Two Kodak products

Hi, a friend of mine who is no more printing in darkroom gave me some
cans of kodak D-11 developer and Kodak Unifix fixer. Here are the
questions:

- does D-11 really give a very high contrast with paper? I do not
intend to use it for portraits, but for some more abstract subject. I
thought eventually to use a less contrasted paper, i.e. contrast index
3 instead o f 4. Can be a good idea?

- the cans of D-11 have an amount of powder to prepare 5 liters of
solution. Have I to diluite futher it?

- the same for Unifix cans: powder is for 1 liter, have I to diluite?

Thanks all.
P.

 

Kodak D-11 is a high contrast developer but not a
lithographic developer. It will yeild high contrast on many
films and was intended for making line positives and similar
work. For maximum contrast use it at full strength, to
reduce contrast dilute it 1:1. It will probably give you
high contrast with paper but you will have to experiment.
The developer must be fairly recent to come in a
5-liter size. As long as the powders are white the developer
is OK. If its dark yellow or brown just dump it, its
oxidized and not even worth mixing to test.
Since this is relatively short lived developer it will
probably last longest if stored in separate one liter
bottles which can be completely filled and sealed until they
are needed.
For comparison to other developers here is the formula for
D-11.

Kodak D-11 Process Developer
Water (at 125F or 52C) 500.0 ml
Metol 1.0 gram
Sodium sulfite, desiccated 75.0 grams
Hydroquinone 9.0 grams
Sodium carbonate, desiccated 25.0 grams
Potassium bromide 5.0 grams
Water to make 1.0 liter
If sodium carbonate, monohydrated is used the amount
to be used is 30.0 grams

Note: In nearly all formulas containing Metol the
sulfite is mixed before the Metol to prevent its being
oxidized. I have checked three sources for this formula and
all, including two Kodak formula booklets, give the
ingredient list as above.


I have no information about Unifix.