Amidol differences???

[dan_smith]

In using Amidol I find that fresh chemistry gives a really nice print. I make amidol print developer & have used fresh, old, really old and the RED version... a fresh mix but red in color in solution.

 

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All work with the fresh stuff being better than any of the others in my darkroom.

 

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Since others also have the red amidol it appears that all Amidol is not equal.

 

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If we are ordering some, what do we look for? Amidol is apparently also used in the food & hair dye industry. Are we OK finding a hair dye chemistry supplier & purchasing Amidol from them or is their version different from what we need for photo processing? The red stuff develops fine but turns fix pink & leaves a pink/warm coloring to the paper when we use it, something none of the old stuff I have & use does.

Do I go anywhere and just ask for Amidol & come up with yet another variation in color? Or, do I ask for something specific & how can I be sure I get what I want?

[jorge_gasteazoro4]

Dan I would say call photographers formulary and ask what kind of

grade is their Amidol. In chemistry we have different types of grades

depending on the application. For example there is technical grade,

indsutrial grade etc. Technical being the more pure, I have also seen

some chemicals labeled photography grade, but this was many years ago

I am unsure if this is still in use. Being the the food and dye

industries are using amidol as a colorant, I would stay away from

this if you did not like the red kind. Hope this helped.

[ed b.]

I have never heard of red amidol. Where do you get it? I recently

purchased some amidol from Photographer's Formulary, and its quality

was not what I would prefer, though it is useable. It reminded me why

I had switched to using amidol from Bryant Labs in Berkeley (1101

Fifth St., 510-526-3141 or 800-367-3141). The amidol from PF is dark

grey and a bit chunky, whereas the amidol I purchased from Bryant was

a nearly white crystalline powder, which kept well for more than two

years. The Bryant Labs stuff is more costly--I don't know if it is

still available or not, but it is of a superior quality.

 

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Off-subject comments: Bryant has a good price on gold chloride, but

most of their other stuff is expensive. I recently purchased some

potassium dichromate from Photographer's Formulary and had the

opportunity to compare it to that from Bryant. The stuff from Bryant

was milled to homogeneous-sized grains that poured smoothly from the

container without scattering, whereas the stuff from Photographer's

Formulary contained all different sizes of crystals which tended to

bounce and scatter when I poured it from the container. Every time I

use this new stuff from PF it makes a big mess, which I must

carefully clean up because of the extreme toxicity, corrosiveness,

and oxidation potential of potassium dichromate. I much prefer the

more uniform product from Bryant Labs. This isn't to denigrate

Photographer's Formulary in any way--they offer a great service to

darkroom enthusiasts, but when dealing with chemicals like potassium

dichromate I think I will go with the more expensive brand.

[linas_kudzma]

Dan,

 

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Amidol (2,4-Diaminophenol dihydrochloride) is colorless when ultra-

pure. It quickly oxidizes and takes on an increasingly dark color. A

very small amount of oxidation can color the material intensely, so

it's hard to say much about purity just from color. I buy amidol from

Artcraft Chemicals and get a light gray fluffy powder. Check out

Artcraft�s price (www.artcraftchemicals.com), it's the best I�ve

seen.

 

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I've never seen red colored amidol crystals.

[conrad_hoffman]

I can't imagine that Amidol is used in the food industry due to high

toxicity. Not sure about hair, but I doubt it. You have to be careful

because chemical trade names aren't always the same from industry to

industry. You might be getting a close cousin, but not what you want.

Follow the others advice on suppliers. I've been happy with

Photographers Formulary (I don't use Amidol) but have to agree that

the mechanical properties of some of their chemicals are a bit

inconsistant. Another way to make a mess is to use a plastic spoon to

measure out their sodium hydroxide. The static charge sucks the

little round balls out of the jar and shoots them all over the

workbench! Flakes would be safer.

[dhananjay_n]

Like Conrad says, I doubt Amidol is used in food processing because

it is toxic but who the hell knows? I always thought the reason

Amidol was so expensive was because photography was about the only

use for it (as compared to something like sulfite which is used in

mountainous quantities in food processing). I kind of like slightly

used Amidol in solution. After I've put a few prints through it, it

starts giving me a very pleasant warm tone that I like - I know that

the oxidation product of Amidol is supposed to be an incredibly good

restrainer, so maybe there is something going on. I've ordered Amidol

from Artcraft and its always been decent - it arrives as a light grey

green powder and stays that way for quite some time if you keep the

air out. If left long enough, it forms some black crystals but these

black crystals still seem to work fine (maybe its only the surface of

the crytal that is oxidized and the insides are fine). I've noticed

minor differences in tone but I can't rule out that this might have

been some other process variation. In general, the stuff works fine.

I'm curious about this red version - have never encountered it

before. Incidentally, some Amidol formulae are actually quite cheap.

I've also never had the famed problem of Amidol being shortlived.

I've put upto 60 8x10 prints through a litre over a 48 hour period

and the Amidol was still going strong. Cheers, DJ.

[dan_smith]

The 'red' amidol I refer to is a batch made in japan that is being

sold worldwide these days. When you mix the developer it looks the

color of oxblood shoe polish & tints the print a pink color and the

fix a real pink/red. Disconcerting to say the least.

 

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Doing a Google search on Amidol shows it coming up in boht hair dyes

and food/sugar processing. Haven't checked the exact chemical

formulation to know if this is the same product, a minor variation or

something called the same while very different. I just started

searching to find a source of Amidol that might be lower in cost than

some current suppliers.

 

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As for Amidol & some doubting it could be used in the food

industry... why not? Being toxic has never stopped anything from

being used there if a dollar was to be made.

[jorge_gasteazoro4]

Lets remember that toxicity is also dependent on dosage, so although

it might be used in food or dies, the concentration used it is not

considered toxic. OTH tobbaco does not cause cancer, right?

[kishore_kamath]

Dear Dan Smith

 

We are dealing with Para Phenylene Diamine (PPD).

 

Please be informed that Amidol contains a chemical known as Para Phenylene Diamine(PPD). The color achieved depends on the purity of this chemical. There are various grades for use in specific industries.

 

Maybe, you might have used two different grades. In hair dyes different grade is used.

 

However I'am not still sure what exactly you require Raw Material i.e PPD or Finsished Product