The E-6 process (often abbreviated to E-6) is a chromogenic photographic process for developing Ektachrome, Fujichrome and other color reversal (slide) photographic film.

Unlike some color reversal processes (such as Kodachrome K-14) that produce positive transparencies, E-6 processing can be performed by amateurs with the same equipment that is used for processing black and white negative film or C-41 color negative film. The process is sensitive to temperature variations; a tempered water bath is recommended to stabilize the temperature at 100.0 °F for the first developer and first wash to maintain process tolerances.

History[link]

The E-6 process superseded Kodak's E-3 and E-4 processes. The E-3 process required fogging with light to accomplish image reversal and produced transparencies that faded quickly. The E-4 process used polluting chemicals, such as a highly toxic reversal agent Tertiary Butyl-Amine Borane (TBAB).^{[citation needed]}

Process variations[link]

There are two versions of the E-6 process. Commercial laboratories use a six-bath chemical process. The 'hobby' type chemistry kits, such as those produced by Tetenal, use three chemical baths that combine the color developer and fogging bath solutions, and the pre-bleach, bleach and fixer bath solutions. The three-bath process has a discrete color developer step in between.^[1] However, the three-bath version of the process suffers from poor process control, with color shifts and color crossover, mainly because of insufficient bleaching, fixing or both in the bleach-fixer ("blix") stage.^{[citation needed]}

Six-bath process version[link]

The steps for developing color transparency films using process E6 are:

• First developer bath: 6:00 @ 100.0 °F. This uses a potassium hydroquinone monosulfate - phenidone black & white film developer, with the preferred form of phenidone being 4-hydroxymethyl-4-methyl-1-phenyl-3-pyrazolidinone (13047-13-7). The first developer forms a negative silver image in each layer of the film. The first developer is time and temperature sensitive because it controls contrast.^[2]

• First wash: Water stop bath, 2:00 @ 100.0 °F. This step once used an acetic acid stop bath, but was replaced with a water-only bath for process economy, with concomitant slight reduction of first developer strength.^[2]

• Reversal bath: 2:00 @ 96-103 °F. This bath prepares the film for the color developer step. A chemical reversal agent is absorbed into the emulsion, which is instantly effective. The reversal step can also be carried out using 800 footcandle-seconds (8.6 klx·s) of light - this variation is used by process engineers to troubleshoot reversal bath chemistry problems such as contamination and issues of low tank turnover as process volumes decline.^[2]

• Color developer bath: 6:00 @ 96-103 °F. This step is carried out to completion. The developer contains CD-3 developing agent, and acts upon the chemically exposed silver halide that was not developed in the first developer to form a positive silver image. The metallic negative silver image formed in the first developer has no part in the reaction of this step. As the color development progresses, a metallic positive silver image is formed and the color developing agent is oxidized. Oxidized color developer molecules react with the color couplers and color dyes are formed in each of the three layers of the film.^[2] Each layer of the film contains different color couplers, which react with the same oxidized developer molecules but form different color dyes. Variation in color developer pH causes color shifts on the green-magenta axis with Kodak E100G & E100GX and Fujichrome films and on the yellow-blue axis with older Ektachrome films.^[3]

• Pre-bleach bath: 2:00 @ 90-103 °F. This bath was previously called "conditioner", but was renamed pre-bleach in the mid-1990s to reflect the removal of formaldehyde from the process used in the final rinse. In this solution, formaldehyde acts as a dye preservative and EDTA is used to "kick off" the bleach. The pre-bleach bath relies on carry-over of the color developer to function properly, therefore there is no wash step between the color developer and pre-bleach baths.^[2]

• Bleach bath: 6:00 @ 92-103 °F. This is a process-to-completion step, and relies on carry-over of pre-bleach to initiate the bleach. The bleach converts metallic silver into silver bromide, which is converted to soluble silver compounds by the fixer. During bleaching, iron (III) EDTA is converted to iron (II) EDTA (Fe³⁺ EDTA + Ag + Br⁻→ Fe²⁺ EDTA + AgBr) before fixing. Kodak also has a process variant which uses a higher concentration of bleach and a 4:00 bath time; but with process volumes declining, this variant has become uneconomical.^[2]

• Wash step (optional): Rinses off the bleach and extends the life of the fixer bath. This wash step is recommended for rotary tube, sink line and other low volume processing.^[2]

• Fixer bath: 4:00 @ 92-103 °F. This is a process-to-completion step.^[2]

• Second fixer stage (optional): Using fresh fixer. The archival properties of film and paper are greatly improved using a second fixing stage in a reverse cascade.^[4] Many C-41RA (rapid access) minilab processors also use 2 stage reverse cascade fixing for faster throughput.

• Final wash: 4:00 @ 92-103 °F.^[2]

• Final rinse: 1:00 @ 80-103 °F. Up until the mid 1990s, the final rinse was called a stabilizer bath, since it contained formaldehyde. Currently, the final rinse uses a surfactant, and miconazole, an anti-fungal agent.^[2]

• Drying: Drying in a dust-free environment.^[2]

See also[link]

• Replenishment (photography)

References[link]

External links[link]

• Kodak Process E-6 Publication Z-119
• Kodak Q-LAB Process Control Handbook - more details than processing manual Z-119
• Kodak Professional First Developer Replenisher, Process E-6 (PDF)
• FujiFilm USA Product Bulletin Library technical data sheets
• E-6 Ektachrome DIY processing super-8 & 16mm.

Ektachrome

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The Elephant 6 Recording Company (or simply Elephant 6) is a collective of American musicians who spawned many notable independent bands of the 1990s, including The Apples in Stereo, The Olivia Tremor Control, Neutral Milk Hotel, Beulah, Elf Power, Of Montreal, and Circulatory System.^[1]

History[link]

Foundation[link]

The collective was officially founded in Denver, Colorado by childhood friends Robert Schneider, Bill Doss, Will Cullen Hart, and Jeff Mangum.^[2] The four grew up making music and sharing cassette tapes in Ruston, Louisiana while attending high school together.^[2] They started several bands and pet projects; Doss and Hart with The Olivia Tremor Control (then called Synthetic Flying Machine), Mangum with Neutral Milk Hotel, and Schneider with The Apples in Stereo.

It was Schneider who created the Elephant 6 record label when he moved to Denver, Colorado in late 1991 to attend the University of Colorado at Boulder. According to Schneider, Hart coined the name "Elephant 6" and Schneider added "Recording Company." ^[2] In Denver, Schneider and new friends founded The Apples (which eventually became The Apples in Stereo). Recorded by April 1993, The Apples' Tidal Wave 7" EP was the first E6 release. Hart designed the Art Nouveau-inspired Elephant 6 logo for the label of The Apples EP. That logo was destined to be featured on a number of classic psychedelic albums from the 1990s to the present.

Doss had moved to Athens where he joined Hart and Mangum in Synthetic Flying Machine, which became The Olivia Tremor Control. They released California Demise as their first recording, and E6's second.^[2]

Success, disbandment and continuation[link]

Several Elephant 6 projects began to find commercial success in the late 1990s, including Beulah, Dressy Bessy, Elf Power, The Music Tapes, and Of Montreal, as well as the founding bands. Most of the bands subsequently signed with major record labels; E6 as an entity slowly deteriorated until the collective called it quits — due to recording difficulties and lack of organization — in 2002. The collective's bands all moved on to various labels and projects of their own.

However, many band members are still friends and even tour together under various guises. Though most of the collective's members span the country, many live together on the Orange Twin Conservation Community in Athens. The term "Elephant 6" has since come to refer to a broad range of bands and spin-off projects that the record label has spawned. The Elephant 6 logo has become a symbol for the circle of friends sharing similar ideas and goals.

In 2007 The Apples in Stereo featured the Elephant 6 logo on their album New Magnetic Wonder, announcing "The Elephant 6 Recording Company re-opens our doors and windows, and invites the world: join together with your friends and make something special, something meaningful, something to remember when you are old."^{[citation needed]} This marked the first major release in five years to bear the Elephant 6 logo.

In 2008, the Elephant 6 logo was also used when Julian Koster released his long awaited Music Tapes For Clouds and Tornadoes under the name The Music Tapes. He also assembled The Elephant 6 Holiday Surprise Tour which featured contributions from Will Cullen Hart and Bill Doss of Olivia Tremor Control, Scott Spillane of the Gerbils, Andrew Reiger and Laura Carter of Elf Power, Theo Hilton of Nana Grizol, John Fernandes and Eric Harris of OTC, The Music Tapes and Circulatory System, Robbie Cucchiaro of The Music Tapes, Charlie Johnston and Suzanne Allison of The 63 Crayons, Nesey Gallons, Jeff Mangum, and Peter Erchick. This ensemble tour was widely seen as a resurgence of Elephant 6 as a productive, cohesive entity. The show will soon take place in the UK chosen by Jeff Mangum of Neutral Milk Hotel as part of the All Tomorrow's Parties festival that he will curate in March 2012 in Minehead, England.^[3]

On March 4, 2010 Robert Schneider along with The Apples in Stereo launched stepthroughtheportal.com, an interactive website where the user can explore the past, present and future of The Apples in Stereo. The site includes a short film featuring Elijah Wood, free song, time machine streaming songs from their past albums and more.

In recent years, Schneider has explored a number of experimental music projects, such as the Teletron mind-controlled synthesizer and Non-Pythagorean scale of his own invention. Since the inception of Elephant 6, members of the collective showed a strong interest and participation in experimental music, particularly The Olivia Tremor Control and Von Hemmling.

See also[link]

• Indie rock
• Psych folk
• List of record labels

References[link]

• Cooper, Kim "Neutral Milk Hotel's In the Aeroplane Over the Sea (33¹⁄₃)", 2005

External links[link]

• Elephant6.com – The official site about the collective.
• Optical Atlas – An unofficial site with almost daily blog postings of current E6 happenings.
• E6 Townhall – An official Elephant Six message board.
• E6 Wiki – An unofficial Elephant Six wiki.
• E6 2008 Concert on NPR Music