old panchromatic film developing

Anyone recommend a developing time for old panchromatic film. All it

had on it is 620. I have d-76 deveoper

My "default" for old films like this that turn up in cameras for my collection is 10 minutes in D76. Most older "standard" films had a dev time around this figure. I've never had a complete failure, though the base fog and "print through" from the ink on the backing paper can be excessive if the film has been stored badly.

I once developed a roll of Ilford Selochrome Pan which was about 40 years old. Work on the basis that film wil lose 1/2 stop of speed per 5 years. So if you film is 20 years old assume 2 stops loss and increase dev time accordingly. I work on the basis of 50 percent increase in dev time per stop. Fog levels will be high and you may need to intensify the negs as well.

Well, 620 is just the size of the film, and nearly all the B&W film made in the past 50 years has been panchromatic. 'Panchromatic' simply means that the film is sensitive to red light, as well as blue and green.<p>You haven't given anyone much information to go on, and films have quite widely varying developing times in D-76. Older, obsolete, films could vary even more than they do today.<p>If the film is really important, then I'd suggest you do a clip-test on it. The first and last inch or so of the film should be blank.<br>If you take a small clip of film from the end of the roll, you can then see, in the light, how long it takes to develop to a good black density, and this gives you at least a starting point for a reasonable developing time. (if you have access to a densitometer, aim for a density of around 2.5 to 3D, after fixing the film.)<p>Better to err on the side of too much development, rather than too little, in any case.

Thanks for all the feedback, I developed at 77 degrees for about 9 minutes and the images are as good as any I have seen!