Developing and printing with Caffenol

Abstract

Caffenol is a photographic alternative process whereby caffeine, sodium carbonate, and optionally Vitamin C are used in aqueous solution as a film and print photographic developer. Other basic (as opposed to acidic) chemicals can be used in place of sodium carbonate, however sodium carbonate is the most common. There are many formulas for caffenol. All are based on preparations which contain caffeine (i.e. coffee and tea) and a pH modifier, most often sodium carbonate. The chemistry of caffenol developers is based on the action of the reducing agent caffeic acid as well as caffeine. After spending much time researching the 3 main types of caffenol developer, I chose to use the Caffenol C-L recipe (which is a semi-stand developer) to achieve the least amount of grain and the smallest chance of fogged negatives. I will be showing my negatives and prints that resulted from this process.