Chrome Brew - making your own E-6 from raw
chemicals
by Derek Watkins
Note
Printed with permissions from Derek Watkins (copyright ©)
The Kodak Ektachrome E-6 process has been with us for around twenty years now - which in its own way
says that Kodak really did get it right. Not only did E-6 quickly become the standard against which all
other processes were judged, it also took over as the universal process for colour reversal films.
One advantage of the E-6 process is that it is relatively easy to handle in the home darkroom. Indeed, you
don't even need a darkroom to be able to process your own reversal films.
COSTS
The only real snag is the high cost of the official Kodak E-6 processing kit. The 600ml Hobby-Pac, for
example, costs about £25 (pounds UK) and processes up to six 36 exposure 35mm films or the equivalent.
This works out at £4.17 a film, which is not much less than my local professional lab charges.
You can cut the cost per film by purchasing the larger 3.8 litre professional kit for a round £50. This kit
will process up to about forty 36 exposure 35mm films. So you can see how this can bring the cost down
considerably - to approximately £1.25 a film.
However, if you only need to process a few films a week you'll end up throwing the solutions away before
they've reached the end of their useful life, and the cost per film goes up again.
Having said that, there are many less expensive small kits on the market, such as those made by Tetenal,
Fotospeed, Paterson and Photocolor. All of these reduce the cost per film quite considerably - to about
£2.15 in the case of the 500ml Tetenal UK-6 processing kit.
Lake in Northern Italy photographed by Derek on Ektachrome 64 and processed in home-made E6
DIY
If you really want to cut the cost of your E-6 processing, the way to do it is to mix up your own processing
solutions, which is not nearly as difficult as it may sound. The only equipment you need, apart from the
usual measures and mixing jugs, is an accurate chemical balance and a set of weights, which will cost you
about £30.
Apart from economy, you get several other benefits from processing your own E-6 films. The first of
these is speed. Even the most efficient professional lab will take at least a couple of hours to process your
films. And unless it happens to be next door you have to add the time and inconvenience of taking and
collecting your film. On the other hand, if you do the job yourself you can be examining the results within
an hour of taking your pictures - if you have the chemicals mixed and up to temperature. This is, of
course, a big advantage when you are shooting in the studio, because it means you can leave the lighting
set up until you see the transparencies. It also enables you to shoot a test film to see if you need any slight
filter adjustments on the camera to correct the colour balance before you shoot your final pictures.
Another benefit is that you have full control over your processing. You can, for example, up-rate or down-
rate your films according to the shooting conditions and change the standard process to compensate. I
know that most professional labs offer this service, but it often takes longer and they normally charge
extra for it.
If you take care handling and processing your films the quality of your transparencies should be at least as
good as those you get from a professional lab. Because you're doing the job yourself youÕll inevitably
take more care than a lab that's set up to produce commercially acceptable results from thousands of films
every day.
Finally, the great thing about processing your own reversal films is that you donÕt need a lot of
equipment. Just a processing tank, an accurate thermometer and timer, a few measures and some means of
keeping the temperature of the solutions constant.
EQUIPMENT
You can use any kind of processing tank, although I prefer
stainless steel to plastic. Metal is a better conductor of heat, so it's
easier to control the temperature. I also find stainless steel spirals
far easier to load than the plastic type. For timing, you donÕt
need anything more elaborate than a wristwatch with a second
hand. But do buy a good certified thermometer and make sure
your solutions are at the correct temperature.
For temperature control I simply use a bowl of water at a degree
or so higher than the process temperature. I stand all the bottles
of processing solution and the tank in it, and as the temperature
of the water starts to drop I add a little more hot water to bring it
back up again. Alternatively you could use a small aquarium
heater and thermostat to keep the temperature of the water
constant.
One final piece of equipment you'll need is a No 2 Photoflood
bulb in a reflector. This is for the reversal exposure that comes part way through the process (some
commercial E-6 kits do not require this). For each of the processing solutions, dissolve the chemicals in
the order given in the formula. If you don't, you may find that some of the chemicals - such as the
Phenidone in the first developer - will be difficult or even impossible to dissolve. Ordinary drinking water
is perfectly adequate for mixing the solutions (you don't need distilled water) and the Calgon in the two
developers overcomes the effects of hard water.
It is worth filtering the solutions into their storage bottles to remove particles of dust and other debris.
Make sure each chemical is completely dissolved before adding the next and after you add the 0.1 per cent
potassium iodide solution, rinse the measure out with some of the mixed developer.
SOLUTIONS
First developer
Sodium hexametaphosphate (Calgon) 2.0 g
Sodium sulphite, anhydrous 39.0 g
Potassium carbonate, anhydrous 14.0 g
Sodium bicarbonate 12.0 g
Phenidone 0.6 g
Hydroquinone 6.0 g
Sodium bromide 2.2 g
Sodium thiocyanate 1.0 g
Sodium hydroxide 3.3 g
Potassium iodide, 0.1 per cent solution 4.5 ml
Water to 1.0 litre
Stop bath 1
Sodium acetate, anhydrous 30.0 g
Acetic acid, glacial 6.0 ml
Water to 1.0 litre
Colour developer
Sodium hexametaphosphate (Calgon) 2.0 g
Trisodium phosphate crystals 36.0 g
Sodium hydroxide 3.0 g
Sodium sulphite, anhydrous 4.5 g
Sodium bromide 0.65 g
Potassium iodide 0.1 per cent solution 30 ml
Sodium thiocyanate 1.3 g
Citrazinic acid 1.25 g
CD3 11.0 g
Water to 1.0 litre
Stop bath 2
As for Stop Bath 1, but do NOT interchange them after use
Bleach
Potassium ferricyanide 80.0 g
Potassium bromide 20.0 g
Disodium phosphate, anhydrous 12.0 g
Acetic acid, glacial 5.0 ml
Water to 1.0 litre
Fixer
Sodium thiosulphate, crystals 200.0 g
(or anhydrous 125.0 g)
Sodium sulphite, anhydrous 5.0 g
Sodium metabisulphite 0.5 g
Water to 1.0 litre
Stabiliser (optional)
Formaldehyde, 40 per cent 5.0 ml
Wetting agent 1.0 ml
Water to 1.0 litre
PROCESSING
Step Time Temp deg C
1st develop 6.25 min 38+/-0.3
Stop bath 1 2 min 33-39
Wash 2 min 33-39
Reversal exposure Ð see note 1
2 mins each side to No 2 Photoflood at 10 inches
Colour dev 6 min 38+/-1
Stop bath 2 2 min 33-39
Wash 2 min 33-39
Bleach 5 min 33-39
Rinse 0.5 min 33-39
Fix 5 min 33-39
Wash 6 min 33-39
Stabilise 1 min 33-39
Dry See note 6
Notes
1. The time given for the reversal exposure is based on the film being removed from the spiral. The
best way to make this exposure is to pass the film back and forth through water in a white bowl for
the two minutes exposure to each side. This will prevent the film becoming too hot and starting to
dry out. However, do be careful not to splash the lamp with water or it may explode. If you prefer to
leave the film in the spiral for this reversal exposure, place it in a white bowl of water. Give 5
minutes exposure to each end of a clear spiral or 10 minutes to each end of a white nylon or
stainless steel spiral. The important thing to remember is that it is not possible to over expose the
film at this stage, but easy to under expose - so err on the side of longer rather than shorter
exposure.
2. The first development time and temperature largely determine the density and colour balance of the
final transparency. For this reason, itÕs important not to deviate from the recommended time and
temperature.
3. Agitation in all baths except the stabiliser is continuous for the first 15 seconds followed by two
inversions of the tank every half minute after that. For the stabiliser a single inversion over and back
is sufficient.
4. The capacity of the solutions is ten 36 exposure 35mm or 120 roll films per litre. But increase the
time in the first developer by 15 seconds after processing every two films.
5. The first developer will keep for two months unused in a full, tightly stoppered dark glass bottle.
Once it's been used, it will keep for four weeks. The colour developer has a life of three months
unused and two months partly used. All the other solutions will keep for at least six months, unused
or partly used.
6. Drying temperature should not exceed 60 deg C (140 deg F). The film will appear milky while it's
wet, but clears completely when dry.
CONCLUSION
To return to the main benefit of processing your own reversal colour films, I've worked out roughly the
cost for a litre of each working solution based on a recent chemical price list I have. The total cost of a
litre of all the solutions works out at a fraction over £6.50, which equates to just 65 pence (one US dollar)
a film - far cheaper than £4.17 a film with the Kodak Hobby-Pac.
Useful addresses
You can buy raw chemicals and equipment such as a laboratory balance from the following British
companies.
Hogg Laboratory Supplies
Sloane Street,
Birmingham B1 3BW
Tel: (+44) (0) 121 233 1972
Rayco Chemical Ltd
199 King Street
Hoyland
Barnsley S74 9LJ
Tel: (+44) (0) 1226 744594
Silverprint Ltd
12b Valentine Place,
London SE1 8QH
Tel: (+44) (0) 171 620 0844
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