Long shelf-life developer for T-Max, Neopan

Hello,

I don't shoot enough traditional b/w negatives anymore to warrant
mixing D-76 or XTol. I am looking for a long shelf-life developer. I
shoot mostly TMX and Neopan 400 nowadays. I tried using T-Max
developer, did not like it that much (hard to control highlights). Now
considering using HC-110. No prior experience on this one. Want to
know if it works well for the above films and what to expect. Also
other suggestions are welcome (I don't like the Rodinal grain btw).

Thanks,

-Victor

 

HC-110 syrup keeps for years. See:
www.covingtoninnovations.com/hc110

It acts somewhat like T-Max developer, but less energetic (less prone to
overdevelopment and grain).


--
Clear skies,

Michael Covington -- www.covingtoninnovations.com
Author, Astrophotography for the Amateur
and (new) How to Use a Computerized Telescope

 

Try Microdol-X, works very well with TMX.

 

There are no other developers with better shelf life than HC-110 USA
concentrate (the European concentrate is less concentrated, and might
have a shorter shelf life) and Rodinal. They are very similar in some
ways -- easily diluted directly to working strength immediately prior to
use, sold as a liquid concentrate, and with large, fanatical, almost
religious followings -- but the results they produce are very different;
HC-110 is a "generic" developer that, in high dilutions, becomse
strongly compensating; it's also very, very active and in stronger
concentrations develops film very rapidly, and can even be used (in
Dilution A) as a paper developer (produces a cold tone, in my
experience). Rodinal is a non-solvent acutance developer, which
produces larger grain but greatly increased local contrast, which
equates to perceived sharpness; it becomes compensating much as HC-110
does, but loses some film speed and develops much more slowly than HC-110.

The other long shelf life solution is to buy raw chemicals and mix the
developer yourself -- the simplest form of this is Caffenol: 4 tsp.
coffee crystals and 2 tsp. washing soda in 8 ounces of water. Don't
even try to keep it -- there's no preservative, and shelf life of the
working solution is probably measurable in a handful of hours, but the
combination of high acutance and stain gives a very interesting, and
very sharp negative that I like very much, at least from Plus-X and Tri-X.

--
I may be a scwewy wabbit, but I'm not going to Alcatwaz!
-- E. J. Fudd, 1954

Donald Qualls, aka The Silent Observer
Lathe Building Pages http://silent1.home.netcom.com/HomebuiltLathe.htm
Speedway 7x12 Lathe Pages http://silent1.home.netcom.com/my7x12.htm

Opinions expressed are my own -- take them for what they're worth
and don't expect them to be perfect.

 

Care to elaborate on that one more? Any time/temps to start with for Tri X
(120)? What the hell is washing soda? I'm 43 and have never heard of any
such stuff!!!

 

Agfa Rodinal Special.I have a mixed batch of stock solution for more than 3
years (actually mixed it before euro came).N.B.on't confuse rodinal
special with simple rodinal;totally different developers..

--
Dimitris Tzortzakakis,Iraklion Crete,Greece
Analogue technology rules-digital sucks
http://www.patriko-kreta.com
dimtzort AT otenet DOT gr the return adress is corrupted
Warning:all offending emails will be deleted, and the offender/spammer
will be put on my personal "black list".

 

HC-110 does have a long shelf life. But with TMX, you will get soft
negatives. It's actually pleasing in some situations, sort dreamlike.
The shadows are very nice, but overall sharpness is compromised. If
sharpness is an issue with TMX, try Rodinal. Don't know about Neopan.

 

It is sodium carbonate. It is sold with powdered detergents in the grocery
store. It's another product of Arm & Hammer, along with their more familiar
sodium bicarbonate.

 

Sodium Carbonate

 

That's new! Sure you are not pulling our legs? I am going to try in
any case. Of course, some starting point time/temperature will be
necessary.

Btw, washing soda is Sodium Carbonate, a strong alkali. Not sure if it
is easily available tho (in US grocery stores). Was popular before
modern detergents came in. Is there a preferred brand of coffee
crystals?

Other than that, HC-110 seems to be what I want.

Thanks everyone.

 

I have been to your site (I am assuming you are the author) prior to
this post and your site was very useful and informative. So now I get
to thank you personally!

Since you also have experience with XTol you may be be the best person
to answer this. I really like TMX/XTol combination. How would HC-110
compare to it, wrt grain, sharpness, contrast etc.

Thanks.

 

Have a look at Ilford's Ilfotec DD-X too, if it's available locally.

 

Yes, I confess to authoring my own web site as well as a few
astrophotography and astronomy books...

I haven't done a side-by-side test, but based on what I've read, HC-110 will
give you a bit less speed, about equally fine or almost as fine grain, and a
great deal more reliability.

--
Clear skies,

Michael Covington -- www.covingtoninnovations.com
Author, Astrophotography for the Amateur
and (new) How to Use a Computerized Telescope

 

Go to the laundry aisle of your local supermarket, and you should find
old fashioned paperboard boxes of 20 Mule Team Borax and Arm and Hammer
Super Washing Soda, almost side by side. It's sold as a laundry
additive; it increases the activity of many detergents by raising the pH
of the wash water, and can also directly work on food oils, since
alkaline environments encourage saponification (conversion to soap) of
oils and fats.

A $3 box is enough to alkalize a couple hundred batches of Caffenol.

I've used Caffenol personally only on 35 mm Tri-X (both old TX and new
400TX -- I see no difference, at least in this developer). I let the
developer stand for about ten minutes after mixing is complete, in order
to let the microbubbles from the soda float out (if suspended, they can
deposit on the film surface and are almost impossible to dislodge with
agitation). I then develop for 30 minutes at 72 F, compensating by five
minutes more at 68 F -- agitation continuous first minute, then five
inversion (about ten seconds) per minute. Yes, it's a long time to
stand there and agitate every minute, but I haven't tested reduced
agitation.

You can also make a low contrast developer suitable for document films
like Tech Pan and microfilm by halving the coffee, but keeping the soda
the same; Kodak Imagelink HQ microfilm at EI 50 requires about 20
minutes, Agfa Copex Rapid at EI 100 about 30 minutes; Tech Pan would
probably take the same time as Imagelink HQ, give or take. Tonality
with these films is similar to HC-110 Dilution G at similar times,
shadow speed also similar; grain is invisible both ways with the
equipment available to me, and Caffenol gives significantly better acutance.

Oh, and for 120, you'll need a double batch of Caffenol to cover the film.

--
I may be a scwewy wabbit, but I'm not going to Alcatwaz!
-- E. J. Fudd, 1954

Donald Qualls, aka The Silent Observer
Lathe Building Pages http://silent1.home.netcom.com/HomebuiltLathe.htm
Speedway 7x12 Lathe Pages http://silent1.home.netcom.com/my7x12.htm

Opinions expressed are my own -- take them for what they're worth
and don't expect them to be perfect.

 

I am absolutely not pulling your collective legs. I've got three rolls
of 35 mm developed in Caffenol, and posted links in another thread a few
days ago to a number of my photographs, developed in Caffenol, that are
posted on photo.net -- if you go there, search for my name (Qualls), and
look in my portfolio, most of the newer B&W images are Tri-X in
Caffenol, and those are clearly marked as to developer.

Folgers is the brand I implied from the "coffee crystals" in the
original recipe (published by Roger K. Bunting in, IIRC, Photographic
Techniques about 1996); I use Fred Meyer brand (Kroger markets probably
carry the same stuff with a different label), which comes in a bottle
the same shape as Folgers and has crystals identical in appearance.
Other brands of instant coffee may require adjustment of the amount of
coffee -- both because of varying density (more or less actual coffee in
a teaspoon) and because of varying amounts of the developing agent(s),
suspected to be caffeic acid and/or chlorogenic acid.

Washing soda is available in all three of the local supermarkets I visit
regularly (Fred Meyer, a Kroger-owned chain, Safeway, part of Von's, and
Top Foods, a Haggen scion), in the laundry section. Recent discussions
seem to have concluded that it's most likely the decahydrate form of
sodium carbonate (in case you have the lab variety, you will need to
compensate the amount if you have monohydrate or anhydrous). I haven't
seen White King soap flakes in many years (we actually used soap flakes
and washing soda for laundry when I was a kid, around 1970), but both
borax and washing soda are still right there.

--
I may be a scwewy wabbit, but I'm not going to Alcatwaz!
-- E. J. Fudd, 1954

Donald Qualls, aka The Silent Observer
Lathe Building Pages http://silent1.home.netcom.com/HomebuiltLathe.htm
Speedway 7x12 Lathe Pages http://silent1.home.netcom.com/my7x12.htm

Opinions expressed are my own -- take them for what they're worth
and don't expect them to be perfect.

 

RE: (Victor Moss) wrote

A long shelf-life fixer is plain old unadulterated sodium
thiosulfate. It will last years. When needed mix a spoonfull or
two in the amount of solution called for.
I use fixer very dilute one-shot. For Pan F 22.5 grams penta or
15 grams anhydrous will do. Faster films will likely need a
little more. Fresh fix each roll and no more returning
used fix to the bottle. Dan

 

He's pulling out collective legs. No connoisseur in his right mind
would add washing soda. Yuck! Bad Face! Shivers! Gaud, how disgusting.
This is the cooking channel? Right?

 

Well, I'm not suggesting that you drink it -- but it won't develop film
unless it's alkaline...

--
I may be a scwewy wabbit, but I'm not going to Alcatwaz!
-- E. J. Fudd, 1954

Donald Qualls, aka The Silent Observer
Lathe Building Pages http://silent1.home.netcom.com/HomebuiltLathe.htm
Speedway 7x12 Lathe Pages http://silent1.home.netcom.com/my7x12.htm

Opinions expressed are my own -- take them for what they're worth
and don't expect them to be perfect.

 

Is a stop-bath needed after cafenol? Is the fixing solution a
traditional one?

 

jun2004 from Lloyd Erlick,

Hi, Dan. When you do that, do you also add a bit of sodium
sulfite? Or is it useless in this context because the fixer
will not be used long enough for it to deteriorate???

How long would you estimate the lifespan of a
sodium-thiosulfate-only fixer? It wouldn't be measured in
minutes, I presume? My only concern is that I'd be preparing
it in advance, and then making it wait for the rest of the
process to be completed.

regards,
--le

________________________________
Lloyd Erlick Portraits, Toronto.
voice: 416-686-0326
email:
net: www.heylloyd.com
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