Ansco 135

Started mixing my own BW chemistry and mixed up a batch of Ansco 135. I love it. It's dirt cheap too. I'm glad I've started to mix my own print developer.

Mainecoonmaniac said:

Started mixing my own BW chemistry and mixed up a batch of Ansco 135. I love it. It's dirt cheap too. I'm glad I've started to mix my own print developer.

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also named Ardol

Ansco 103, yes 103​, is another good one. Ansco 130 is also excellent.

I'll have to look up the recipe.

Zathras said:

Ansco 103, yes 103​, is another good one. Ansco 130 is also excellent.

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There's two variations of Agfa Ansco 103, the level of Sulphite was reduced from 57g/l to 45g/l around 1940/41. With 57g it was sold as a Universal developer for films and papers, later as a paper developer with the reduced Sulphite.

Ian

sun of sand said:

also named Ardol

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I'm a fan of Ardol. Is it known that Ansco 135 is the formula it is based on? Ian?

For now I have plenty of Ardol, but gave some to a friend who liked it but is Leary of getting too attached to a developer that is not available. I'll have to look up 135; is it a basic warm tone formula like Kodak D52? Ardol always seemed nicer to me, and the stock solution seems to have a much longer life than Selectol.

Mark Crabtree said:

I'm a fan of Ardol. Is it known that Ansco 135 is the formula it is based on? Ian?

For now I have plenty of Ardol, but gave some to a friend who liked it but is Leary of getting too attached to a developer that is not available. I'll have to look up 135; is it a basic warm tone formula like Kodak D52? Ardol always seemed nicer to me, and the stock solution seems to have a much longer life than Selectol.

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Agfa Ansco 135 is an MQ developer, it's very similar to D52 with a touch more Carbonate and Bromide, it'll be slightly warmer.

Agfa Ansco 135

Metol 1.6g
Sodium Sulphite (anhyd) 24g
Hydroquinone 6.6g
Sodium Carbonate 20.87
Potassium Bromide 2.8g
Water to 1 litre

Use !+1 the bromide acn be doubled to increase the warmth further.


D52 (Selectol)

Metol 1.5g
Sodium Sulphite (anhyd) 22.5g
Hydroquinone 6.3g
Sodium Carbonate 15
Potassium Bromide 1.5g
Water to 1 litre

Use 1+1


Both these developers can be made up in a more concentrated for (double the weights and use at 1+3)

Ian

Thanks. Do you think that is the formula Ardol is based on?

I like the Ardol a lot. I also have a fair bit of Dupont 55D which appears to have more Potassium Bromide, so I guess should be even a bit warmer.

I mixed a liter of of Ansco 135 and it's diluted 1:1. Is it a good idea to increase the concentration so I can use it with a higher dilution? I'd like to make one liter of Ansco 135 so I could use it 1:8 or 1:9 dilution.

Mark Crabtree said:

Thanks. Do you think that is the formula Ardol is based on?

I like the Ardol a lot. I also have a fair bit of Dupont 55D which appears to have more Potassium Bromide, so I guess should be even a bit warmer.

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It was sold as Ansco W-5 it may well have been renamed Ardol after WWII.


Defefenfer/Dupont 55-D

Metol 2.5g
Sodium Sulphite (anhyd) 37.5g
Hydroquinone 10g
Sodium Carbonate 37.5
Potassium Bromide 5g
Water to 1 litre

Use 1+2

Once dilute quite similar to Agfa Ansco 135 a little more Bromide and Carbonate, probably the warmest of the three but it'll not be that much difference between any of them.

Ian

Ian Grant said:

There's two variations of Agfa Ansco 103, the level of Sulphite was reduced from 57g/l to 45g/l around 1940/41. With 57g it was sold as a Universal developer for films and papers, later as a paper developer with the reduced Sulphite.

Ian

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Thanks for pointing that out Ian. The formula I use specifies 45g/l of sulfite. It seems slightly cooler in tone than Dektol or D72, which I like verry much.

Zathras said:

Thanks for pointing that out Ian. The formula I use specifies 45g/l of sulfite. It seems slightly cooler in tone than Dektol or D72, which I like verry much.

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It should be significantly warmer than D72 (Dektol) as it's close to D52 (Selectol). Cut you dev time slightly and increase exposure a touch. over development with warm tone developers gives colder tones.

There's two approaches to greater warmth, cut the dev time or dilute a bit more (and increase exposure), you need to see what works best for you and the papers you're using.

Ian

Ian Grant said:

It should be significantly warmer than D72 (Dektol) as it's close to D52 (Selectol). Cut you dev time slightly and increase exposure a touch. over development with warm tone developers gives colder tones.

There's two approaches to greater warmth, cut the dev time or dilute a bit more (and increase exposure), you need to see what works best for you and the papers you're using.

Ian

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I don't get it Ian? If he's getting what he likes as it stands, then why would it be better to cut dev time and increase exposure a touch? Is one approach better than the other to achieve similar results? Just curious! JW

Ian Grant said:

It should be significantly warmer than D72 (Dektol) as it's close to D52 (Selectol). Cut you dev time slightly and increase exposure a touch. over development with warm tone developers gives colder tones.

There's two approaches to greater warmth, cut the dev time or dilute a bit more (and increase exposure), you need to see what works best for you and the papers you're using.

Ian

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Ian,
Are you referring to Ansco 103 in post number 12, or Ansco 135? In the Ansco Formulas booklet I have from 1948, Ansco 103 is described as a cold toned developer, which has been my experience with that developer. The Ansco 103 formula as printed in my booklet is as follows;
Hot Water (125 F or 52 C) ......................750 cc.
Ansco Metol .......................................... 3.5 grams
Ansco Sodium Sulfite, anhydrous .............. 45 grams
Ansco Hydroquinone ............................... 11.5 grams
Ansco Sodium Carbonate, monohydrated .... 78 grams
Ansco Potassium Bromide ........................ 1.2 grams
Water To Make ....................................... 1 liter

Dilute 1 part stock solution with 2 parts water and use at 68ºF. I usually develop enlarging papers for two to three minutes. As I was typing this post I realized that I had confused Ansco 135 with Ansco 125, which seems to be a more neutral toned developer. My mistake. However, I still think Ansco 103 is a pretty good cool toned developer.

Regarding Ansco 135 or D52, do you think one of these would be a good choice with FotoKemika Varycon?

JW PHOTO said:

I don't get it Ian? If he's getting what he likes as it stands, then why would it be better to cut dev time and increase exposure a touch? Is one approach better than the other to achieve similar results? Just curious! JW

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Hi JW,

If the original poster is using Ansco 135, he/she is going for warm tones. Increasing exposure and reducing developing times will increase warmth in the print. Developing a print for a longer time will make the tones less warm. I confused the formula in the original post with another Ansco formula and recommended Ansco 103 as another formula worth trying. Looking back on previous posts, My recommendation for Ansco 103 is probably not what the original poster is looking for. However, it is a pretty good cool tone paper developer.

Zathras said:

Ian,
Are you referring to Ansco 103 in post number 12, or Ansco 135?


Regarding Ansco 135 or D52, do you think one of these would be a good choice with FotoKemika Varycon?

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My mistake, I was referring to Agfa Ansco 135 and you were talking about 103.

I'd use Ilford ID-78 (see Ralphs PDF) which is a PQ warm tone developer similar to Agfa Ansco 135 and D52, Phenidone gives warmer tones than Metol and keeps better. I make a concentrated version using Potassium Cabonate and a small amount of Hydroxide instead of the Sodium Carbonate, this is similar to commercial PQ developers and allows a much higher concentration (Sodium Carbonate is less soluble). I use it at 1+9 and it keeps well.

Ian

Now, I understand! I also have some ID-78 mixed and like it very much for "homebrew", but LPD is my store bought stuff. Ian, I like the sounds of a concentrated ID-78 and its higher dilution. JW