film and paper developer

[justin_kroman]

I am just starting up a dark room in my basement. I have not been

doing photography for long, but im hooked. My questioni is what are

some good chemicals to start off with. I know this is a very open

ended question, but I would like to reach a nice balance between

value and quality. At school they use d-76 and im not sure what they

use for fixer and stopbath. Any help would be great.

 

PS (what about hypoclear and photoflo. We use this at school, but I

did not see any on b and h, plz help)

 

Thanks

[ahaohio]

Developer:

 

I prefer a single use developer for film. It makes it easier to develop each roll in a consistent fashion. I have used Rodinal in the past but switched to HC-110 when this stuff was easier to find. Works fine and stores really well. I mix a stock solution and dilute to dil. B.

 

For paper Dektol works fine. The stock solution lasts quite a while and while I have to mix it from powder it is not that difficult to do.

Cheap enough to be discarded before it gets too weak.

 

For fixer use any rapid fixer that is easily accessible. Remember to use different batches for film and paper! I think that my current stock is from Ilford but Agfa and Kodak are quite as good.

 

Ilfords stop bath is nice since it does not smell.

 

Surely you must be able to find Photoflo at B&H. For film this helps prevent drying stains.

[josphy]

You can find photoflo and hypoclear in the "Additional Chemistry for B&W" section on B&H website.

 

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=NavBar&A=search&Q=&ci=581

[justin_kroman]

yes... thanks, i must not have seen it before.

[chris_waller]

For film: Rodinal or HC110 as developer (Rodinal's keeping qualities are legendary), Kodak Indicating Stop Bath, and Ilford Hypam fixer. For paper: Ilford PQ Universal developer, stop and fix as for film. For wetting agent I use Paterson Acuwet at a rate of 2 drops per 100 ml water.

[doug_bennett]

Even though it will likely mean a mail order, for paper developer you might want to try Photographer's Formulary 130 Developer, aka Ansco 130. It's a superb paper developer, with excellent shelf life. The stock solution is rated for 6 months, and the working solution is good for 1-2 months, much better than most developers. For us occasional printers, that's good news. I use it diluted 1:1, and often cook the prints for 4 minutes.

 

If you plan to print on fiber paper, you may want to consider TF-4 fixer, also from the Formulary. It eliminates both stop bath and hypo clear, which for my cramped darkroom is a huge plus. So far, I've seen no downside to TF-4.

[photojim]

Keep it simple to start. Kodak D-76 or Ilford ID-11 are a good all-purpose developer to use (both are practically identical to each other). Use Ilford, Kodak or Agfa stop bath and rapid fixer; all are good. I use Ilford.

 

For developing paper, you can use the same stop bath and fixer (mix up different batches as indicated). I use Ilford Bromophen, but Kodak Dektol is also good. Pick one (whichever is cheaper and/or more readily available). They are used the same, although they are not identical. Dilute it 1 part developer with 2 parts water for use.

 

Once you're comfortable with what you're doing, you can experiment. Try film developers like Rodinal, PMK, and XTOL. Try paper developers like the one above you didn't use or FD 130 mentioned above (strangely I just ordered some of this yesterday). But get comfortable with the basics first. There's no rush.