Manual development of color film, like business class on a plane, is cool, expensive, and not for everyone. But it’s a service that is truly necessary: it can open new horizons for you in photography and even save your shots when something goes wrong. What manual development is, its features, and who needs it, we will explain in this article.
What is the difference between manual and machine development
Machine development
In fact, a developing machine is a treasure for both labs and clients. First, it is reliable: it always delivers the same predictable quality result. Second, it works faster than a person and takes less time than manual development. Third, it makes color film development cheaper. Without a developing machine, we probably wouldn’t be able to send you ready scans the same day, and it would cost more.
It doesn’t matter if you shoot on Kodak or Fujifilm — all color negative film is developed the same way in the machine. The film is attached to a leader — a device that pulls the film through the entire developing machine like a tow. The leader passes the film through tanks with chemicals: first developer, then bleach, fixer, and finally stabilizer. Then the machine dries the film. At the exit of each tank, rubber rollers squeeze the film to remove chemical residues so as not to contaminate the next solutions.
The amount of time the film spends in the developer is always the same — it cannot be changed. This is the main difference between machine and manual development — when developing film manually, you can keep the film in the developer longer or shorter if necessary.
Manual development
Before development itself, a lot needs to be done:
- prepare the necessary chemicals and heat the water
- determine the development time for the specific film and set the parameters
- in a dark sleeve, wind the film onto a special spiral and place it in a special light-tight developing tank.
The film in the developing tank is attached to a special manual developing machine, and the process begins. First, we warm the tank with the film for 5 minutes so it reaches the same temperature as our solutions. After that, the film is processed in chemicals: first developer, then bleach, fixer, and stabilizer. Then the film dries in a special drying cabinet.
Manual developing machine
Main differences between manual and machine development
- As we already mentioned — during manual development, you can adjust how many minutes the film stays in the developer. This is important when you shoot film at a different ISO than indicated on the box. For example, if you do push or pull processing, or accidentally set the wrong settings. Then the film needs to be developed for a non-standard time, and manual development will help.
- During machine development, the film is pulled through the entire machine and squeezed by special rollers. As a result, micro-scratches appear on the film. You will never notice them in your life, and they do not affect the quality of your scans or prints in any way, but they exist. Some photographers are bothered just by their existence. During manual development, the film is not pulled through anything, so there are no micro-scratches.
Why manual development is needed
When something goes wrong
Color manual development can be a way to save your film. For example, when you accidentally shoot film at the wrong ISO than it was originally rated for. You snap away, then look — the camera is set to the wrong ISO. Cold sweat, sadness, despair? Not at all! The film can be saved!
Of course, in this case, machine development is not recommended. As we wrote earlier — the time the film spends in the developer is fixed. But you have an unusual situation, a non-standard ISO for this film, so the development time must also be different. In this case, manual development will save the film: we will set the necessary time and develop your film as needed.
When you intentionally do push or pull processing
Push is increasing the film’s sensitivity (ISO) by changing the development time, and Pull is decreasing the sensitivity (ISO).
They are necessary when you intentionally change the film’s nominal ISO according to your needs. For example, shooting in a studio and increasing the film’s ISO to get more grain and brighter shots. In this case, the film needs to stay longer in the developer, and only manual development can handle this.
When you want the best possible result
Suppose you take the most expensive film in the world and shoot a family of cute pandas in a bamboo forest in a remote province of China. You know 100% these are the best shots in the world, and they deserve the best. Then manual development is what you need: an individual approach and gentle handling.
Does manual and machine development differ in color
Yes, the differences are very slight, but they exist. Although the reason is not the development process itself, but the developer: for machine development, we use Kodak chemistry, and for manual — Rollei. Each available chemistry inevitably produces its own slightly different color palette. These differences are often subtle and barely noticeable.
For example, we have noticed that some films behave differently than in machine development. For instance, the cheapest Kodak Color Plus 200 film, which usually turns out a dirty yellow-brown, lost its "dirtiness" during manual development and became simply warm and yellow. If you’re curious about the result a film will give when developed manually, why not try? Only through experience will you find what suits you best.
Link to the development and scanning service with prices and detailed information: https://fotovramci.com/pages/proyavka-plivky