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Caffenol-C page
Here's the recipe I've been using for Caffenol-C.12 oz. tap water around room temperature
3/4 tsp vitamin C powder
5 tsp instant coffee
3 1/2 tsp washing soda
I mix it up in a $15 lab stirrer, which spins a plastic encased magnet inside an old pyrex measuring cup. I mix the washing soda first, because it's hardest to dissolve and requires vigorous agitation. I slap a plastic lid on top to prevent any escaping. With a flashlight I check that it's clear before adding the coffee and vitamin C, and turn the speed down. The vitamin C makes a foam if spun too fast. Some of the coffee doesn't completely dissolve, so I pour it into the tank through a wire screened funnel. Any solids would stick to the film and produce white spots, no matter how much you rinse. I agitate the tank, by rolling it in my hands like a wheel, the first full minute, then 3 times a minute till complete. I watch my phone (on timer), and agitate at zero, 40 seconds, and 20 seconds every minute. The "developer" then gets poured down the sink. I vary the developing time by the temperature of the tap water. In winter it's 16 minutes, in summer 10 minutes is OK. It only takes a minute of tap water to stop developing. Then, again through the screened funnel, I pour in Ilford's rapid fixer, which seems to last at least 10 uses from a 1 liter bottle. When in doubt you can test it with a piece of scrap film. It clears the film in less than 2 minutes if still usable. Fixing longer doesn't get any clearer. I agitate athe fixer for 5 minutes and pour the fixer back in the bottle, marking how many uses this was. At 10 uses I mix up a new batch. Once fixed it gets a final rinse with cold water for ten minutes. Finally I add a few drops of Forma Flow to prevent water spots. I don my shower cap to keep hair out of the film and open the tank up. The reel goes in my salad spinner film dryer for a few minutes, then hangs on the shower curtain rod with a small fan blowing on it for 2 hours till it's bone dry. Finally I scan the negatives in my $15 scanner, and copy them into the hand-me-down computer, edit the web pages and upload to this site. Piece of cake.
I started with Arista EDU film, which seemed to have spots and inconsistent results. Was probably my fault. Now I'm using Kentmere film. For winter I'm switching to 400 ASA, because I like long lenses, which hardly work at 100 ASA in bright sunny weather. It's easier to get a sharp image at F:8 or 16 than F:2.8. Working blindly in a darkroom is frustrating and difficult. So I use a dark bag to load the exposed film into a developing tank. I prefer stainless steel reels and tanks. Loading those reels took some warming up to. A bottle opener gets the 35mm cartridge open, and some rounded kiddie scissors cut the spool off without perforating the dark bag. I have reels and tanks for 35mm, 120, and 126 / 16mm film. 35mm is the easiest to work with. Of course I only shoot black and white film, because it's sooo much easier than color. Been there, done that.