E6 Kodak 6 bath chemicals?

[Mike Meal]

I've recently picked up a CPE-2 and the guy I bought it off is a pro that has just completely switched to digital. He's given me all his Kodak E6 chemicals (all un-opened) which probably amounts to 5x5l kits but for some reason he hasnt given me any fixer.
Now I know you can easily buy the complete kits but I just need a few bottles of E6 fixer, can you buy these separately? Could anyone point me in the direction of a supplier?

[Bill]

Morco are advertising separate E6 chemicals including E6 Fixer to make 2x5Ltr for £5.70.

http://www.morco.uk.com/latest/kodak_e6.htm

I think I was once told that it is standard fixer anyway but Morco looks like your best bet.

Bill

[Mike Meal]

Thanks Bill, I've never ordered from Morco before and it looks like they are the only people in the UK to supply Kodak E6 chemicals.

I guess it was my lucky day because he even gave me enough D76 to make 30L of stock!:)

[pentaxpete]

You are very lucky to get all that E6 stuff since dlab7.com stopped doing E6 I have been looking around lab prices and they are very expensive ! I was considering doing my own E6: the chemicals are available from Photomart in Walthamstow, no probs.

[Tom Kershaw]

I'm not sure if processing E6 yourself really saves any money if you include the time taken to process the film. However there are other advantages of processing film in house, convenience, flexibility, turnaround, no posting, choosing developers for black & white, and process control in general... I process B&W and C-41, and have done 1 roll of E6 as an experiment with an old Agfa process 44/E6 kit, more E6 to follow.

A 5 litre working solution Kodak E6 kit is available from Firstcall Photographic:

http://www.firstcall-photographic.co.uk/shop/search/Kodak+E6/0/kodak/kodak-e6-kit-5-litres/

Tom.

[pentaxpete]

I went on the Firstcall site as above and that kit is very expensive for my use- it does 60 films,you have to use it in one go evidently: I asked Mr Bates about it being 'One-Shot', could I make up SMALLER amounts just to cover the spiral and keep the concentrates in their bottles but he said "No" ! He said he sells a Tetenal 1 litre kit to do 12 films, but I don't take 12 E6 films in one go!

[Argentum]

From the kodak data sheet:

STEPS AND CONDITIONS FOR
ROTARY-TUBE PROCESSING
The KODAK PROFESSIONAL Single-Use Chemistry Kit,
Process E-6, is ideal for rotary-tube processing. Simply mix
the concentrates with water to prepare the volume you need
according to the instructions packaged with the kit. Then
discard the used solutions after each processing run.
Note: For best sensitometric results with the Single-Use
Chemistry Kit, Process E-6, use no less than 250 mL of each
solution per square foot of film (278 mL for two 135-36
rolls). Some film holders or tubes may require more solution
for good uniformity. Check your processor manual.

[Argentum]

and from one of my contacts elsewhere in whom I have complete faith about his knowledge of colour processing:


I've been processing my own E6 since it was E2 in 1954. Back then I used Nikor tanks in my mom's kitchen sink. Image reversal was done via a flood lamp, six inches from the film, shining through the Nikor reel spirals as you rotate, via your wrist, the reel in front of the lamp - both sides.

I still used Nikor reels for roll film and hard rubber tanks for sheet film until 1970. Between 1962 and 1970 I shot, as a commercial photographer, an enormous amount of 8x10 Ektachrome for advertising agencies. All processed in Kodak hard rubber tanks.

In 1970 I got a Wilkinson rotary processor (similar to a big JOBO) and used it for all of my E4, and then E6 processing.

I used the Wilkinson rotary processor until 1998 when I got a JOBO ATL-2400. And have been using it ever since for my E6 processing.

What I learned over five decades of processing E-2, E-3, E-4, & E-6 is that the process is quite forgiving. I know that back when I hand processed everything, my temperatures deviated a degree or two during development. For the most part, you'll never see any difference. If you are processing film that needs to have exact flesh tones, exact fabric colors, etc, then adhering to the exact spec is necessary. For general photography, landscape, cityscape, etc, you'll never be able to detect a deviation. The nice thing about rotary processors is that they keep the temperature of the entire process exactly in spec and they provide consistent agitation. And now they are cheap:

I have always used the six step E-process. When the three step process came out, Kodak stated that it was for amateur films only, not professional films. Fuji stated the same. I use the 'KODAK PROFESSIONAL Single-Use Chemistry Kit, Process E-6'

http://www.kodak.com/global/en/professional/support/techPubs/ti2443/ti2443.jhtml

Which allows you to mix as little or as much as you need for a run. I have often mixed only 170ml to run a single roll of 35mm/36 or a roll of 120, or 270ml for a roll of 220.

[Mike O'Pray]

MORCO seem to be a good bet especially for Kodak materials. Pity that it only sells almost mini-lab quantities in Kodak materials. This may not be a problem in terms of bleach( I understand it lasts almost forever) or to a lesser extent fix but you'd need to be doing a lot of films to use the developer quantities. On the other hand it might still pay to use MORCO pricewise and simply be prepared to throw away unused dev and buy fresh.

Mike

[Argentum]

The Kodak 5 litre kit does 60 135 films. Thats less than £1 a film. Why don't you get a lab to process it for you and see if you like what it costs then.

You will get better more vivid colours using the single use kit as it won't be partially exhausted or oxidised from standing around in a system waiting for the occasional person to ask for some slides to be developed. One lab in Plymouth only fires up a development run once a week because so few people use it now. The last lab I used in Paignton returned film looking very murky colour covered in scratches. Doing your own is the way to go for good quality these days and it is very cheap by comparison with lab costs.

[Kevin Caulfield]

I went on the Firstcall site as above and that kit is very expensive for my use- it does 60 films,you have to use it in one go evidently: I asked Mr Bates about it being 'One-Shot', could I make up SMALLER amounts just to cover the spiral and keep the concentrates in their bottles but he said "No" ! He said he sells a Tetenal 1 litre kit to do 12 films, but I don't take 12 E6 films in one go!

But with the Tetenal kits, you can split the quantities down for smaller amounts. They recommend using Protectan spray to prolong the life of the remaining chemicals. :)

[gari]

Hi Pentaxpete, I use to use the Tetanal kit, now use the Fuji kit from Firstcall, I use 250ml in a jobo 25xx for 5x4 and would just make a single batch, just divide the 1 litre instructions by 4 and away you go! I am assuming the guy was keen for folks to make a who;e batch and have to replace if it oxidised.
The fuji works the same, 250ml and one-shot.

Gari