix chemicals in the order they appear in the sequence listed, and stir until completely dissolved, otherwise unwanted chemicals reactions and toxic fumes may occur. The mixing area should be ventilated, or at least open to carry off the chemical dust and fumes.
Kit Chemicals
Prebath
800 mL of Distilled Water at 100°F
Add:
Sodium Carbonate
Sodium Bicarbonate
Water to 1 L
pH at 77°F, 10.0 ± 0.20
Developer
850mL of Distilled Water at 100°F
Add:
Sodium Sulfite
Sodium Bromide
CD-3
Sodium Carbonate
Sodium Bicarbonate
Water to 1L
pH at 77°F 10.25 ± 0.05
Ferricyanide Bleach
900 ML of Distilled Water at 100°F-110°F
Add:
Potassium Ferricyanide
Sodium Bromide
Water to 1 L
pH at 77°F 6.5 ± 0.50
Note: Allow bleach to sit approximately for an hour before using, allowing complete reaction between chemicals.
Stop Bath, Fixer, Final Rinse
The fixer, stop bath and final rinse can be mixed at room temperature, since you aren’t starting from scratch, but for the development process they will need to be uniformly at 100°F.
Stop Bath - Kodak Indicator Stop Bath - pH 2.9
1:63 dilution (9mL + 591 mL of distilled water)
Fixer - Photographer’s Formulary TF-5 - pH 6.5
1:3 dilution (150 mL + 450 mL of distilled water)
Final Rinse - Tetenal Mirsal Antistatic
1:400 dillution (2 mL + 598 of distilled water)
Now that the measuring cups are and stirrings rods have been used, wash before salts and tars have time to form, rinsing with numerous small-volume rinses are more efficient than a few large-volume rinses. Dry using a microfiber cloth.
Developing Process
You should have 6 1L bottles labeled and heated to appropriate temperatures. I’m using the ANOVA Cooker and a big plastic tub of water to heat my chemicals. Use labeled funnels to pour back solutions from the measuring cups into the bottles. It’s easier than cleaning midway through the development process. I bought a drying rack and put it in the bath tub, so when I’m done with a funnel or bottle, I just put it in there and don’t think about it until the end. The developer temperature is the most critical, when I pour my developer I pour it in at 106.3°F, after 3 minutes it should hopefully only go down to 105.8°F.
Temperature Outline:
Prebath [@ 80°F] Bottle 1, Reuse
Tap Wash [@ 100°F]
Developer [@ 106°F ±0.2] Bottle 2, Reuse
Stop Bath [@ 100°F] Bottle 3, One Time Solution
Tap Wash [@ 100°F]
Bleach [@ 100°F ± 2.0] Bottle 4, Reuse
Tap Wash [@ 100°F]
Fixer [@ 100°F± 2.0] Bottle 5, Reuse
Tap Wash [@ 100°F]
Final Rinse [@ 100°F] Bottle 6, One Time Solution
Wash Water
For wash water, I fill a plastic tub of 105°F water from the tap and then use an extra measuring cup for water only so I can easily grab water from the plastic tub to my developing tank. By the time I get to it the water is usually somewhere between 90°F and 100°F which is adequate for all washes required for this process.
The washes are essential to ensure no cross-contamination. An inadequate stop wash will result in causing a blue tint due to low pH level, so get all that low pH stop bath out of there! Stop bath is 2.9 pH, and developer is 10.25 pH. If the pH of the bleach falls below a pH of 6, your film will experience Prussian Blue. Tap water is normally around 7-8 pH. Bleach should be at 6.5 pH. An inadequate final wash will not clear the thiosulfate chemical in the fixer and can cause serious dye fading.
There is a specific method that people seem to get good results with, it’s called the Ilford Wash Method:
Fill the developing tank with tap water at the same temperature 100°F, maintaining a constant bath temperature during processing is necessary to avoid reticulation of the emulsion;
Invert the tank 5 times and drain it completely.
Fill the tank again, invert it ten times, and drain it completely.
Fill the tank again, invert it twenty times, and drain it completely.
ECN-2 Processing:
Prebath [80°F ± 2.0] 0:10
Pour into developing tank, let it sit for 10 seconds, do not agitate. Pour back into bottle.
Remjet Removal & Rinse [80°F-100°F]
Add wash water. Hold on to the lid and shake vigorously for a minute, then dump. Repeat. It will go through a cycle of colors. Keep rinsing until the water is clear.
Developer [106°F ±0.2] 3:00
Use agitation stick and stir continuously for 30 seconds. Cap the tank, do 2 inversions every 15 seconds until 3:00. Pour back into bottle.
Stop Bath [80°F-100°F] 0:30
Quickly pour stop, agitate for a continuous 30 seconds. Dump.
Stop Wash [80°F-100°F] [Ilford Wash]
This is the most important wash if you don’t want blue tint on your images.
Ferricyanide Bleach [100°F ± 2.0] 3:00
Use agitation stick and stir continuously for 30 seconds. Cap the tank, do 2 inversions every 15 seconds until 3:00. Pour back into bottle.
Bleach Wash [80°F-100°F] [Ilford Wash]
This wash must be adequate or solution will carry-over into the Fixer.
Fixer [100°F ± 2.0] 3:00
Continuous agitation for 30 seconds, followed by 30 seconds of agitation per minute. Reuse.
Final Wash [80°F-100°F] 6:00
Agitate for 30 seconds and dump. Rinse under continuous water for several minutes to remove residual fixer.
Final Rinse [80°F-100°F] 1:00
Open tank, simply pour Photoflo or Tetenal solution and let it soak for 1 minute. Dump.
Final Remjet Removal
Handle your film by the corners and sides, do not get any remaining remjet onto the emulsion side. This will damage the image and scan as white spots. Hang film or lay down on a blanket. Use a sponge or microfiber cloth, make several passes to ensure their is no residual.
Hang to Dry
Hang in a safe place away from dust. Bathroom is most common. Some use a salad spinner.
At this point in the process I will clean my scanner and anti-newton ring glass, label the plastic film sleeve, etc. You’ll notice that washes are generally done the same, except for the TF-5 wash which is noted in the instructions for a continuous running wash to rid of hypo and unused silver. Color dye and stability can be affected if trace amounts of fixer is left on the negative. Developer and Bleach have the same agitation as it emulates a Jobo processor, a continuous stir of solution. The initial 30 seconds of the development process is the most critical in a nice even agitation, second to keeping the tank as close at 106°F as possible. I hope this article was helpful and provided information that can be used for other processes as well.