Stand in the darkroom and let your eyes adjust to the darkness. See if there are any sources of light coming through that you couldn’t see before. A red light should not be used in the room when you develop your film.

A full developer’s kit will cost around $130 USD. The basic chemicals you’ll receive in a developer’s kit are a developer, a fixer, a stopper, and a wetting agent. Use liquid chemicals since they are easier to measure and mix.

Lay your tools out in front of you so you can easily find them while you work in the dark.

The film spiral is usually set for a 35mm size. If you’re working with a different sized film, adjust the width of the spiral to match.

The top piece acts as a light blocker and a funnel to make it easier to pour your chemicals in later. You only need to work in the dark when you’re loading your film into the tank. After it’s inside, you can turn on the lights.

The developer makes the image appear on the film negatives. The amount of developer you mix depends on how much film you’re developing. Use this amount if you’re developing one set of 35mm film. Always follow the mixing directions on the packaging carefully since it may vary from the amount listed here.

The fixer makes the developed image permanent on the film strip.

Agitating the solution will make sure the developer evenly coats all of the film.

Fixer can be reused with other film so pour the solution back into a storage bottle if you want to save it.

Use distilled water if possible so it doesn’t leave drying spots on your film later on. Otherwise, tap water will work fine.

The wetting agent helps the film dry evenly and quickly.

The developer makes the images appear on the film strip. The blix is a bleach and fixer solution that stops the development process and solidifies the image on the film strip.

Store the developer in an airtight storage bottle if you want to reuse it later on.

Save the blix in a storage bottle if you want to use it again for more film, but don’t let it mix with the developer. If any of the blix mixes with the developer, it will not work.

If your chemical kit does not come with a stabilizer, then all you need to do is rinse your film.

The end of the film strip will not have any exposed photos on it so you don’t have to worry about damaging them.

Work in a clean room where wind or dust won’t damage your negatives.

Wear clean vinyl or rubber gloves if you’re using your fingers.

Put a tray on the ground below the film strip if you don’t want water or chemicals falling onto the floor.

To speed up the drying process, use a hairdryer on the lowest speed and heat setting and hold it 30 centimetres (0. 98 ft) from the film strip.