single use developer

[walterh]

hello ,

please advice me for this.

i want to develop BW at a restricted space and only occasionally.

therefore i would prefer a one time developer that is discarded after

use. to cut cost i prefer do prepare the stock solution myself since

the chemicals are very cheap and i have facilities to do that well.

please comment on the shelf life if stored in squeeze bottle. stop

bath and fixer - for these i got no problems.

 

i want best tonal range with no compromize - if thats not possible

then i have have to settle for another way. films will be 120 film ,

most 400asa ilford (unless the new neopan fuji will convince me of

the better)

 

thanks for commenting.

cheers

 

walter

[tim_curry]

As far as a single use developer, I would say that PMK pyro would be a good choice. A kit from Artcraft will cost about $21.00 (U.S.) or you can mix your own from dry chemicals that you weigh out. It has a very long shelf life and works well for enlarging with your 120. It tends to give a very good print when all is done properly.

 

For a fixer, you may consider a dry mix chemical as well, so you don't have to worry about shelf life, just mix what you need and keep track of the number of rolls as it ages. Use the snip test with the leader to check activity level and dispose of when it is time.

[jorge_oliveira2]

I would consider Rodinal (or JandC equivalent) or concentrated HC-110 since you're in MF; any of them lasts for years.

 

Fixer, if you do not care for fast, is the easiest thing to mix - you can do it by volume, not even need a scale.

 

About HC-110 see:

 

http://www.covingtoninnovations.com/hc110/index.html

 

You may consider also a water stopbath in lieu of an acid one. One less thing to mix/keep.

[walterh]

i got a lot of fixer sitting there as canned powder - so i will go with that. it was surplus so it cost almost nothing and its still good. i just fix in light and take 2x the clearing time to fix as suggested above. therefore i need an acid stop bath - but thats no problem. i added an indicator dye so thta easy to replenish or make up new.

its the developer that i need the info for. the suggestions are helpfull but do you have a formula to mix my own - i got a lab i can use so no problen there and the chemicals i can get cheap from my supplier - but have no source for cheap photosupply.

it may all sound a bit strange but i dont mind the time and effort to once make up the solution or little bags of powder - its just that when developing time comes up i dont want to hassle. :-)

[conrad_hoffman]

If you have a very good scale and good lab technique, plus all the time in the world, you can mix just enough chemistry for a single roll of film. I do that quite often if I want to test some oddball developer, but don't want to make up a lot of it. For your purposes, D-76 is pretty easy to make and everything is easily available. Some people like D-23, and that's even easier. Just do a Google or Dogpile search for those and you'll likely come up with dozens. I won't even ask why anyone would fix in the light, but with a good acid stop, it shouldn't cause a problem. BTW, I highly recommend a magnetic bar stirrer, run at low speed, for mixing developers with minimum work. Use tall style beakers or flasks to keep surface area to a minimum.

[walterh]

fixing in light is really no problem - if you use a good rinse in a stop bath and switch the light on after a little while - say 30 - 60 sec.

the reason to do it is that you know the fixer is ok - by the clearing process - if that takes the right amount of time the fixer is still ok.

a habit i picked up when developing very different types of film and film sizes. never had a problem with fogging.

 

@chemicals - i should have been clearer - i do mean recepies for real chemicals instead of using commercial developer. i got a little supply here saved from the times when i did a lot of WB and some that last long like borax will still be ok. i can produce the stock solution i a laboratory but will process at home. so all thats necessary for producing the stock is available with ample space and equipment. while the formulas for commercial developers are probably a secret there must be "close relatives" out in the net :-) I do have many recepies for developers from the times when i did the zone system with 4x5 but none of those are for single use and require taking track of echaustion and replenishing.

 

cheers

[jorge_oliveira2]

Walter

 

I mix all my chemicals, and I feel I'm quite familiar with most of the existing formulas; besides I have the same problem you do - occasional use.

 

The only ones I know that are long lasting and stood the test of time are pyro/cathecol based ones; that's why I've suggested Rodinal and HC-110 if you do not want to use staining devs - they were tested and last years.

 

Now, there are some other possibilities:

 

- Mix a standard metol based formula (youir pick) and divide it in small glass botlles filled to the brim and well closed - this shall last about one year, but they are more adequate to be used dilluted (1+1 or more).

 

- Mix the old Rodinal formula - also, years of shelf life.

 

- Test some of Patrick Gainer's ideas - using alcohol or propylene glycol in place of water. These 'concentrated formulas' have not been life tested enough but are very promising.

 

My main developer today is an ascorbic acid/phenidone in PG. I don't know how long it will last, but Patrick's accelerated tests points to years (do you know of any dev in which you place a small ammount of it in the bottom of a tray, leave it exposed to air for some 15 days and there is no activity loss?).

[aguilabrava]

Your best bet might be DIAFINE.

 

I haven't used it myself, but from what I have read, it is the easiest and longer lasting developer ever invented.

 

To read more about it, go here:

 

http://www.davidde.com/articles/diafine.html

[the_macman]

What's the shelf life you need? I mean how many films do you process over

let's say six months? Ilfotec HC gives you 32 liters of working solution for

around $20.

[henry_a]

How about D76H?

750ml water at 52 degrees C, add a pinch of sodium sulfite, then 2.5g metol, next 100g sodium sulfite, finally 2g borax, add water to make 1 liter.

 

Three ingredients to make one liter of developer that should keep for two months in a glass bottle. Use it straight or dilute 1:1, 1:2 or 1:3 as you prefer.

[robert_davis2]

You can use any developer one shot. Just throw it out when you finish. I use D-23 1:3 one shot. Just do a little divison to get the right amount of chemicals. Figuring out 1 litre of 1:3 is easy. Just divide the formuala by 4. Figuring out any other amount isn't much harder.

[walterh]

quite a lot of useful information - i was hoping that this would come up in this specialized forum :-)

 

thanks for the advice! i will go from here. - back in the world of BW :-) it has been about 20 years since my last BW (scientific work not counting here, electron microscopy). don't tell anyone that my first postet image here on photo.net is 20 years old -gg-. i promise to post some new stuff next week.

cheers

 

walter

[hans_beckert]

Paterson makes a whole line of single-use developers, all of which are better than Rodinal.

[scott_eaton]

Kodak HC110 probably has the best shelf life and is the most universal of all mainstream developers. There is no stock solution to mix - you mix the stock syrup at 1:31 and process film. Although a bit generic in terms of function, HC110 is outstanding with Ilford films. Tmax developer isn't a slouch either in terms of one-shot shelf stability, but it's hardly something I'd use outside of the Tmax films.

 

Ilford DDX is my next vote behind HC110.

 

Rodinal has a good rep for shelf life, but HC110 is more stable, and since I bothered to read your post I noticed you are using Ilford 400 speed films which Rodinal is a rotten developer for.

[chris_waller]

I'd suggest Rodinal. It is my developer of choice for the last 20 years. It is the most robust and reliable developer I know. I had a half empty bottle sitting in a cupboard for 4 years and it still worked perfectly. It is also the most economical developer I know. It is at its best with slower films (superb results with Tmax 100 and Ilford Delta 100) but also works well with some faster films, e.g. Ilford HP5, Kodak Tri-X, Fuji Neopan 400 and 1600).

[the world in black white]

Xtol gets my vote. As long as you divide the stock solution into smaller bottles or

use a floating lid tank for storage it keeps quite well and is an excellent developer.

[StuartMoxham]

I would go for HC110 as others have said the shelf life is excelent. It is excelent with TriX and many have said it is excelent with FP4 and HP5 too.

[hans_beckert]

If you want to mix from raw chemicals, FX-37 would be great to start with.

 

http://www.jackspcs.com/fx37.htm

[bjarke_schulin]

Chris

How long do you develop delta 100 i rodional?

Thanks

[chris_waller]

Bjarke,

 

I rate Delta 100 at 50 ASA and dev in Rodinal, 1:50, 20 C, 7 minutes. That's for a condenser head, so for a diffuser head increase to 8-8.5 minutes. I pre-soak, then pour in the dev. I give four inversions in the first 30 seconds then one inversion every 30 seconds after that.