I bought some Ilford DD-X a while back for developing 400 speed film, specifically hp5+. I opened this bottle back in October 2021 and the results I got at the time were great. I didn't touch the bottle for several months since I haven't shot any hp5 lately. I recently started shooting hp5 again and I noticed that the base of the film is much thicker than previously developed film. I initially thought this was part of a light leak issue I was having with my sheet film (see my other post), but I developed some 35mm hp5 and the base of the film is even darker still. My process has not changed but the results have. I understand that DD-X has a shelf life rated at about 6 months after opening, but I would have thought that a developer going bad would result in thin negatives instead. I am using fresh fixer and using the DD-X as a one shot developer 1:4.
I've used up all but the last 100mm of the bottle and the problem seems to have gotten worse the more of the developer I use.
I've used up all but the last 100mm of the bottle and the problem seems to have gotten worse the more of the developer I use.