[Leica] E-6 processing....

["BIRKEY, DUANE" <dbirkey@hcjb.org.ec>]

First off....  I do between 500 and 600 rolls of E-6 a year using a Jobo 
CPP-2 and bulk Kodak chemistry.  So I'm speaking from personal 
experience.......But then again........ I'm a self-taught E-6 tech.

I'd be real careful in dropping the stabilizer part of your process, 
especially if it is a 3 step process.  Your slides might look OK next 
week.... but give it a few years........Kodak's 6 step (7 with final 
rinse/fotoflo) E-6 process used to use formaldehyde (sic) but they 
revamped their chemistry and their final rinse is very tame, it's not 
called stabilizer anymore.  If your stabilizer smells nasty.... it 
probably does more than plain fotoflo. 

We have tried various various 3-step kits and weren't real happy with 
them in comparison to the quality the full 6 step process offers....    

One of the keys to quality E-6 processing is fresh first developer, 
reversal, color developer and conditioner.  I highly recommend using your 
chemistry one shot......  although I've been using 700ml of chemistry to 
develop 2 sets of 5 rolls (10 in all) in succession without problem.    
On the other hand, if you let it sit overnight you get a slight but 
definite shift.

You can improve quality by storing chemistry in smaller bottles that 
contain no air.......     Kodak estimates that a tightly stopped glass 
bottle with no air will keep the first 4 chemicals good for about 8 
weeks.  Bleach and fix will keep for a good 6 months. 
(I prefer using plasticT-Max dev ones because they are not clear, I've 
dropped too many bottles to consider using glass)

 I've used some color dev that was near 2 months old....... but I look 
real closely at the color first.  If in doubt, throw it out.....  

The second key to E-6 quality is temperature....... and time.   I 
remember reading once about how sensitive E-6 first developer is to 
temperature variations.... I remember it scared the living daylights out 
of me........I can't find the info though.   

Frankly, It's real easy to permanently damage or ruin your film somewhere 
along the process and easy to have dust and lint permanently dried into 
your emulsion if your darkroom and water isn't real clean.   Unless you 
do some controlled testing of identical shots,  you'll never know whether 
you are shifting the color or not...  If you are sloppy in handling the 
chemistry and aren't real precise with your temps and times you are not 
going to be happy.  I'd suggest you not talk on the phone while mixing 
chemistry or developing film.........  

Honestly,  unless you don't have access to really good lab for your 
film...  (for example you live in Ecuador)   I'd suggest you leave the 
E-6 processing to a good lab.....   But it isn't really that hard to do 
........I'll be happy to answer anyones questions off-line.
  
Duane Birkey

HCJB World Radio
Quito Ecuador