Kodak D-76 Developer Tutorial

We're going old school with this one. I realized I have about 5 rolls of undeveloped black and white film with who knows what on them. I couldn't find a tutorial explaining how to mix Kodak D-76 Developer so, after reading the very, very minimal instructions on the package and scouring my old Darkroom notes and racking my memory, I got it done and now I'm showing you. You're welcome.

Things you need:

~D-76 Developer
~Glass Thermometer
~Container to Mix Chemicals (not to be used for food afterwards)
~Mixing Utensil (not to be used for food afterwards)
~Funnel (not to be used for food afterwards)
~Water
~Stove or Microwave... or a good Water Heater

Oh, the excitement!

STEP 1.

D-76 must be mixed in water that is a temperature of 122-131 degrees Fahrenheit. Most water heaters will reach that temperature and you can simply use the thermometer under the running water to gauge it. However, the different chemical makeup of your water may affect the developer so to be safe, I used distilled water. If you go my route, you'll need to heat about half a gallon of water on the stove and pour the rest of the water in a different container so your one-gallon jug is empty. The water can be heated with a regular food kettle. I used a food thermometer since it hadn't been contaminated with film chemicals yet. You know, cross contamination and all that.

Perfect.

STEP 2.

Carefully pour the hot water into your mixing container. I use old margarine containers. They're free and no one misses them. You'll add the D-76 powder to this so be careful that it's not too full. After it's added, you'll stir it. And stir it. And you'll stir it some more. It takes a long time to dissolve but you'll get there. I promise.

Watermelon optional.

STEP 3.

Clearly mark your one-gallon container. Carefully funnel this mixture into your one-gallon container. Top it off with the water you poured into the separate container (or relatively warm water from the sink). Cap it and you're good. Store it out of sunlight. Keep it away from children because they'll drink it and you won't have any more developer.

OTHER NOTES:

In addition to D76, I use Kodak Fixer and Kodak Hypo Clearing Agent for my film processing. I don't know what's out there, I don't know what's better or worse, but that's what I was taught to use and I get along just fine for the type of film I use. Always mix the chemicals in the order they're used - developer, fixer, hypo clearing agent. You'll use the same steps for the fixer and hypo clearing agent as above but the temperatures will vary. At the back of my mind it seemed like you're supposed to let the chemicals sit for an amount of time before you use them. I have no idea if I was making it up nor for how long they'd theoretically sit for, but it seemed like a good idea to me so I have let them sit for at least 48 hours now.