B&W Supply Reliability and New Providers

koraks

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albada said:
I like it.
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Me too. It also keeps quite well. I generally mix 500ml concentrate at a time and use that to make 500ml working strength developer which I save between sessions in an entirely full, glass bottle. After each session, I top up the bottle with some fresh developer, made with the concentrate and some water. The concentrate remains in the same 500ml bottle, which evidently empties out over time. Even in a partially full bottle, the concentrate remains usable surprisingly long. I just did some printing and noticed my concentrate bottle is now nearly empty; I mixed this batch a little over a year ago. I don't do silver gelatin a whole lot and most of the time, it's small prints, so I like a developer that lasts long, can be replenished, is cheap & cheerful to mix from generic materials etc. ID62 is one of the several formulas that works well in this regard. ID78 is also nice if you prefer warmtone.
 

Paul Howell

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I've used both Ansco 130 and LPD, both are fine developers, Ansco 130 does not last long in the tray compared to LPD, all in all I did see much difference when compared to Dektol. I forgot who wrote the article, but in the 80s someone tested LDP, Dektol, Edward Weston print developer and Ansco 120 with a refraction densatomer and found that when tested with a step wedge and developed to reach Dmax all tested the same. Currently I have Clayton and a liter of PF liquidal.

Thinking about it, does anyone have the formula for Edwal Ultra Black?
 

GregY

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Sanders, I use both, one or the other for exhibition prints. Typically ilford MG developer for getting to that point. I've never tested one against the other, but have had superlative results from both.
 

RalphLambrecht

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good reason to start preparing your own processing chemicals from bulk chemicals
 

albada

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Paul Howell said:
Ansco 130 does not last long in the tray compared to LPD,
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All reports of Ansco 130 I've read, including the silverfixation blog previously mentioned, say that Ansco 130 is very long lasting, and that one can use it for months compared to the 2-3 sessions we get with ordinary developers. Did you store the working solution in full bottles? Were your prints in Ansco 130 not reaching Dmax?
 

cmacd123

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one trick is that one of the ingredients (Glycin) in Ansco130 keeps longer in the mixed developer than it keeps as a dry powder ( unlike most powder chemicals) so a stale kit might not last as long, or work as well.
 

Tim Stapp

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When my last packet of LPD is gone, given the price now I may switch to Liquidol. I've used it and it is long lasting in it's undiluted state and in mixed solution. And, it seems to be readily available.
 

logan2z

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Tim Stapp said:
When my last packet of LPD is gone, given the price now I may switch to Liquidol.
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For some reason, there is a massive price difference between Freestyle and BH for a gallon of liquid LPD concentrate. It's $82.49 at Freestyle and $54.95 at BH. I don't know what accounts for that. But at $54.95 for a gallon of concentrate that makes 5 gallons of working solution, it doesn't seem to be priced too badly. If my mental math is correct, it's less expensive than Ilford Multigrade Developer.
 
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Tim Stapp

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I've always used the powdered version that makes one gallon and I use it replenished. But, at nearly $45 a packet, I just can't justify it.
 

cmacd123

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logan2z said:
It is. And they have no shipping restrictions on the liquid
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I always wonder with their shipping restictions - they wont ship Kodak HC-110, BUT they are happy to ship multiple bottles of Legacy Pro L110, which is aperently made by Unicolor, just like the Kodak stuff.
 

Tim Stapp

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cmacd123 said:
I always wonder with their shipping restictions - they wont ship Kodak HC-110, BUT they are happy to ship multiple bottles of Legacy Pro L110, which is aperently made by Unicolor, just like the Kodak stuff.
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Maybe it's drop shipped from mfr? They are in Michigan, just outside of Ann Arbor.
 

Tim Stapp

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logan2z

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Tim Stapp said:
I was only looking at Freestyle. I forget sometimes about B&H or Adorama. I sure miss Calumet out of Chicago. Sadly, I never made it to Central Camera in Chicago before they were burned.
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The price at Freestyle is oddly high. Not sure what's going on with that.
 

cmacd123

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Tim Stapp said:
Maybe it's drop shipped from mfr? They are in Michigan, just outside of Ann Arbor.
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since my film has come in the same box, and the tracking all comes starting from New Jersy it seems to all come from the B&H warehouse.
 

eli griggs

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D-76 ,1:1

D-76, home mixed is an easy endeavor and Ansco 130 can last well past it's first year, going dark as strong coffee, and gives darkest blacks, only second to Amidol.

IMO, the only way to ensure your darkroom continues to exist, without regard of future shortages, is to learn, stock up on raw materials (though future quality supplies of Glycin is a poser), or switch to a second or third choice that is made with commonly available chemicals to us all.
 

MattKing

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eli griggs said:
commonly available chemicals to us all.
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Don't assume that the chemicals you find easy to obtain are equally easy for others to obtain.
Availability really varies from country to country, particularly when costs and difficulty of importation are factored in.
 

cmacd123

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MattKing said:
Don't assume that the chemicals you find easy to obtain are equally easy for others to obtain.
Availability really varies from country to country, particularly when costs and difficulty of importation are factored in.
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Folks in the USA can get many things that are only shipped via ground transport in the continental US. even an hours drive away, those suppliers are not available. Thus any of us cherish any local dealers.
 

eli griggs

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MattKing said:
Don't assume that the chemicals you find easy to obtain are equally easy for others to obtain.
Availability really varies from country to country, particularly when costs and difficulty of importation are factored in.
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True enough though, I have a difficult time imagining that at the least, instant coffees, pool supply's, soda, wine and beer making supplies, vinegar, baking soda, and borax can not be found in any nation, with the possible exceptions of beer and wine shops in Islamic States, but their should be available as other materials.

Cream of Tartar, Vitamin C, non-sudsing water tension breakers, the same material found in our Arm&Hammer washing soda, alcohol, Boric acid and copper sulfate, from pharmacies (apothecaries),
etc should be enough for most darkroom kits, even in deprived Nations

These things are likely enough to print and develope with and things like silver, gold or platinum salts are something that can, with great caution and good instructions, be produced locally.

Sulfuric, Hydrochloric and other acids are also common, car/truck batteries and concrete and brick cleaners, etc plus pure carbon etc are simple to source and/or produce, so that's a start on stocking things, for when the World
Market called it a day.

IMO.

What other commonly found chemicals can any of our members name and why not start a list of materials and what and how they can be used for, with directions and darkroom formulas, to become a updating sticky, internationally.

Eli
 

koraks

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Eli, most of what you say is right, but things have been changing and continue to do so. You mention for instance borax and boric acid, and while with a little bit of effort and luck you can still get those, here in Europe it's getting more difficult for private individuals. Sodium hydroxide is a notable other example that has become more challenging to obtain (there are still ways though), copper sulfate is not as commonly used everywhere as it is in the US as e.g. root killer (I've never seen it sold for that purpose where I live), battery acid is not easily obtainable anymore either (it used to be, but no longer), hydrogen peroxide (for e.g. reversal bleaches) only in concentrations that aren't effective for photographic purposes, the same goes for other acids although those are generally still useful in lower concentrations, etc.

eli griggs said:
things like silver, gold or platinum salts are something that can, with great caution and good instructions, be produced locally.
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That's just not realistic. You don't go and suggest that people use aqua regia to make their own gold chloride etc. That's just silly - and highly irresponsible. Even making silver nitrate with nitric acid is risky business - and by far not all that easy to do if you need the purity that is required for photographic purposes.

I agree that with sufficient creativity, there's lots of stuff still to experiment with. But you can't (shouldn't) deny the reality that many things that you take for granted really are not as easy to get elsewhere than they are for you. Ask any darkroom worker in Australia or Brasil how they fare. You'll start to understand how spoilt rotten you really are.

eli griggs said:
to become a updating sticky, internationally.
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Unrealistic given the diversity of sourcing situations and the every-changing rules & regulations. You could write a book and it'll be (1) incomplete and (2) outdated before you even get halfway.
 
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