How to Develop 120 Roll Negative Film ~ Enhance Photography Skill

120 roll film developing requires the same basic procedures as 35mm film developing, with only slight variations in film handling and development times. Many photographers find 120 film cumbersome to handle, but, with a bit of practice, you can learn to be just as comfortable with 120 film as with 35mm film. You may also find that you like the larger, square negatives of 120 film better than the smaller, rectangular negatives of 35mm film.

Instructions

Take out your film developer, stop bath and fixer and follow the directions on each chemical's container about how to prepare the chemicals. You'll need to dilute each chemical with a certain proportion of water.

Measure each chemical's temperature using the thermometer.

Look inside the box the 120 roll film came in for a guide to the ideal processing temperature for the film, and then heat or cool your chemicals, particularly the developer, to reach that temperature. Place the chemicals in a container and then inside a cooler, and add warm or cool water to the cooler until the chemicals reach the ideal temperature.

Take your exposed 120 roll film into a light-tight room such as a closet or bathroom. Stuff towels under the door to prevent any light from entering the room.

Break the seal that holds the film tightly together, and begin unwrapping the protective paper until you come to the place where it connects to the film.

Cut the paper away from the film carefully.

Feed one end of the film into the steel or plastic reel and continue feeding the roll as the film slides into the reel. You'll want to practice this step in the light with a spare roll of film until you feel comfortable enough to do it in the dark.

Load the reel in the light-tight tank and secure the lid on top.

Fill the loaded tank with water at the correct temperature to wet the film, and then pour the water out. Then immediately pour the film developer into the tank and start the timer for the amount of time designated on the 120 roll film package. Agitate the container every 20 or 30 seconds during development. This ensures that the developer will reach all areas of the film. When the timer goes off, pour the film developer back into your storage container.

Pour the stop bath into the tank and start the timer for the amount of time designated on the 120 roll film package. Agitate the container constantly during the stop bath segment. When the timer goes off, pour the stop bath back into your stop bath storage container. You can reuse the stop bath for future film developing.

Pour the fixer into the tank and start the timer for the amount of time designated on the 120 roll film package. Agitate every 20 or 30 seconds. When the timer goes off, pour the fixer back into your fixer storage container. You can reuse the fixer for future film developing.

Pour water into the tank and agitate for one minute before pouring it out again. Repeat this water wash at least five times and then take the loaded reel out of the tank and dip it in a cleaning agent.

Remove the film from the reel carefully, using two fingers to gently squeegee excess liquid off of the negatives. Hang the film to dry.