A concentrate kit for developing colour negative film in the ORWO C-5168 process — enough for 4–5 rolls. Three bottles of concentrate — developer, bleach and fixer — make up 500 ml of each working solution. This is the process for older ORWO stock and Soviet colour negatives such as Svema DS and LN, which give unpredictable colour in C-41.
What is in the kit
Three bottles of concentrate (developer, bleach, fixer) packed as 50 + 50 + 50 ml in a zip-lock bag with a printed instruction sheet — the complete set of solutions for the C-5168 process, making up 500 ml of each working solution for the stated yield. A separate stop bath is no longer needed — ordinary tap water takes its place. The stage order, times and temperatures are in the instructions — printed in the kit and reproduced below on this page.
Which films need it
C-5168 is the native process for ORWO colour negatives, and it also suits the Soviet colour stocks made with the same Agfa–Wolfen technology: Svema DS, LN and the others listed in the instructions below. Those emulsions are designed around a different colour developer than C-41, and in the modern process they give shifted colours and crossover that is hard to recover in a scan. If you have such a roll and want to see the colours it was designed for, develop it in C-5168.
How far it goes
The kit covers 4–5 rolls, about 90–110 ₴ of chemistry per roll. The exact figure depends on your tank volume and whether you rotate the solutions. The figures above are for the default size; the larger kits on this page work out cheaper per roll, and the selector above recalculates both price and yield.
What else you need
A tank and reel, an accurate thermometer, measuring vessels and a water bath. Old film is almost always expired, so it is worth starting with a test roll: the speed of these emulsions is unpredictable and is found by trial. The equipment is in the darkroom and accessories sections.
Processing instructions
The same instructions apply to the working solutions and to the concentrates. Printable version (PDF): English · українська · русский.
For Svema DS, LN, TsND, TsNL and ORWO NC film.
Kit contents
- Developer (working solution or concentrate) — red cap.
- Bleach (working solution or concentrate) — yellow cap.
- Fixer (working solution or concentrate) — green cap.
Use ordinary tap water for the water stop bath.
Kit capacity
| Kit volume | Number of 135-36 or 120 rolls |
|---|---|
| 0.5 L | 4–5 rolls |
| 1.0 L | 8–10 rolls |
| 2.0 L | 16–20 rolls |
| 5.0 L | 40–50 rolls |
Shelf life and storage
Developer working solution, including partially used solution: 2–3 months. Other solutions: 12 months.
Store in tightly closed containers at 5–25 °C. Keep the developer in a full container with no air space above the solution. Sediment may form in used solutions; this is normal.
Development time adjustment
I recommend pre-soaking the film, but it is optional. As the developer is reused, increase the development time for each roll already processed:
| Kit volume | Add per previously processed roll |
|---|---|
| 0.5 L | 15 seconds |
| 1.0 L | 8 seconds |
| 2.0 L | 4 seconds |
Recommendations for aged film
Most films that this kit is designed to process are many years old. I recommend a single addition of 10–20 mL of a 1% benzotriazole solution per litre of developer. If you plan to add benzotriazole to the developer, use a lower ISO setting on the camera or light meter when shooting to increase the exposure. For the batches listed below, use the amounts shown in the table. A value of 0 means that no benzotriazole should be added.
| Film / year | 1% solution, ml per litre |
|---|---|
| Svema DS-5m (1991) | 0 |
| Svema DS-5m (1993) | 10 |
| Svema LN-9 (1989) | 10 |
| Svema Retro (1991) | 10 |
Processing sequence
| No. | Step | Time | Temp. | Agitation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Develop | 09:00 | 20 °C | Every 60 seconds |
| 2 | Water stop bath (tap water) | 05:00 | 20 °C | Every 60 seconds |
| 3 | Water wash, 3–4 changes | 02:00 | 16–22 °C | — |
| 4 | Bleach | 06:00 | 16–22 °C | Every 30 seconds |
| 5 | Water wash, 3–4 changes | 01:00 | 16–22 °C | — |
| 6 | Fix | 05:00 | 16–22 °C | Every 60 seconds |
| 7 | Water wash, 3–4 changes | 15:00 | 16–22 °C | — |
| 8 | Final rinse in distilled water or Photo-Flo solution | — | — | — |
| 9 | Dry | — | 20–30 °C | — |
Times are shown as min:sec. Follow the development time precisely, including the adjustment for reuse. For all other steps, the stated times are minimums.
During every wash, change the water at equal intervals, following the stated duration and number of changes. Bleach only after washing the film thoroughly.
Bleach bypass effect
After step 2, proceed directly to step 6. To remove the metallic silver from the negative later, repeat the process starting at step 4.
Precautions
Avoid contact with eyes. If any solution gets on your skin, rinse it off immediately with water.
Ingredients
Distilled water; 1-hydroxyethylidene-1,1-diphosphonic acid (HEDP); acetic acid; citric acid; sodium tripolyphosphate; dipotassium hydrogen phosphate; potassium hydroxide; potassium sulfite; potassium carbonate; potassium bromide; potassium hexacyanoferrate(III); benzotriazole; hydroxylamine hydrochloride; N,N-diethyl-p-phenylenediamine sulfate (CD-1); ammonium thiosulfate.
Frequently asked questions
Can I develop these films in C-41?
Technically the film will develop, but the colours will be shifted: the colour curves cross and are hard to straighten in a scan. For expired film that has already lost speed, that is a double loss. C-5168 gives the result the emulsion was made for.
The film expired 30 years ago — is it worth it?
Yes, but with no guarantees: colour emulsions degrade unevenly over time, so the typical result is a shift towards one channel and noticeable grain. A 4–5 roll kit is about right for shooting a test roll and correcting exposure on the rest.
How long do the diluted solutions last?
Bleach and fixer keep for up to a year. The developer is best used within the first 2–3 months: colour developer oxidises fastest, so keep it in a tightly closed container with no air space.
If you would rather not do it yourself, I develop ORWO C-5168 and Svema DS film.
