Recipes

Plain Caffenol:

For 35mm:

Combine 5 flat teaspoons non-decaf instant coffee in a measuring cup with 3.5 flat teaspoons Arm-and-Hammer washing soda or equivalent. Slowly add 12 oz. hot water and whisk thoroughly until no particulates are visible. Cover and allow to stand until there are no bubbles and the solution is near room temperature.

This makes a little extra in case some sloshes out.

For 120/220/et cetera:

Follow above recipe but using 6 1/4 flat teaspoons of coffee, 4 1/3 teaspoons of soda and 15 oz. of water.

Developing:

Use only color or B/W film of <400 ASA, preferably overexposed by one to one and a half stops to improve contrast. Result will be a discolored B/W negative.

Put film in extremely clean daylight tank (Caffenol loses effectiveness very easily when contaminated by soap or fixer) and pour in Caffenol. Agitate gently for first thirty seconds and then for five seconds twice a minute.

At 19 minutes and thirty seconds, slowly begin pouring off the solution (does not harm septic field.) Fill tank with warm water two or three times and empty. Then add B/W fixer (Ilford Rapid Fixer is economic for this purpose) and agitate in the same manner as above for the fixer’s recommended time. Pour fixer back into bottle and put a drop of dish soap or stabilizer into the tank (optional, can do both in sequence). Remove lid and put tank under running water for two-to-three minutes to wash, then hang negatives to dry, handling only at ends or with gloves.