The first question to many minds is, “Why would I want to do this?” When I started doing my own slide processing, (back then it was E3 and E4), I was living on a very small island out in the Pacific. We only had one plane a week, so sending your film out for development was not the best option. But there are still many reasons such as, quicker turn around time, saving money, or do special processing like pushing the film speed. The most important reason is, for most of us, photography is a hobby and we enjoy many different aspects of the hobby. Shooting slides can be get a little monotonous because of the lack of photographer input and control of the final process. Sending slides out for processing limit’s the photographer’s contribution to exposure and composition. Doing your own processing, even if you don’t do any experimenting, gives the photographer more creative control of his final product. Would Ansel have been happy to take his film to the drugstore for processing?

Processing your own slides is a simple process that anyone can do. To learn more about how the film works, goto Inside E6 Color Film.

It’s not much different than developing your own B&W film except the development process have a few more steps, and an enlarger and darkroom are not needed. No darkroom? That’s right! All you need is a good dark place to load the film into the developing tank. This can be a dark closet or almost any room after dark.

You will need a developing tank with reels to fit your film size. I like the 16 ounce tanks best because they hold either two 35mm or a single 120 reel.If you are buying a new tank and reels, I suggest the Jobo 1520 because it seals well and the reels are adjustable. The Jobo reel, when set to 120, can process two rolls of 120 or one roll of 220. The 16 ounce size uses enough solution to cover the processing needs of the film, but not so much that the tank is heavy or wasteful. The stainless steel tanks are OK, but if you get the type with the stainless steel lids, you will have to tape the lid to prevent leaking.

You will also need a good thermometer made for film developing.The E6 process is run at 100.4 degrees. Two of the solutions require tight control of temperature to +/- ½ degree, so get a good thermometer.

The chemistry to do the processing is sold as a kit.I like the Kodak “E6 Single-Use Film Processing Chemistry Kit for Color Slide Film - Makes 5 Liters”. By single use, they mean that the kit is not designed to be replenished.Since all the chemicals are packaged as liquids, the kit can easily be prepared one liter (quart) at a time. I have found that one liter will process 6 to 8 rolls of 35mm film with good results. E6 kits are available locally from Pro Photo Supply for about $50. The technical information on this product can be found at Kodak's Site. You will also need at least 2 gallons of distilled water.

For storing the solutions you will need 7 quart size containers. A small plastic funnel, a graduated beaker that will hold one liter, and a couple of plastic trays on tubs to help out with temperature control. A timer or stopwatch is needed to time the processing in each of the solutions. And a few small plastic graduated cylinders of 100ml and 50ml are needed during the preparation of the solutions.

For mounting the slides, you will need some paper on plastic slide mounts. These can be purchased at the same photo suppliers that sell developing tanks and other supplies. Some mounts can even be salvaged from old discard slides if the mounts are the snap together type.

The best place to process your film is at the kitchen sink, or similar sink where you have plenty of room to work and have ready access to flowing water. Because the film stays inside the light-tight processing tank, you can have as much light as you need. Place a plastic tub in the sink and fill it with water at about 110 degrees F. This is where you can preheat your chemicals to make it easier to due the processing. To prevent spills on the countertop, I use a large developing tray to work in. The tray I use was made for 11x14” processing. Even the best tanks drip, and the tray will catch the drips. Place your timer in an easy place to reach. I have made an E6 Processing Chart in pdf that you can print out and put in a handy spot.

It is a good idea to rinse each bottle before using it for the E6 chemistry. Even new bottles should be rinsed out well.Mark each bottle with a step number, the contents, the processing time for that chemical, and the date the chemical was mixed. Be sure to mark each bottle cap with the step number, this will prevent mixing lids. Having the process time written on each bottle will make things easier when you are doing the run.

Mix the chemicals, following the instructions in the box, using distilled water and the one liter pitcher. After each chemical is prepared, pour the contents of the pitcher into the appropriate bottle. The bottle may not hold the entire contents of the pitcher, this is OK, simply wash the extra down the drain.Be sure to use distilled water, your chemicals will last much longer if you do.

This is a list of the solutions you will prepare using the Kodak kit to make one liter:

In all cases, start with 600 ml of distilled water.

Step Number

Name on Bottle

Chemical

Amount

Notes:

1

First Developer

First Developer

200 ml

Check instructions for processing time. Normally about 6 minutes.

*Critical Temperature

Wash

Wash in 100 degree water for 2:00 minutes.

2

Reversal Bath

Reversal Bath

25 ml

2:00 Minutes

3

Color Developer

Color Developer A

Color Developer B

142.5 ml

47 ml

6:00 Minutes

*Critical Temperature

4

Pre-Bleach

Pre-Bleach

70 ml

2:00 Minutes

5

Bleach

Bleach

310 ml

6:00 Minutes

6

Fixer

Fixer

70 ml

4:00 Minutes

Wash

6:00 Minutes at room temperature

7

Final Rinse

Final Rinse

10 ml

1:00 Minute at room temperature

After pouring the chemical, mix gently and add additional distilled water to bring the solution to one liter.

Mixing the two chemicals for the Color Developer is fun to watch. The solution changes color about three time while it is being mixed. (Works great to impress the spouse)

Controlling temperature

If life was perfect, all chemicals would be at exactly 100.4 degrees F. This can be done in a large commercial automatic processor, but would be hard to do at home. Fortunately, this is not really necessary. The most temperature critical step is the First Developer. Kodak recommends that this step should stay within ½ degree of the 100.4. This can be done. The other critical step is the Color Developer. The Color Developer must be with 2 degrees of the magic 100.4. All other solutions can range from 95 to 104 degrees. The Wash after the fixer, and step 7, the Final Rinse, can be at room temperature.

There are a couple of different ways to bring the solutions up to operating temperature. Here’s one method: First load the film into the processing tank, tape the lid of the tank if necessary. Set a plastic tub in the sink and put the bottles for step 1 through 6 in the tub. Fill the tub with hot water. Let the bottles soak for awhile, moving them around to keep the water moving. Measure the temperature of the solution inside one of the bottles. The Fixer is the best one because it is the least sensitive to contamination. Add more hot water as necessary until the temperature of the fixer reaches 100 degrees. At this point, add cool water to the tub to make the tub water a uniform 100 to 102 degrees.

At this point the solutions are ready for use. Since the First Developer and Color Developer are so critical, we will be double checking and adjusting them just before use. If you have room in tub, put the processing tank in the tub to help bring it up to temperature.

Running the process (be sure to read this through before you start)

Get everything ready. Make sure the timer is working properly and your ready to go. Measure out each solution just before you use it to prevent over filling the processing tank.

1. Prepare a large pitcher full of water at 102 degrees, this will be used for the wash after the first developer.
2. Set the timer to 6:00 minutes or whatever the Kodak instructions tell you to use for the first developer. I use 6:30 for Fuji film it seems to work better.
3. Check the temperature of the First Developer. Using hot or cool water flowing over the outside of the bottle, bring the temperature as close to 100.4 degrees as you can.
4. Pour the First Developer into the tank and start the timer. Tap the tank on the work surface to dislodge air bubbles and agitate the tank for the first 30 seconds. Agitate for 5 seconds each 30 seconds. (Agitation can be done by inverting the tank, counting to two, and then turning the tank upright. Do this twice for each agitation cycle.) The First Developer is a B&W developer that sets the film speed. After this step, the film will have a B&W negative image. Because this step operates on all three color layers at the same time, it is a very critical process. To push the film to a higher speed, the time of this step can be increased. This time should also be increased if you have already procedded sevel rolls with the kit. See instructions that come with the kit.
5. With 10 seconds left on the timer, using the funnel, pour the First Developer back into its bottle.
6. Using the wash water prepared in step 1, fill the tank, agitate, then dump the tank at least three times. This stops the action of the first developer.
7. Drain the tank, set the timer to 2 minutes and pour in the Reversal Bath, start the timer. Agitate for a few seconds, no other agitation is required. This bath chemically fogs the film. In the older processes, the film was actually re-exposed to light. This steps was added to make it easier to build automatic processors.
8. While the Reversal bath is working, check the temperature of the Color Developer and adjust it by running hot or cool water over the outside of the bottle.
9. As before, pour the solution out of the tank and back into the bottle during the last 10 seconds of the processing time.
10. Set the timer to 6:00 and pour in the Color Developer. Agitate for the first 30 seconds, then, like the First Developer, each 30 seconds there after. At this point, the silver halide that was not developed in the First Developer has been fogged and will be developed in the Color Developer. The reduction products produced during this development activate chemistry in the layers of the film and cause them to react with the Color Developer and produce dyes. A dark part of the image would not see much development during the First Developer, but now since it was fogged, it will fully develop and cause the generation of a large amount of dye. A bright area would have seen a lot of development during the First Developer and not much during this step, producing less dye in the film.
11. Again, during the last 10 seconds, pour the Color Developer back into its container.
12. Set the timer to 2:00 minute and pour in the Pre-Bleach, agitate as you did with the Color Developer.
13. During the last 10 seconds, return this solution back to its container.
14. Next is the Bleach. Set the timer to 6:00 minutes and carefully pour in the Bleach. This stuff will stain, so be careful. At this point, all the silver in the film should be developed. In fact, if you were to look at the film, it would be completely opaque. The bleach converts the silver back to a soluble form and removes it from the film. The silver is no longer needed since the dyes are now carrying the image.
15. During the last 10 seconds drain the bleach as completely as possible. There is no why to get it all, but try.
16. Set the timer for 4:00 minutes and pour in the fixer. Use the same agitation procedure we have been using. The Fixer removes and silver compounds not taken by the Bleach and hardens the emulsion to make the slide more permanent.
17. After the time is up, return the Fixer to its container.
18. Using tap water, fill the tank and empty it a few times. Then remove the cover, if necessary, and wash the film using your normal method. I generally place a small funnel in the center of reel and run tap water into the top of the funnel. The water goes to the bottom of the tank then up through the film. A rate of about ½ gallon per minute is plenty. Wash for about 6 minutes, a little longer if you wish.
19. Pour out any raining wash water and slowly pour in the final rinse. The final rinse is a soapy solution much like Photo-Flo. Agitate gently by raising and lower the film reel. Try not to make a bunch of bubbles.
20. After one minute, slowly pour the Final Rinse back into its bottle. Take the tank, with the film in it, to a dust free area where the film can be hung-up to dry. Hang one end while the film is still in the reel. Pull the reel down and let the film unwrap as it comes off the reel. Place a weighted clip at the bottom of the film. Do not squeegee the film, let the final rinse do its part. Remember, the wet film act like a piece of flypaper, keep dust away.

In an hour or two the film should be dry. The cloudy areas become quite clear. Examine the strip of film on a light table and mount those you want to see projected. The strip can be cut into smaller strips and placed in an archival sleeve if desired.

That’s all there is to it. It may sound complicated at first, but after a couple of times, it will become easier and you will want to start experimenting with pushing the film or cross-processing color negative film for special effects.