One of the best ways to save money on film is to buy bulk rolls and roll them yourself in a daylight loader. Black and white film is available in lengths of 30 metres which is sufficient for about 20 rolls of 36 exposures. Priced at about 30 pounds per bulk roll, this works out at about one pound fifty per roll (compared with over three pounds at shop prices).
An even better way to save money is to buy lengths of motion picture film for use in a bulk loader. The 35mm format owes its existence to 35mm motion picture film stock, early cameras being designed to make use of readily available motion picture film. Many large American studios sell their "end of roll" left overs for 10 or 20 cents per foot. The quality of these films is excellent.
The processes and formulae required for the home processing of motion picture films are given below. Please read the warning and disclaimer and the foot of the page.
| PROCESS STEPS | TEMP.F. | TIME | AGITATION |
| Pre-bath | 80-106F | 1min | constant |
| Developer | 106-111F | 3min | 30 sec |
| Blix | 100-106F | 1/2min | 30 sec |
| Wash | 65-106F | 2min | constant |
| Stabilizer | 65-106F | 1min | none |
| Water | 700 ml |
| Borax Pentahydrate | 20 gm |
| Sodium Sulfate | 100 gm |
| Sodium Metaborate | 10 gm |
| Water to make | 1 litre |
It is very important to remove the Anti-Halation Backing before the development stage.
| Water De-ionized 100F | 250.0 ml |
| Sodium Sulfite | 2.1 gm |
| Potassium Bromide | 0.75 gm |
| Anti-fog #1 0.2% sol. | 10.0 ml |
| Sodium Carbonate | 16.9 gm |
| Hydroxylamine Sulfate | 1.0 gm |
| CD-3 | 2.0 gm |
| Water to make | 500.0 ml |
| Water | 250.0 ml |
| EDTA Ferric Salt | 20.0 gm |
| EDTA Acid | 2.0 gm |
| Potassium Iodide | 0.5 gm |
| Ammonia (20% Sol) | 5.0 ml |
| Ammonium Thiosulphate | 50.0 gm |
| Sodium Sulfite | 1.0 gm |
| Sodium Tiocyanate (20% sol) | 25.0 ml |
| Water to make | 500.0 ml |
The standard C41 kit type blix will also work.
All Film (Still and Motion) have an anti-halation layer. Most camera emulsions used for still photography, which include negative or reversal, use a very thin layer of pre developed silver black next to the base. If you will examine the tongue of a roll of unprocessed film you will notice that the dull emulsion side is a cream color. The back side (shiny side) appears black. If you process your own film, you may also have noted that the black does not disappear until after you have bleached or blixed. This is the Anti-Halation layer.
There is a second type of anti-halation layer used for motion picture film, both negative and positive. It is called a Rem-Jet anti-halation layer. This is a layer that is placed on the back of the film base. It is composed of a resin and very finely dispersed carbon black. It serves three purposes in motion picture use 1) It helps prevent static electricity. 2) It helps prevent scratches. 3) It helps reduce in camera flare, improving contrast and color saturation.
When using motion picture film for still photography, it is important to remove this backing completely before the film is processed. Any particles left on the emulsion side will not only produce white spots on your prints, but will become imbedded in the emulsion ruining your film.
WARNING: DO NOT PROCESS MOTION
PICTURE FILM IN A STILL FILM LABORATORY.
Motion picture film will destroy the
lab's chemistry and cause the lab a very costly clean up fee. It can
only be processed in a home darkroom. Professional motion picture labs
(in the US) will not accept anything under 500 feet (152m).