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Dektol Still Brown?

Todd Niccole

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35mm
Just mixed a gallon and dark brown. Is this a permanent feature of Dektol ever since this issue started years ago?
 
I suspect you have an old bag. I'm a Bromophen guy so I don't know what current Dektol looks like. The newest bags shouldn't be dark.
 
If your bag says "Kodak Alaris" on it, it is old.
 
Todd Niccole said:
Just mixed a gallon and dark brown. Is this a permanent feature of Dektol ever since this issue started years ago?
Click to expand...

Thanks for all the details. How old is your "Dektol"? Who made it? What is actually on the label? What color was it in the bottle -- assuming it was in a bottle. When did this "permanent feature" issue -- whatever that is -- arise? What else is it mixed with?
 
This is relatively new stuff:

LOT 2024/01/05/18821 E 2027/01
 

Why the hell would it be mixed with anything else? It's in the clear one gallon plastic bottle from the distilled water that was used. This was an old issue with Dektol going back years, 2019 I think. Made by Photo Systems Inc.
 
Todd Niccole said:
Why the hell would it be mixed with anything else? It's in the clear one gallon plastic bottle from the distilled water that was used. This was an old issue with Dektol going back years, 2019 I think. Made by Photo Systems Inc.
Click to expand...

The more recent stuff I have bought is back to working normally as always.

Once I deplete my rather large stock of Dektol, I am going to start making my own D-72.
 
Raise the issue with the retailer.
~ 5 years ago, Kodak Alaris ended up replacing a bunch of the first problematic batch for myself and some friends.
 
Todd Niccole said:
Why the hell would it be mixed with anything else? It's in the clear one gallon plastic bottle from the distilled water that was used. This was an old issue with Dektol going back years, 2019 I think. Made by Photo Systems Inc.
Click to expand...

Oh man, I would get back to the seller and drop an email to PSI
 
A few years ago I had several bags of D76 that were brown. Kodak replaced them but the replacements went brown. Since Kodak no longer knows how to package chemicals I'm done with them. I use Arista chemicals - good prices at B&H and they work fine.
 
Just to add to the "MIX", let's throw in some D-76 to the mix or non-mix or whatever we are trying to talk about.

I'm totally mixed up.
 
l will test the Dektol to see if it will still develop. I also mixed some D-76 in the smaller liter bags, color-wise seems fine. I'll report back and forward the issue to the retailer and manufacturer.
 
I'm using the brown stuff. I can't say I am happy to use it but I am not throwing any out. I'm taking their word for it that the color is a non-reactive component, not an oxidation of an important developer component.

When I say I'm not happy about it, I am sourcing vintage paper/foil bags and maybe cans of D-76 and Dektol from eBay at a premium and with the risk that those will be actual oxidized brown. But when they are good I know immediately from the cream soda color.
 
Last edited:
chuckroast said:
The more recent stuff I have bought is back to working normally as always.

Once I deplete my rather large stock of Dektol, I am going to start making my own D-72.
Click to expand...

IMO mixing D72 from bulk yourself is the best idea; always fresh and always exactly as much as you really need but in any event, I'd still use brown DEKTOL. It may work fine. See if it developsDmax and if yes, go ahead and use it.
 

The formula for Dektol/D-72 is well known. There is no 'non-reactive' component that turns brown. Neither S. Sulfite, S. Carbonate nor P. Bromide turn brown when they oxidize (if they oxidize). All that's left are Hydroquinone and Metol - and they are reactive and do turn brown.

Kodak does do something to Dektol so the Metol will dissolve in a basic solution - which it does not like to do. This ingredient may be the reason why Kodak developers are often a 'cream soda' color when mixed. D-72 when mixed from scratch is water clear.

If they are telling the truth, I can only speculate that whoever made the Dektol screwed up this 'special something.' But by Occam's razor the reason it is brown is because they screwed up the packaging.

I'm sure the brown color is boosting sales at Artcraft and Photographers' Formulary.
 
Speaking of Kodak chemistry, does anyone know if the new company (forget their name) that's going to produce this stuff is up and running, yet?
 
Cinestill is the distributor

PROFESSIONAL PAPER DEVELOPER 1GL, Powder to make 3 Gallons Working Solution

Same great product with a new name! KODAK PROFESSIONAL Paper Developer is a standard B&W paper developer for RC and fiber-based darkroom printing paper. It comes in a powdered concentrate that mixes with water to make 1 gallon of stock solution. Dilute 1:2 for working-strength solution. An...
cinestillfilm.com
 

Yes - unless you buy it direct from Photo Systems.
 
MattKing said:
Yes - unless you buy it direct from Photo Systems.
Click to expand...

I wonder if the direct orders are fulfilled by Cinestill? It's curious how all these different businesses are intertwined. I noticed that Cinestill lists an address of 100 Latona Road, Rochester NY, which on Google maps is a small building next to a guard shack at Kodak.
 
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