Cold-tone print developer, which one is the standard?

It seems every time someone asks on this forum, or I do research about finding a good cold-tone developer no one really knows. Dektol, 130, and Multigrade developers are standards, but they are not cold-tone developers. So whats the standard for cold-tone developers? There are many players; Arista Ultra-cold, Clayton Ultra-cold, Edwal Ultra-Black, Moersch SE6, etc. Who has tried these and knows which one truly gives a cold effect on most FB papers?

And has anyone tried the Moersch Finisher Blue? From the prints I've seen, it looks amazing.

I'm looking for a cold-tone developer to use with Ilfords MGWT paper.

Brian,

I've found that cold tone developers as such don't seem to work that well with the modern papers; with the now discontinued Harman Cooltone a possible exception. As an example, my own experiments have shown that Moersch SE6 is warmer than Dektol / D-72.

Tom

Tom Kershaw said:

Brian,

I've found that cold tone developers as such don't seem to work that well with the modern papers; with the now discontinued Harman Cooltone a possible exception. As an example, my own experiments have shown that Moersch SE6 is warmer than Dektol / D-72.

Tom

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Tom, so what is one supposed to do? Add benzotriazole? Gold tone?

warm emulsion paper on white base (e.g. Adox Premium Variotone) + warm tone developer + gold toning. I ran a series of experiments in spring 2009 and adding Benzotriazole didn't do much and I ended up going around in circles with regard to image colour and tonality.

Tom

Tom, I'm going to settle on MC110 and MGWT as my two papers. After hearing what you said confirms what I've already thought, no one is really using cold-tone developers. I'm going to stick with 130. What about split-toning with selenium and sepia? I'm worried about my lowers values going to reddish "warm" in the selenium with these papers. Thoughts?

To the human eye a warm tone image appears to be above the surface of the print while a cold tone image appears to be beneath the surface. Because of this a cold tone image can appear to have an unpleasant veiled appearance. The most pleasant image tone for my personal taste is either a neutral or very slightly warm tone. Dektol/D-72 produces a slightly warm tone, a small amount of a 1% solution of benzotrizole can cool this down to a neutral black. Try 1 - 5 ml per liter of working solution. You will need to experiment with the amount to find what is pleasant for you. Remember that the perceived image tone also depends on the color temperature of the viewing light. You really must know where the print is to be viewed; in your home or in a gallery.

Of the two developing agents in D-72 the hydroquinone produces a warm tone while the metol produces a cold tone. Cold tone developers contain a smaller ratio of hydroquinone/metol, some contain only metol.

brian steinberger said:

Tom, I'm going to settle on MC110 and MGWT as my two papers. After hearing what you said confirms what I've already thought, no one is really using cold-tone developers. I'm going to stick with 130. What about split-toning with selenium and sepia? I'm worried about my lowers values going to reddish "warm" in the selenium with these papers. Thoughts?

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Developer may have a significant effect on shadow colour. I'd have to check my notes, but would suggest D-72 / Dektol as a good option. MGWT works well as a basis for toning and lith printing.

Tom

I use Ethol LPD 1:2 (you didn't mention this one) with Ilford MGIV fiber (and RC for that matter) and get a very neutral print. To me, this is what I've always known as "cold tone" (since beginning this stuff in the late 50's) vs a blue tone, which seems like what you are after, but I'm not sure. Some folks complain about a slight green cast with this paper, but I don't see it, and certainly after selenium (1:20 for 5 - 10 minutes) this is gone. I'm in the printing business, so I'm pretty familiar with what neutral is.
Instructions with the developer say that 1:1 will cool the tones somewhat, but I haven't tried it.
As Gerald indicates, exhibition lighting plays a part too.

brian steinberger said:

I'm looking for a cold-tone developer to use with Ilfords MGWT paper.

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Sorry, this maybe a naive question: Why trying to get a cold tone out of a warmtone paper? The paper tone strongly depends on the kind of silver (bromide or chloride or as most a mixture) in the emulsion of the paper.

An easy method: Develop at a lower temperature. As most paper devs comprise methol and hydrochinone. If you make your dev colder then you inhibit the hydrochinone from developing more than the methol and your paper tone gets slightly colder. Of course you have to develop longer to get a deep black. As this trick costs nothing, it may be worth trying...

Best,
Andreas

A49 said:

Sorry, this maybe a naive question: Why trying to get a cold tone out of a warmtone paper? The paper tone strongly depends on the kind of silver (bromide or chloride or as most a mixture) in the emulsion of the paper.

An easy method: Develop at a lower temperature. As most paper devs comprise methol and hydrochinone. If you make your dev colder then you inhibit the hydrochinone from developing more than the methol and your paper tone gets slightly colder. Of course you have to develop longer to get a deep black. As this trick costs nothing, it may be worth trying...

Best,
Andreas

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MGWT sepia tones so beautifully. I want to start with the coolest tones I can in the shadows to create a split tone effect, warm highlights and cold shadows. With most toners, selenium will warm the shadows of MGWT after sepia toning, though I've been working with higher dilutions of KRST and the effects are lessened.

There is no real standard. Dektol (or D-72) probably comes closest. D-72 is really quite cold toned when used with most cold tone papers. I find that it actually gives somewhat colder tones than Ilford Coldtone. Formulary Liquidol also an excellent choice for cold tones, and it keeps very wellt in the bottle and the tray. But different developers react differently with different papers, so some experimentation can be worthwhile. Ansco (Agfa) 130 is listed as a neutral tone developer, a bit warmer than the cold tone group.