What is the difference betweem film and paper developer?

<p>I have recently been developing some LF film which I have done in trays as it is so big (11x14). I usually develop film in ID11 1+1 and paper in Bromophen 1+3.<br>

The thing is because I am so used to putting Bropmophen (paper dev) in the trays when printing; I have now used it twice accidently for developing the film. However when negs that have been deved in ID11 (film dev) and negs deved in Bromophen (paper dev) are compared, I can’t tell any difference. They both look good with a full range of densities and are sharp plus they print really well.<br>

What exactly is the difference between the two types of developer and what is the down side to what I have done?<br>

Many thanks.</p>

 

<p>Some people prefer different kinds of witches' brews for each, but as you have discovered, developer is developer so long as you're working with silver. You need to check a lab book to see what different times may be required, and so on.</p>

<p>Paper developers tend to be a lot more active than film developers. All things being equal, and they aren't really, a paper developer used for film will develop the film to a higher contrast index than will a film developer. Paper developers are not designed ti do anything to ameliorate grain, while many film developers will. That said, there was a time before modern B&W emulsions, when developers were "universal" and were used for both. In my first ever home darkroom kit which I got as a kid, there was only 1 developer, and it was intended to be used for both film and paper. Optimal results were not the goal here, but rather to provide a kid with the excitement of seeing a photograph made from the ground up. That it did for me.</p>

<p>I have used Dilute Dektol on film results were much like using Rodinal.</p>

<p>About a year or so ago I misplaced my old copy of Ilford's manual of photography, which includes lots of classic recipes for film and paper developers. But as I recall some of the main differences included the use of restrainers and buffers. That copy was from the 1970s - I don't remember whether it included information about Rodinal, Beutler or other acutance developers.</p>

<p>As Frank mentioned, in ye olden dayes of yore universal developers were used for film and paper, differing only in the dilution with water. I'm not sure whether universal developers were in common use or mainly in expedient use by photojournalists on deadline. By the 1950s-'60s it seemed most darkroom pros and amateurs had switched to specialty developers to suit various films and papers.</p>

<p>I've tried various paper and film developers interchangeably and got results that ranged from very good to just okay to interesting to not so good. Ilford's Universal paper developer on Tri-X looked similar to Rodinal. Rodinal is way too expensive to use economically as a paper developer. Some of my homebrewed developers worked fine on film but produced fogging and edge stains on paper.</p>

<p>These were Dektol 1-9 for 10 minutes Plus-X.</p>

<p>http://www.photo.net/photodb/folder?folder_id=700222</p>

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<p>About an ounce of Dektol to 15 ounces of water for about 6 to 8 minutes at 24C does me okay.</p>

<p>If you are looking at the solutions before you, the easiest way to tell them apart is with pH paper. Film developers will come in less alkali than paper developers. Film dev will be near pH 9; paper developers near pH 10 to 11.</p>

<p>Warm Dektol was once used for a quick push when negatives were needed in a hurry. IIRC, warm Dektol was called "Panther Juice."</p>

<p>Umm Juice? we had another term for it but it did began with Panther. :)</p>

<p>If you are the least interested in playing around with developers etc. I would recommend sauntering down to your local library or bookstore to pick up a copy of The Darkroom Cookbook, either first or second edition. It's a great book for getting formulas from and often explains the how comes of why fors of changing one ingredient or percentage for another. It even covers such practices as developing film by inspection.<br>

The author is Stephen G. Anchell.</p>

<p>I'll second the recommendation of "The Darkroom Cookbook". Great reading even if you don't use any of the formulae. :-)))</p>

<p>I suspect the reason you don't see much difference is because you are using such large negatives. I'm guessing based on your tray size that you are developing 8x10 negatives and contact printing them? If photographers never enlarged negatives, I doubt we'd have more than one or two film developers in the world. Try developing 35mm film in both ID11 and then Bromophen, then enlarging 16x and see if you notice a difference.</p>