Processing Film

The initial step for black and white photography is processing the film. This is where the film is removed from its canister, loaded onto a spiral and then placed into a processing tank. These steps must be carried out in complete darkness as the film is sensitive to all light and that includes the ‘safe’ red light. Once the film is contained within the processing tank the remainder of the process does not have to be carried out in a dark room.

The key process steps are as follows:

In darkness:

· load the film into the tank

In daylight:

· Prepare the chemicals
· Develop the film with chemical developer
· Rinse in stop bath
· Fix the film using chemical fixer
· Wash with water
· Dry

A more detailed procedure to follow when processing film is described below. The chemicals used to develop film have the same functions as those that are used to develop paper. Details on the photographic chemicals and their purposes are detailed in the Processing the Print section.

First ensure the spool is clean and dry. Then in complete darkness remove the film from its canister and cut off the leading edge before feeding the end into the spool.

To wind the film into the spool, hold one side firmly and rotate the other away from you until you feel it stop. Turn the same side back towards you and repeat this process until all the film has been wound into the spool. Ensure that the film is never forced as this could cause damage to the film.

If the film gets jammed, then unwind it a little and try again. Be careful to avoid touching the underside of the film as marks on this side are irremovable. When the film has been wound in, scissors should be used to cut the film to separate it from the canister.