Developing Film using Coffee and Vitamin C

Yes, you really can use coffee to develop film! It's not that hard, although doing things the 'proper' way will get you better results. Note: if you see this exact text elsewhere, it's not copyright infringement. I posted it there :)

1. What You'll Need - all of this can be found on Amazon.com

• Instant coffee (not decaffeinated)
• Vitamin C powder
• Soda ash (washing soda) (not baking soda)
• Universal fixer
• Developing tank and film reel
• Roll of film
• A film leader retriever
• Measuring cup
• Scissors
• 7.5 L of room-temperature water
• Measuring spoons
• Some dishwashing liquid
• Two glasses
• Two clothes pegs and a clothes line

2. The Developer and Fixer

Your developing tank should say how much developer you will need to fill the tank, so you should adjust the instructions below to suit. The following instructions are for twelve ounces of developer.

1. Mix five teaspoons of instant coffee crystals with half a teaspoon of Vitamin C powder and six ounces of water. Stir until all solids have dissolved.
   
2. In a separate glass, mix six ounces of water with three and a half teaspoons of washing soda (soda ash). Stir until all solids have dissolved.
3. Mix the contents of both glasses together in one big glass or container.
4. In a separate area, follow the manufacturer's instructions to make the fixer. In a separate container, mix one drop of dishwashing liquid with enough water to fill your developing tank.

3. The Darkroom

For these next steps, you must make sure everything is undertaken in complete darkness. If you don't have a professional darkroom or other pitch-black room, use a film changing bag.

1. Using your film leader retriever, withdraw the film leader from the can. Cut off the film leader.
2. Feed the film onto your film reel, using your thumbs as a guide.
3. Cut the film off the spool and slide the reel on to the reel holder (spindle).
4. Put your reel into the tank and affix the lid tightly.

4. Developing your film

With the lights on, set up your materials next to a sink. Make sure you have a clock, timer or watch nearby.

1. Take your developing tank's lid off, pour your developer into your developing tank, then put the lid back on tightly.
2. Agitate (invert) the developing tank slowly and constantly for one minute. After the one minute is up, continue agitating the tank at the rate of three agitations per minute for eleven more minutes. That's twelve minutes' agitation in total.
3. Pour out your developer and fill the tank with water. Agitate the tank for six times and pour out the water. Repeat twice more.
4. Fill the tank with fixer. Agitate the tank three times a minute for five minutes.
5. Pour out the fixer and fill the tank with water. Agitate three times, pour out the water, fill the tank, agitate six times, pour out, fill up, agitate twelve times and pour out.
   
6. Fill the tank with the soapy water, agitate 24 times and pour out.
7. Remove the reel from the tank. Remove the film from the reel.
   

5. Almost done!

1. Use a peg to hang the film from a clothes line. Use a squeegee to remove any remaining water. If you don't have a squeegee handy, use two fingers.
2. Clip a peg to the bottom of the film to prevent it from curling.
3. Take your negatives to a store to get them printed, or use a scanner to print them yourself.

Congratulations! You're now skilled in the art of 'caffenol' film developing!

The photo on the right is used under Creative Commons license from flickr.com user PhotoDu.de. The original photo may be found here.

Coffee film developing, or 'caffenol', has taken off around the globe. There's even a 'Caffenol Pool' dedicated to showcasing images developed using the caffenol method. Go check it out!