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"To make" means that is the final solution volume once everything is mixed according to the instructions.
Comparing the amount of concentrate to the final volume gives you a ratio. Sometimes it is possible to apply that ratio to make smaller batches of some solution. We do this with liquid fixer and developer concentrates all the time, when we make, say, only one liter of working solution from a bottle that says "to make" ten liters." Other times it is not possible or advisable. For example, if the amounts are too small to precisely measure, you would not want to do it. Also, for best results, it is not OK with pre-mixed powders at any time, only with liquid chemicals. This is because one cannot assure uniform distribution of all the ingredients in a bag of pre-mixed powdered chemicals.
What developers are they?
In most cases, the "to make X gallons/liters" phrase on the bottles isn't a mixing instruction, but rather a clue as to how much value you are getting when you buy the bottle.
Most bottles also have mixing and dilution instructions printed on them. If they don't, it probably means that there are a variety of options available, and there isn't enough room on the bottle to describe them all (Kodak HC110 is a good example of that).
Most likely there is a web document which covers mixing plus a lot of other issues.
In general though, 2F/2F's comments above are correct.
There is a veritable library of Kodak technical publications on the internet:
This link will help you find many of them:
http://www.kodak.com/global/en/professional/products/chemistry/filmBWmain.jhtml?pq-path=13318/13629/14024
in particular, here is the link for the technical information (including mixing directions) publication for T-Max developer:
http://www.kodak.com/global/en/professional/support/techPubs/j86/j86.pdf
HC-110 has its own publication as well. But before you look at it, you need to understand that it was intended to be usable in a very wide variety of commercial and other applications. To accomplish that, it was designed to be used in a wide variety of dilutions. Most of the `standard` dilutions are designated by letters (A, B, E, F etc.). The most widely used dilution is dilution B which is accomplished by adding 31 parts water to 1 part of syrup (concentrate).
2F/2Fs post explains the two ways of getting to that working dilution (either making an intermediate 1 + 3 stock solution, and then further diluting the stock 1 + 7, or going straight from concentrate to working by adding 31 parts water to 1 part of syrup (concentrate)).
As a near beginner, when you read the following it is probably best to stick with dilution B, and for now ignore the information about the other dilutions:
http://www.kodak.com/global/en/professional/products/chemistry/bwFilmProcessing/hc110.jhtml?pq-path=14033
What i don't understand mostly is what is the difference between the stock solution and the concentrate?
I'm assuming you are talking about HC-110.
The concentrate is very concentrated, so you don't need very much of it to develop a single roll of film.
The concentrate is also really thick, so it can be hard to accurately measure and use very small amounts of it.
For that reason, traditionally the instructions recommended that you first dilute a workable quantity of the concentrate into a stock solution (1 +3 probably, but see note below), and then just before you develop the film, dilute that stock solution further (1 + 7) to create your working solution.
You could dilute the entire bottle of the HC-110 into a single largish bottle of stock solution, but you probably don't want to, because while the concentrate will last a very, very, very long time, the stock solution will only last 1 to 3 months.
So most people either:
1) make a smaller amount of the stock solution up, and then try to use that smaller amount up before it goes bad; or
2) use small syringes or other special tools to each time measure the small amount of concentrate required per roll and then dilute it directly to the working solution.
As an example, say your tank requires 300 ml of working solution to develop a single roll of 135 film. For simplicity, I'll round that up to 320 ml.
If you mix directly from concentrate to working solution, you will need to accurately measure and dispense 10 ml of concentrate and then add 310 ml of water to arrive at 320 ml of HC-110 dilution B working solution.
Alternatively, if you decide to dilute the concentrate in stages (first to a stock solution, and then later to a working solution) you:
a) first dilute a portion of the the concentrate to enough stock to fill a convenient sized bottle. If that bottle is, for example, 500 ml, you would make your (1 + 3) stock solution by putting 125 ml of concentrate in the 500 ml bottle and then adding 375 ml of water to fill it; then
b) when it comes time to develop your film, for each roll of that 135 film, you just need to further dilute enough of that stock solution to 320 ml (in our example) of working solution. That is a 1 + 7 dilution - take 40 ml from the stock solution bottle and dilute it with 280 ml of water, for a total volume of 320 ml.
NOTE: I need to warn you about one further thing. HC-110 comes in two different packagings. Most of us are familiar with the US packaging, and the examples and ratios referred to above and in the Kodak publication I linked to are based on that. There is, however, another European packaging and that HC-110 isn't as concentrated as the US packaging. As far as I am aware, the European packaging isn't labeled in a way that indicates it makes up a quantity of US gallons. You need to determine, however, which packaging you have before determining how much it is to be diluted.
This page: http://www.covingtoninnovations.com/hc110/ has metric measures for making the final dilutions from the concentrated syrup.Thanks!
Can you make those calculating measurements for 500ml or 1L please? Because i shoot only medium format 120 and also large format [4x5], no 135mm there at all yet.
Well, my HC-110 is a "US" version because i bought it from a "US" online store.
Thanks!
Can you make those calculating measurements for 500ml or 1L please? Because i shoot only medium format 120 and also large format [4x5], no 135mm there at all yet.
Well, my HC-110 is a "US" version because i bought it from a "US" online store.
You probably have all the advice you need by now, but I would like to state from experience that mixing the "stock" solution of HC-110 is indeed a bad idea. While it is great to have a thinner (less viscous) liquid to measure out before each developing session, I got through maybe half of the stock solution before it expired. Only then did I learn that it was possible to keep the syrup undiluted, and so my second bottle is still going strong.
When it is written, to make 1Gallon ..., what does that mean?
The HC-110 bottle is 473 ml, which is the same as:
- 16 US ounces, which is the same as
- 1 US pint, which is the same as
- 1/2 US quart, which is the same as
- 1/8 US gallon.
When the bottle says "makes 2 US gallons" of working solution, it is actually referring to dilution A, which you probably don't want to use.
It is dilution B that most of the published development times refer to.
Your 16 US ounce (1/8 US gallon) bottle will make 4 US gallons of dilution B (1 + 31) working solution if you dilute every last bit of it accurately.
That is just over 15 liters.
That means one bottle is enough to develop 30 rolls of 120, if you are only developing 1 roll of 120 in each 500 ml of dilution B working solution.
Alternatively, that means one bottle is enough to develop 15 sheets of film if you are only developing one sheet in each liter of dilution B working solution.
There are techniques that permit you to get more rolls out of each bottle, but I'd suggest you work with these volumes and this dilution at first.
Two questions - how are you processing your sheet film and is it 4 x 5?
Unless your developing process limits you to single sheets in each litre (tray developing), you should understand that a liter of dilution B working solution has enough chemical capacity to develop a lot more than a single 4 x 5 sheet - in fact, with careful technique, the right equipment and enough practice, you could develop as many as twenty 4 x 5 sheets in the same litre before it would be exhausted.
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