B/W darkroom newbie questions

[ericdan]

I've been printing at a rental darkroom for about 2 years now, but they finally increased their prices to a level that I cannot justify anymore. At least not for B/W. For color it's still worth it as they have table top processors that give very nice results.

The rental place always had everything pre-setup and I'm unsure of what developer they used.
I'm left with a few questions:

1. I believe I can use same concentrate of fixer and stop batch but in different dilutions and storage containers.
2. I'd like to use a liquid developer that gives rich neutral blacks. I don't like warm tones.
3. I use Fuji's Fujibro variable grade paper as that's the cheapest here in Japan.

Any recommendations would be very appreciated.
Thanks.

 

[Gerald C Koch]

Since economy is a consideration I would suggest using D-72 (Dektol). It is not a liquid but is cheaper than liquid developers. It comes in a single bag and easy to mix. Then too D-72 has been the standard for many decades.

 

[Brian L]

If you would like to give mixing your own paper dev a try - you can give E - 72 a try. Easy to mix, cheap, and a neutral tone developer, comparable to Dektol. You can mix it as a concentrate by tripling the basic recpipe and leaving out the sodium carbonate for better shelf life. Add it just before the printing session.
All the Best,
Brian

For the concentrate:
Water at 52C 750ml
0.9 g Phenidone
Sodium sulfite, anhydrous 135g
Ascorbic acid 57g
Potassium bromide 5,7g
Water to make 1.0 liter

For a 1:2 dilution take 167 ml of the concentrate and add water up to 1.5l, dissolve 38g of Sodium carbonate in it.

 

[mooseontheloose]

Eric,

I used to use the rental darkrooms in Tokyo too, when I lived in Kumamoto (I happen to go up to Tokyo a lot back then). The place I used I think was using all Fuji chemicals. The only thing I didn't like about it was the fixer had hardener in it, which I didn't want, but other than that, it was a good set-up.

I've been using Ilford chemicals for all my printing needs, but the cost of developer (with it's short life span once opened) is just not worth it anymore. So I've gone with Chugai chemicals for normal, non-essential stuff, like contact prints and the postcard exchange, and it seems fine. That said, Dektol does seem to be reasonably priced for a package, so just get one of those big graduated cylinders they have in the darkroom section and use that for all your mixing needs.

I've also recently been buying more chemicals and film from Silversalt - it has a variety of developers that don't appear in the big stores here, like Adox, Rollei, Spur, and Moersch (the last not particularly cheap, but definitely worth it).

 

[gzhuang]

Thanks TS for telling us you get a lot of mileage from currency conversion. Push development at a bargain.