I just received this great C-41 process developing kit (I got the 20 roll kit) from freestylephoto.biz and I’m diving head-first in to processing my own color film for the first time.

The process seems only a bit little more complicated than black and white and the Rollei / Digibase chemicals have the advantage of being useable at an easy to maintain 25°C.

I put this page together as a cheat-sheet for myself and most of the information here can be found in the Rollei / Compard Digibase C-41 Processing Kit Instruction Guide [PDF]

Mixing the Chemicals

The 500 ml capacity that is most useful to me (I usually process either a single 120 or two 35mm rolls at a time in a Paterson tank) is not included in the Rollei instructions. 460 ml and 480 ml are there but 500 ml is nowhere to be found. I worked out the 500 ml solution by halving the 1000 ml concentrations listed in the instructions.

For 500 ml I used half of all the developer solution and bleach (which is a bright algae green in concentrate), ¾’s of the fixer and all of the stabilizer. The 50 ml of stabilizer included in the kit will only make a 500 ml working solution. You’d need 100 ml to make 1 liter of working solution. (The 500 ml working solution will work for 30 rolls, which is more than the developer should last anyway…)

Note that the water temperature needs to be at 49°C for proper mixing of the chemicals. I used a kettle to bring the water up to temperature and had my mixing graduates in a water bath at roughly 50°C to maintain temperature while mixing.

Developer
Working Solution
Water
Part A
Part B
Part C
Starter
Film Capacity*
300 ml
207 ml
30 ml
30 ml
30 ml
3 ml
4 -6 rolls
500 ml
345 ml
50 ml
50 ml
50 ml
5 ml
7 – 11 rolls
1000 ml
690 ml
100 ml
100 ml
100 ml
10 ml
12 – 20 rolls
* 35mm, 36 exposure or 120 format rolls
Bleacher
Working Solution
Water
Bleach
Film Capacity*
300 ml
216 ml
84 ml
6 – 9 rolls
500 ml
360 ml
140 ml
10 – 19 rolls
1000 ml
720 ml
280 ml
20 – 28 rolls
* 35mm, 36 exposure or 120 format rolls
Fixer
Working Solution
Water
Fixer
Film Capacity*
300 ml
240 ml
60 ml
6 – 9 rolls
500 ml
400 ml
100 ml
10 – 19 rolls
1000 ml
800 ml
200 ml
20 – 28 rolls
* 35mm, 36 exposure or 120 format rolls
Stabilizer
Working Solution
Water
Stabilizer
Film Capacity*
300 ml
270 ml
30 ml
18 rolls
500 ml
450 ml
50 ml
30 rolls
1000 ml
900 ml
100 ml
60 rolls
* 35mm, 36 exposure or 120 format rolls

The Developing Process

The processing order is Pre-Soak -> Developer -> Bleach -> Wash -> Fixer -> Stabilizer

Development can be done at a range of temperatures with this kit and several are provided in the instructions.

The temperatures I’ve tried so far are the “rapid” at 45°C and the lower one at 25°C. The lower temperature is easier to maintain but time to develop takes 33½ minutes versus 11½ minutes when done at 45°C.

Pre-Soak
Temperature
Time
Agitation
25°C
3 min
15 seconds of continuous agitation at start, then 1 agitation every 30 seconds thereafter
45°C
2 min
Developer
Temperature
Time
Agitation
25°C
13 min
Agitate once every 30 seconds
45°C
2 min
15 seconds of continuous agitation at start, then 1 agitation every 30 seconds thereafter
Bleach
Temperature
Time
Agitation
25°C
6 min
Agitate once every 30 seconds
45°C
2 min
15 seconds of continuous agitation at start, then 1 agitation every 30 seconds thereafter
Wash
Temperature
Time
Agitation
25°C
3 min
15 seconds of continuous agitation at start, then 1 agitation every 30 seconds thereafter
45°C
2 min
Fixer
Temperature
Time
Agitation
25°C
7 min
Agitate once every 30 seconds
45°C
2 min 30 sec
Stabilizer
Temperature
Time
Agitation
25°C
1 min 30 sec
Agitate once every 30 seconds
40°C
1 min
15 seconds of continuous agitation at start, then 1 agitation every 30 seconds thereafter