Any liquid developers like XTOL?

I gave up XTOL a while back due to it exhausting too soon, and due

to it being powder - I loathe powdered chemistry, largely because I

have nowhere suitable for mxing it.

 

Mostly I use PMK, R09, & Ilford DD-X, but none of these have given

me quite the result I've gotten on Maco IR820c with XTOL @ 1:3

dilution. I have been thinking about trying W2D2+ - (or is it

WD2D+?) but somehow don't think that will be quite it, either..

Anyone got any ideas?

HC-110 might be worth a shot.

 

jmp

WD2D+ is a pyro-metol dev. and should give an effect similar to PMK. You can try Rodinal with the simple addition of powdered vitamin C. There is only the small amount of powder chemistry to add and you use it one-shot. The bottle of Rodinal will last just about forever. There are more threads on this combo you can look up for more info.

Paterson FX-50 is supposed to be similar to XTOL, but I haven't had good results with

it. The concentrates have a short shelf life.

HC-110 might be worth trying, indeed..

 

I think R09 is Rodinal, is it not? When you say powdered Vitamin C (which is something I would not be averse to using) do you mean Ascorbic Acid, like one can get at the natural food store? I have some Sodium Sulfite (from Polaroid Type 55 experiments) on hand also, maybe that'd be useful..

 

I do like the R09 quite a lot, it just makes the IR820c rather grainy in a way that's ugly, to me..

You can also use adulterated HC110 with Vitamin C. Yes the powdered kind from the health food store--ascorbic acid. Use the %100 stuff. If its good enough for your body its good enough for your film ;-)<p>

The Vitc Hc110 gives you longevity and extended use of your Hc110 in that you get more films developed from it.

May I suggest buying back issues of Photo Techniques (Jan/Feb 2002 &

May/June 2002) for the articles by Pat Gainer about the vary topics

of adding sulfite and ascorbate acid to Rodinal/R09. Also there is at least one other old thread on Photo.net about the idea. Unless, of course, you like playing with developers.

What is the proportion of Vitamin C to add to HC-110? What about the various dilutions of HC-110 (the most typical being dilution B: 1+31)?

I believe Kodak, and presumably others, markets ascorbic acid in liquid form. Isn't that another name for vitamin C?

I will try to get those back issues, indeed. Hopefully they are still get-able..

 

I used to love playing with developers; unfortunately I don't have as much time anymore.. In fact, I used to keep R09, PMK, XTOL, TFX-2, & TMAX developers on hand, just so I could play with them..

 

Thanks to all who have responded so far!

 

-Josiah

Re HC-110 + ascorbic, from Patrick Gainer:

 

"HC-110 with ascorbic acid and carbonate makes a fine developer. I use 120 ml of the concentrate and 2 tablespoons (or 1 coffee measure) of ascorbic acid to make 480 ml of stock solution. 10 ml of this solution + 1/2 teaspoon of sodium carbonate makes a 500 ml of working solution which is about the strength of D-76 1:1. The stock solution does keep very well. I have a partially full container that is over a year old that still works. The HC-110 has preservatives which are supplemented by the ascorbic acid, and it has a form of phenidone as well as hydroquinone."

I wonder if that's Sodium Carbonate Anhydrous, or Sodium Carbonate Monohydrate, or if it even makes a difference.. Luckily (for me, anyway..) Photoformulary sells both forms of Sodium Carbonate, and Ascorbic Acid.