Ilford Multigrade vs Dektol

[tom_mccabe]

Good evening. I'm about to start a project printing Ilford FB either 11x14 or 9.5x12 (haven't decided yet). Does anyone have thoughts on the results using either of these two developers? Preference? How many prints can safely be developed in Dektol mixed at 1+2 or Multigrade mixed 1+9?

Thank you!

Tom-san

[AJG]

Both are good.  One thing to keep in mind is cost vs. convenience--Dektol will be cheaper but the Ilford developer is a liquid concentrate so that you can just mix it at 68 degrees and go to work while Dektol needs to be mixed at 125 and then cooled down to work with it.

[Mike Gammill]

My experience is that both are good but Dektol has a shorter shelf life.  Temperature is not a problem as I use it at 1:2 dilution so I can dilute with water at the proper temperature.  However, if you don't print often the Ilford might be better as you can dilute from concentrate to make working solution as needed. 

[maris_rusis]

In my darkroom one litre of working strength Dektol mixed at 1+2 from the concentrate will develop 12 Ilford Multigrade Classic FB prints in the 11X14 inch size.
In theory the use of the factorial development technique could extend this number of prints.
In practice I get too tired after making a dozen good 11X14s so I call it a day and discard the used Dektol.

[keith_tapscott]

Both developers are well established, so I wouldn't worry about which one to choose.

1 litre of working strength Multigrade developer according to Ilford is good for about 100 sheets of 8x10 paper while PQ Universal and Bromophen are good for up to 70 sheets. So the Multigrade has the highest capacity.

I'm not so familiar with Dektol, so I would look at the technical data sheet. I use Multigrade developer and consider it to be an excellent all rounder.

Hope that is of some help.

 

 

[tom_mccabe]

Thank you all for the responses. Multigrade wins on convenience alone.

 

[ben_hutcherson]

Maybe I'm just sloppy or get tired quickly, but I've never printed enough in one session to exhaust the tray of Dektol I mix at the beginning of the session.

It's the only print developer I've ever used, and I mostly print on Ilford multigrade(occasionally Kodak Azo, but my use case is limited even though I have a ton of it).