Dektol vs ADOX ADOTOL Liquid NE for Adox MCC 110 paper

StigHagen · Nov 10, 2010

Im currently using Dektol together with Adox MCC 110 paper. I started using dektol because I felt I lacked contrast with another paper, but this is not an issue anymore with MCC110.

Im just wondering, what differences will I see if I use ADOX ADOTOL Liquid NE. It is said to be designed for this paper and I wonder if it has any benefits that dektol does not have?

Thanks again all you apug'ers

Ian Grant · Nov 10, 2010

Adotol NE will be very similar to Dektol, it'll have better capacity and tray life. as it's a PQ developer.

Adotol WA (Agfa Neutol WA) would give you greater control over the inherent warm tones of MCC

Ian

Sal Santamaura · Nov 11, 2010

Ian Grant said:
...Adotol WA (Agfa Neutol WA) would give you greater control over the inherent warm tones of MCC

Please explain what you mean by this. Based on my use of both developers with MCC 110, the NE version results in essentially a neutral tone, the WA version results in a warmer tone. What type of "control" over tone does the WA version provide?

Ian Grant · Nov 11, 2010

OK Sal, that's quite easy, with a warm tone developer increasing the dilution and compensating by increasing the exposure while retaining reasonably short development times gives far greater warmth. The other extreme is less dilution, shorter exposures and longer development time will give almost the same cooler tones.

It needs experience to get the most out of controlling the image colour, contrast etc from a warm tone paper/warm tone developer combination, but it's not difficult.

Put more simply short development gives greatest warmth, Agfa used to recommend 45 seconds with Neutol WA, over development gives cooler tones. None of this works with Bromide papers.

Ian

Sal Santamaura · Nov 11, 2010

Ian Grant said:
...with a warm tone developer increasing the dilution and compensating by increasing the exposure while retaining reasonably short development times gives far greater warmth. The other extreme is less dilution, shorter exposures and longer development time will give almost the same cooler tones...

Thanks. Would the same apply to the NE version, varying tone slightly around its basic neutral result? Also, would this work using WA and a pure chloride paper like Azo? I'd definitely like a warmer result with my stash of Azo than I'm getting in WA 1:7.

Ian Grant · Nov 11, 2010

Depends what Agfa (and current successor) use to give the neutral tones, with a warm-tone paper like MCC yes a little variation.

Chloride papers can be manipulated in a similar way, but it may be a different developer would help as well. There were more specific warmer toned developers for Chloride papers but different papers behave in different ways. I'd have to go back through my notes & research to be more specific.

Ian

StigHagen · Nov 16, 2010

Hi Ian. With less development and overexposure isn't it difficult to gain full Dmax as you are not fully developing the paper?

Ian Grant · Nov 17, 2010

StigHagen said:
Hi Ian. With less development and overexposure isn't it difficult to gain full Dmax as you are not fully developing the paper?

A warm tone print doesn't have the same Dmax as a colder toned print, in the same way that a sepia toned image has a lower Dmax.

Dmax is less important than the look & feel evoked by a warm tone image.

Ian

baachitraka · Jun 20, 2016

Is there any way to make Adotol NE to work little softer. I have some graded paper(Ultrabrom), though marked as soft grade the grade of the paper falls somewhere in-between grade 3 and grade 4.

* I did not experiment with different dilutions yet.

RalphLambrecht · Jun 21, 2016

baachitraka said:
Is there any way to make Adotol NE to work little softer. I have some graded paper(Ultrabrom), though marked as soft grade the grade of the paper falls somewhere in-between grade 3 and grade 4.

* I did not experiment with different dilutions yet.

work on light filtration before experimenting with developer dilution.

baachitraka · Jun 21, 2016

Its graded paper with gradation soft.

ericdan · Mar 16, 2020

what happens when you use a warmtone PQ developer on bromide paper? no effect at all? just less contrast?

Tom Kershaw · Mar 16, 2020

A warmtone PQ developer works well with Adox MCC but I've found can produce odd looking results with a neutral paper like Ilfobrom Galerie which may be more suited to a standard PQ Universal.

Ian Grant · Mar 16, 2020

ericdan said:
what happens when you use a warmtone PQ developer on bromide paper? no effect at all? just less contrast?

There maybe to much bromide present and that can affect tonality.

Ian

miha · Mar 16, 2020

I see a slight difference with MG IV RC and ADOX VARIO CLASSIC (a cold tone paper of the past) when developed in Harman Warmtone developer - my developer of choice - in comparison to PQ Universal or standard MG developer.

Dektol vs ADOX ADOTOL Liquid NE for Adox MCC 110 paper

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