Alternatives to Tetenal Colortec E6 Kit (in Europe)?

ChrisGalway · Apr 5, 2023

As you know, the Tetenal Colortec E6 kits have been unavailable for some time now and I might be forced to use another kit. Does anyone have experience of the Bellini E6 kit, or the CineStill one, or any other one? I'm reluctant to change from Tetenal, since I have got used to it and it's been excellent, but if it's not available I have no choice.

Photomultiplier · Apr 5, 2023

I got a box of the new Jobo E6 chemistry and plan to try it soon.

I'd rather have Tetenal, as my bottle volumes are matched with it. But maybe Jobo is CR56 (as it says Made in Japan), so maybe RVP50 has real 50ISO in it, that would be a big advantage. We will see.

twelvetone12 · Apr 5, 2023

I used many times the Bellini kit with excellent results, I used to order it at ars-imago.

ChrisGalway · Apr 5, 2023

Thanks to both of you. I'll look at the Jobo kit as well. (Yes, my bottle sizes are also matched to the Tetenal kit!)

adamlugi · Apr 5, 2023

I don't have the strips anymore, but it seems to me (I haven't measured) but the proposed time according to the instructions of 6:15 seems too short.
Maybe other colleagues can share their experiences?

Ballinderry-Michael · Apr 5, 2023

You could check with Brendan in Trim (thephotoshop.ie). His website says that 5 litre kits are available to order.

Tom Kershaw · Apr 6, 2023

I have used the Bellini 5 litre kit with good results in a Jobo processor. The slight negative is that the packaging of the bleach is a 5 litre ready-to-use item, but left to rattle around in the cardboard box with the smaller components the kit is supplied in, so there is a possibility of leakage, depending on how the kit is handled.

ChrisGalway · Apr 9, 2023

Thanks all for replies.

ChrisGalway · Apr 11, 2023

Ballinderry-Michael said:
You could check with Brendan in Trim (thephotoshop.ie). His website says that 5 litre kits are available to order.

Thanks Michael, yes, I order from ThePhotoShop but the Tetenal kit is not currently available anywhere in Europe. I've been told by Tetenal that it should be available again this summer ... fingers crossed.

MKHardy · May 5, 2023

I also got fed-up waiting for the Tetenal E6 kit to become available, so went with Bellini.

Mixes really easily (I used deionised water). Followed all the dev instructions, except I use a pre-rinse to warm up and flatten the film.

Shot with Ektachrome E100.

mshchem · May 5, 2023

MKHardy said:
I also got fed-up waiting for the Tetenal E6 kit to become available, so went with Bellini.

Mixes really easily (I used deionised water). Followed all the dev instructions, except I use a pre-rinse to warm up and flatten the film.

Shot with Ektachrome E100.

View attachment 337812

1st developer time? How are you processing? Jobo, hand agitation etc?? Nice looking photo

MKHardy · May 6, 2023

mshchem said:
1st developer time? How are you processing? Jobo, hand agitation etc?? Nice looking photo

Developed in a Paterson Orbital. Had to float the orbital in a bath of water at 39 degrees, and used two pre-rinses at 39 degrees to warm up the film.

The big anomaly was the film curling up at the corners when transferring from the holders to the Orbital (B&W film never did this). Maybe it was the change in temperature? This led to uneven development in the corners. The fix was to agitate during pre-rinse to make sure the entire film was soaked in warm water and laid flat.

1st developer time was six minutes. Continuous agitation for first 15 seconds, and then agitate every 30 seconds.

ADOX Fotoimpex · Feb 28, 2025

ChrisGalway said:
As you know, the Tetenal Colortec E6 kits have been unavailable for some time now and I might be forced to use another kit. Does anyone have experience of the Bellini E6 kit, or the CineStill one, or any other one? I'm reluctant to change from Tetenal, since I have got used to it and it's been excellent, but if it's not available I have no choice.

We have revived this Product in 2024: https://www.fotoimpex.com/chemistry/adox-c-tec-e-6-3-bath-kit-for-12-films-to-mix-1000-ml.html

BMbikerider · Feb 28, 2025

Photomultiplier said:
I got a box of the new Jobo E6 chemistry and plan to try it soon.

I'd rather have Tetenal, as my bottle volumes are matched with it. But maybe Jobo is CR56 (as it says Made in Japan), so maybe RVP50 has real 50ISO in it, that would be a big advantage. We will see.

If the JOBO E6 is as good as their C41 then it is very good. Once opened the chemicals seem to be very stable and don't 'go off' as quick as some.

MKHardy · Mar 2, 2025

ADOX Fotoimpex said:
We have revived this Product in 2024: https://www.fotoimpex.com/chemistry/adox-c-tec-e-6-3-bath-kit-for-12-films-to-mix-1000-ml.html

That's great news!

I plan on trying this when my current chemicals expire...

ChrisGalway · Mar 3, 2025

ADOX Fotoimpex said:
We have revived this Product in 2024: https://www.fotoimpex.com/chemistry/adox-c-tec-e-6-3-bath-kit-for-12-films-to-mix-1000-ml.html

Yes, I know, I've got your 1 litre E6 kit here and plan to use it in late April/early May on 5 or 6 rolls of Provia 100f (120 size) that I plan to shoot on a photo-trip to the south of France. Will provide feedback then.

Alternatives to Tetenal Colortec E6 Kit (in Europe)?

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MKHardy

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Alternatives to Tetenal Colortec E6 Kit (in Europe)?

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