Truths or ugly rumors? (please read inside...)

[fred_obturateur]

#1 : the longer a print (FB or RC) stays in the dev. tray the warmer it gets.

 

#2 : if a developer's temp. is too far from the 68F/20C limit it will (slightly)

"warm up" the prints.

 

Things I've heard over the years from the "older guys". Please give your opinion.

And don't hesitate to bring your own darkroom "truths"!

[william_john_smith1]

Try it and report back your findings.

[david_dorcich1]

The only thing it gets is over-developed the longer it stays in the developer. If your developer is above 68 degrees, the development is sped up, if it is too high i become impossible to control since the development time is so short that even development is impossible since the part of the paper that hits the developer first will be over developed.

 

If you want to warm up your prints, use warm-tone paper or tone your paper to your liking.

[john tonai]

When I used to print Ektalure paper with Ektaflo type 2 developer, you could adjust the tone with time. 1-2 minutes was slightly warm neutral and 4-5 minutes was quite warm. Never saw this with any other paper

[frank.schifano]

I can't say that I've noticed this behaviour with modern variable contrast papers. The way to use these papers is to get your exposure correct, then develop to completion. Too short development times will give you muddy looking prints that are often unevenly developed. Going longer, within reason, doesn't make much difference. I have seen some papers warm up a bit in very weak (read over diluted or nearly exhausted) developers, but that's about it. I don't worry too much about paper developer temperatures. Whatever the room temperature that day is what it is.

[michaelging]

I think you get chemical fog on a print if you leave it too long in the developer .I never noticed a warming of photos left longer in the developer, or colder ones taken out sooner.I do think you can get pregnant if you do not wear rubber gloves when printing ( the only urban myth I know about photography),although I never did.I did use hot developer in a cup when printing on deadline , and this never caused the print to be any warmer in color , but would stain a print if it was used too long.

[chris_waller]

Leaving the print longer in the dev (#1) causes some slight 'veiling' (i.e. slight development of otherwise pure white areas) of the highlights which may be perceived as warmth.

 

#2 - with print developers which contain quinol I have certainly found that at lower temperatures (i.e. below 16 C) the tone is warmer (though the development time can be 5-6 minutes). If the temperature is significantly above 20 C then the first point probably applies.

[fourthst]

As John indicated it seems to me that effect was limited to select paper and developer

combos. What they are today or even if they still exist, I don't know. As William suggests

testing yourself is a great way to learn. What you will get from excessive extended

developer time or temp. is fog. Benzotriazole was/is a chemical you could add to the

developer to keep the fog at bay for extended development times. It also has cooling

effect on the print color.

 

Extended development occurs most often in darkrooms that are not temperature

controlled (like too many I have used). Using a print time factor is helpful in those

darkrooms. Observe the print in the developer closely. Note how long it takes before you

just begin to see the image forming. Then note how long the print has been in the

developer when it is developed to your liking. You can now figure the factor between the

two. That factor can now be used if the developer's temperature drifts. For example if you

first start to see image form at 15-sec. and your total dev. time is 120-sec. the factor is 8.

So, if the temp. drops and you don't see image until 20-sec. your dev. time would now be

160-sec. hence the extended dev time. Obviously the cooler the dev. the more extended

the dev. time.

[jeff_drew4]

Fred . . . I keep an ice bucket nearby for such occasions!:-)<p>

Temperature is what it is! IF your ambient room temps are well above the 68F liquid, then the paper is cooled . . . but the chemical interaction is happening at 68F. Raise the temp and the interaction generally speeds up as all the molecules etc get excited! <p>

Item#2: Use "colder" filtration in imaging or in paper grades. "Too warm" an image is usually a combination of exposure and development parameters that have been expanded. It's all based on recipes so take notes and follow your instincts. Use the ice for your beverages and if alcohol is added, all the prints will look much better in proportion to the alcohol ingested! :-)<p>

[fred_obturateur]

Thanks for all the replies so far.

 

The heart of it all is, after using Kodak Polymax RC paper for my contact prints for years, I switched to Ilford MGD.1M RC paper and I just DON'T like the warm/chocolate tone I get with this product. (I certainly miss the neutral tonality of the Kodak stuff).

 

A friend of mine told me it's because my dev. tray is too warm, too cold etc... you name it. Now another person just told me it's because I use Bromophen (dil.1+3) and I should switch to Multigrade.

 

I'm gonna contact print 100 negs this week-end and I KNOW I'm going to have this annoying brown tint. Blimey! I know what to do : I'm gonna add 10 grams of benzotriazole to each liter of developer! Yeah!

 

(just kidding...)

[gnashings]

Dilution of certain developers _does_ give warmer results: highly dilute Dektol (a very neutral developer otherwise) gives visible warmer results on the same paper. Still, its a delicate difference compared to using a warm tone paper, but perhaps sometimes desireable (I found out about it when I was so broke I was dilutin the crap out of whatever dektol I had left:) ).

[chris_waller]

Try devving Ilford MG paper in Ilford PQ Universal developer. Also, for final prints for display/exhibition I always selenium tone to get a cooler grey.

[flaviosganzerla]

I'm with Peter here, found that highly diluted Dektol does warm a print, or at least Ilford Multigrade IV RC papers.

[jim_megargee1]

General rule of thumb is that the shorter the development time the warmer the print color.