Purchasing Chemicals - How long will they last

<p>Hello,<br>

Wondering if I could ask for your assistance, I am looking to develop my own film. I have previously developed my own film in college, but the chemicals were ordered and mixed up for us. My volume of film is likely to be low. I would have thought two rolls of film a month. I have all the necessary kit, with the exception of the chemicals. I am considering ordering the following:<br>

Ilford ID11<br>

Ilford Ilfostop Stop Bath<br>

Ilford Rapid Fixer<br>

Ilford ifolotol wetting agent.</p>

<p>My question is how likely are these chemicals likely to last given my current volume? I have looked at these chemicals because we used Ilford at college. Are there other chemicals that will last longer, but be as easy to use ? </p>

<p>There is always Diafine. It is a compensating two-part developer and lasts forever (almost literally), can be used at any temperature and can be re-used without replenishment. It doesn't get easier than that. Any fixer will last a VERY long time and so does the stop bath.<br>

Just google Diafine and see what people have to say about it. As with all developers, there are advantages and disadvantages - Diafine gives rather flat negs, which can be great for scanning but not so great for wet printing and it has a speed increase for many films out there. I have exposed trX anywhere from 400 all the way to 1600 on the same roll and developed in Diafine and all the pics were usable - can't do that with any other developer.</p>

<p>Stop, fixer and wetting agent tend to last a very long time. The real concern is for the developer.</p>

<p>I routinely keep developer concentrates in my darkroom for a year or more - perhaps two years in some instances. However, I always purchase liquid concentrates and mix a one-shot working solution at the time I process film. ID11 comes as powder. Mixing a portion of a packaged powder is not recommended - you have no way to know that the powder is homogeneous. </p>

<p>There are three ways you could proceed. One is to go ahead and see what happens. A modification of that would be to mix the ID11 with half the recommended amount of water, and then store that solution in a tightly sealed glass bottle. Before using it, dilute it 1:1 with water to make a working solution.</p>

<p>The third approach, which I would favor, would be to use a liquid concentrate instead. If you want to stay with Ilford, DD-X is very good and I've heard is similar to ID11 in terms of performance. </p>

<p>There are other brands, but distribution tends to be regional so we would need to know where you live. I use Sprint chemicals (except for film developer - I have standardized on HC-110) simply because that's what the local dealer stocks. I'm on the east coast of the US, relatively close to Sprint. Another brand I've heard about is Clayton - my sense is that they are mainly on the West Coast.</p>

<p>Ultimately, the key is to pick a brand and then stick with it to optimize your technique.</p>

<p>+1 for DD-X. It keeps well in the original bottle if stored in a cool dark place (I am currently using a bottle I opened well over a year ago, your results may vary).</p>

<p>Another developer that "keeps forever" is Rodinal.</p>

<p>A good source for chemicals is: <a href="http://www.freestylephoto.biz/index.php">http://www.freestylephoto.biz/index.php</a></p>

<p> </p>

<p>The DD or DD-X doesn't last all that long, once opened, compared to Rodinal (probably the longest lasting developer) and HC-110 (almost as good as Rodinal in that respect). You would find HC-110 probably closer to the look than the Ilford developers.</p>

<p>I've had no trouble with DD-X in opened bottle up to 15 months. It's a nice speed-enhancing developer, more similar to Microphen than ID-11 (D-76). <br>

DD-X is about the most expensive developer per roll. However, it's a lot cheaper than throwing a gallon of ID-11 away after two months, when you only processed four rolls with it.<br>

However, HC-110 kept as syrup is the gold standard for long-lived developer, along with Rodinal. Both are cheap!<br>

HC-110 will get you full film speed, and holds down fog in old film. Rodinal will get you less than "box speed", at least if you want a normal contrast.<br>

Measuring HC-110 for dilution from syrup is tricky, you need to measure the concentrate very carefully, either with a very small graduate, or with a small syringe (children's dosing syringe does the trick). Dilution B is 7.5ml of syrup with 232.5ml of water for one roll of film in a stainless steel tank.<br>

Also, always mix wetting agent on demand, leaving it mixed with water will form "pond scum" in a month. Yecch!</p>

<p>Powdered lasts forever if it doesn't get wet or even damp, liquid varies depending on what it is. Stop and wetting have an indefinite shelf life, AFAIK, but fix can go bad if stored at the wrong temperature (the separate chemicals can settle out so it's always best to buy dry fix chemicals and mix as needed). Most liquid developers go bad fast. Again, stick with dry and mix your own as needed (it's much cheaper in the long run that way as well).</p>

<p>ID-11 - six months after you mix it up if you store it in completely full and well stoppered bottles.<br>

Stop Bath - indefinite shelf life<br>

Fixer - Very long shelf life. Ilford says 6 months once it's diluted. I think longer than that. The concentrate lasts a long time, more than year at least. I've only had concentrated rapid fix go bad on my once. It was at least 3 years old.<br>

Wetting agent - Indefinite shelf life for the concentrate. Working solution tends to sart going bad after a few days. But you should be using that as a one shot chemical anyway so storage of the working solution isn't an issue.</p>

<p>What Frank says.</p>

<p>And, I do very small batches too. I buy 1 Liter size quantities whenever I can - yeah, it's almost the same price as gallon/5 liter sized packages, BUT what you don't use is still sealed in the factory container. I don't trust breaking up a 5 liter on my own and being able to keep all moisture and air out of it.<br>

Which means sticking to named brands. The store brands, like Freestyle's, only come in gallon sizes or larger. :-(<br>

Kodak and Ilford still make 1 liter packages for their more popular developers.</p>

<p>Those "airvac" bottles are great for extending the life of mixed developers.</p>

<p>I've extended liquid concentrate developers by mixing what I need and evacuating the air out of the concentrate bottle. </p>

<p>Ditto what Frank says.<br>

I mix my own D76 buffered, from Anchell's books, which is probably the same as ID-11, and it lasts for up to a year. I haven't tried longer than that. Just make sure the stock solution is in full (to the top) bottles. I use little 8 ounce bottles for one shot use. They never get opened (oxygen is the enemy) until it is time to dilute 1:1 and develop, then dump. <br>

Original D76 changed activity with storage, so if you mix your own, don't use the original formula, use the buffered formula. Enjoy!</p>