Basic Photo Chemicals in Denmark

[MikeK]

I have an on-line buddy who would like to make some home brew warm tone developers. He seems to think that getting some basic chemicals in Denmark is going to be a pain - we are talking Metol, Hydroquinone, Sulfite, Carbonate and Potassium Bromide. Can anyone confirm if this is going to be a big deal?

If not point him in the direction of an in-country supplier?

Thanks

Mike

 

[Aggie]

Hi Mike, Several Dansk about. Best bet would be Ole since he is a chemist by trade and lives near by in Norway.

 

[Soeren]

It is somewhat difficult to get chemicals from the big supliers here as a private person. Being a laboratory technician I have the opportunity. They tend to be expensive so look out. Brenner in Germany do ship to DK and they are quite cheap with some of the chemicals. If he has got the right connections try.
Bie & Berntsen http://www.bie-berntsen-as.dk
VWR http://www.vwr.com/index.htm
Sigma Aldrich http://www.sigmaaldrich.com/Local/SA_Splash.html
Regards Søren

 

[srs5694]

A few other points:

• Unless your friend's got his heart set on a specific formula, you may be able to find one that uses more common items, or make substitutions. It's often possible to substitute sodium ascorbate for hydroquinone, for instance. (Sodium ascorbate is a variant of ascorbic acid, aka vitamin C. It can be made by mixing vitamin C powder with sodium bicarbonate (aka baking soda); see http://unblinkingeye.com/Articles/Rodinal/rodinal.html. Alternatively, you can use vitamin C powder directly and increase the amount of alkali in the formula.)
• A few items can be bought in supermarkets, drug stores, or other consumer outlets. For instance, in the US Arm & Hammer Washing Soda is 100% sodium carbonate monohydrate. Vitamin C, of course, is available in drug stores and supermarkets, although you may need to hunt a bit to find it in powdered form.
• Some North American suppliers will ship internationally. I'm pretty sure that Dead Link Removed (in Canada) will do so (I'm sure they ship to the US). You could also check with US-based Photographer's Formulary, Art Craft, Digital Truth, and various others. B&H, a big New York photo store, also ships internationally, and they stock some chemistry and will special order most items from Photographer's Formulary. Of course, in all of these cases the shipping is likely to be very expensive, especially if you want it in a reasonable time (air freight rather than shipping via a boat). Still, ordering from overseas may be better than not getting something at all, if those are the options.

 

[Tom A]

Hi Mike

I live in Denmark and buy photochemicals from http://www.brenner-fotoversand.de/
in Germany. They sell it in small quantities.

Tom