X-Ray developer on 35mm film

Hi! I am trying to revive my photographic interests. I combed the market for B&W

developer and fixer for films. Most retailers have gone to color film or digital

and don't sell these anymore.

 

So I went to a factory outlet that sells chemicals to process X-rays in large

quantities. They claimed to have very fine grain and high contrast developers.

They are bulky though. Smallest packet will make 9 litres of X-Rya developer.

That is a 90 second fast process.

 

To begin with I diluted it about 4 times to give me roughly 3 to 4 minutes'

developer. My first results on the negative are very impressive though my

pictures are of poor quality. I think I could dilute the chemicals even more.

 

Can someone enlighten me on using the X-ray developer on Amateur films? I recall

vaguely having read one or two postings sometime ago. I will appreciate any help.

 

Thanks,

prasanna

Bangalore, India.

Man, I feel your pain -- is there really no decent photo dealer left in Bangalore? Not sure if you get to Delhi with any regularity, but maybe you can contact the shop here in Delhi where I go if I need anything: Madan Jee in Chandni Chowk (Shop # 12, Opp Moti Cinema, Chandni Chowk, Delhi). Maybe you can give them a call (+91-98100-26678) and see if they ship to Bangalore, or know of a place down there.

 

Best of luck!

X-ray developer is not really suitable for use on standard b&w films. You will get something with a little experimenting but that something will be very grainy and contrasty. It might be easier for you to just buy the raw chemicals and make up developer as you need it. Some popular developers which are not difficult to make include D-76, D-23, D-50 and PC-TEA. D-23 has only two chemicals, metol and sodium sulfite. PC-TEA has only three, phenidone, ascorbic acid and triethanolamine. For stop bath you can use a plain water rinse, an aceitic acid & water mix or a citric acid and water mix. Fixer is a little more complicated. If you use older film types like FP4+ or Plus-X or HP5+ then standard fixed based on sodium thiosulfate will do. If you use newer type films like Kodak TMX/TMY or Ilford Delta 100 pr Fuji ACROS then you will need a fixer based on ammonium thiosulfate.

How about the coffee & washing soda developer?You can find the instructions here on photo.net if you search.The x-ray place should have fixer..& just use plain water for stop....good luck.

X-ray fixer should be no problem but x-ray developer is much like D-19 very contrasty. Most xomat type developers are designed to run at high temps and short times in a machine. You can experiment as you are and use very dilute strengths and may get some usable results but I would'nt count on it.

Hi! thanks for all your suggestions. I processed my first few pictures with the X-Ray developer & fixer. I diluted them to 8 times the recommended strength. Developed the 35mm film for 4 minutes. The X-Rays are done in 90 seconds. I could not attach pictures here for your comments. I have uploaded them in my trial account at pbase.com. Kindly view them by using my ID & password and log-in, if you will, and give me your suggestions. My ID at Pbase is prasanna67@dataone.in and my password is banpra123. Thank you, the best. [The pics were taken on an overcast day with Exakta RTL 1000, Meyer Oreston 50mm; exposed at 1/125 second and f/8 aperture on Orwo.Nova NP22 ISO125 film. I think the process can be improved with trial of more dilution and control. ] Thanks prasanna<div></div>

<p>if anyone else stumbles on this old thread try this: The concentrate I bought is a gallon that makes 5 gallons of xray working solution--dilute that further by 1:8 for consumer 35mm film. That gives you an overall ratio of 1:40 from the main concentrate. I pull 6ml of that to do a 250ml single nikor tank and process for 10 minutes at room temp and I get pretty good results<img src=" alt="" /></p>

daniel_keating

Thanks for the Developer concentration (1:8) but what about FIX?? Should I dilute it the same (1:8)?? Thank you!!

Just mix and fix per normal mixing instructions. Fixing is done "to completion." For time, see how long it takes your fixer to make undeveloped film clear, then fix twice that time.

Thank you john_shriver.

I suppose it´s also possible to use a standard photo film fixer instead of dental fixer, Am I right? Can you show some results with 1:8 dental developer? How long do you estimate I should develope 400 iso?

Edited October 19, 2017 by oskar_romeo

There aren't so many differences in fixers. Mostly there are ammonium based rapid fixers, and sodium based regular ones.

 

I suspect that the concentration is the same as for x-ray film, and also for printing paper, when you get to that.

 

Put a scrap of film, such as the tongue you cut off, in a cup with fixer. It should clear in about 3 to 5 minutes. Fix twice that time.

 

T-grain films like T-Max fix slower, maybe they take twice as long.

glen_h Thank you. Would film be affected if I overfix it? Thanx