DIY developer & fixer for paper. Need formula recommendations

[indian]

I've access to most raw chemicals for really cheap and I'd like to make a developer & rapid fixer for myself. Mostly because photographic ready made chemicals are not available where I'm at due to lack of demand.

 

[Anon Ymous]

Is ammonium thiosulfate available to you? Answers for rapid fixer will depend on this.

 

[Raghu Kuvempunagar]

You might want to check the resources section. There are many formula that you can consider.

Also see this.

 

[koraks]

Look up ID78 and D72. Formulas widely available, both keep well as stock and working strength (in full, capped glass bottles), good dmax on all papers I tried, easy to mix. They're all I use for paper.

 

[removed account4]

if you can get "glycin" make "ansco 130"
its keeping properties are very good ( it lasts over a year in a closed bottle of "stock solution"
you can use it for prints + films. and it likes being used around 70-72ºF

 

[Alan9940]

Already mentioned, but I'll put another plug in for D-72 (neutral tone), ID-78 (warm tone), and Ansco 130. I would suggest staying away from rapid fixers; ammonium thiosulfate is not cheap and can be hard to source. With normal 'ole sodium thiosulfate (penta), you can make one of the best (IMO) fixers for film or paper in F-24, or an alkaline fixer, if you prefer that for staining film developers. Not that you need it for most modern films, but if you want a hardening fixer Kodak F-5 is a good standby and easy to mix.

 

[indian]

Thank you for your replies. I'm able to get Ammonium Thiosulfate (1kg for roughly 10 USD). At the moment I'm looking to make a paper developer as I have lots of paper and time to make pinhole camera photos and then make contact print positives from paper negatives.

 

[Raghu Kuvempunagar]

ID-62 is an excellent developer for paper negatives and also as first developer in reversal processing of paper.

 

[koraks]

I'm able to get Ammonium Thiosulfate (1kg for roughly 10 USD).

That's going to make you maybe a few liters of fixer concentrate at roughly the same cost as just buying the fixer ready-made.
Technically there's nothing wrong with giving DIY fixers a try of course, and ammonium thiosulfate actually keeps much better than some people apparently want you to believe (I suspect they don't have first hand experience with it), but economically it doesn't make any sense. Fixer is cheap.

 

[indian]

That's going to make you maybe a few liters of fixer concentrate at roughly the same cost as just buying the fixer ready-made.
Technically there's nothing wrong with giving DIY fixers a try of course, and ammonium thiosulfate actually keeps much better than some people apparently want you to believe (I suspect they don't have first hand experience with it), but economically it doesn't make any sense. Fixer is cheap.

I would absolutely love to buy ready-made developer & fixer but in India film photography is dead. Ready made chemicals are only available imported which adds to the cost quite a lot. The only developer fixer I can readily get is that for x-ray (since that is still available).

 

[Mick Fagan]

I have used ID 78 for years, mixed from a small array of chemicals, it is relatively cheap and is very easy to mix and use. I usually mix the chemistry prior to printing and mix the appropriate amount of chemistry to see the printing session out.

http://www.lostlabours.co.uk/photography/formulae/developers/devID78.htm

My preference is for higher contrast at 1:1 but if your original is contrasty, you can change the dilution to change the contrast. The contrast change is not dramatic, but there is a difference.

Mick.

 

[indian]

Thank you for all your replies. I've tried to go for chemicals that were available easily - D72 & TF-3 formulas seem to fit the bill.

I'm following this.
D72
Water (125 deg. F) 500 ml.
Metol (or "Elon") 3 gm.
Sodium sulfite, anhydrous 45 gm.
Hydroquinone 12 gm.
Sodium carbonate, monohydrated
Potassium bromide, anhydrous 2 gm.
Cold water to make 1 liter

TF-3
Ammonium Thiosulfate (58-60%) 800 ml
Sodium Sulfite (anhydrous) 60 g
Sodium Metaborate 5 g
Distilled water to make 1L

The cost to procure all the chemicals is roughly around 3000 INR ($40 USD). All the chemicals are in 500gm powder packs except Hydroquinone & Metol which are in 100gm packs. Sodium sulfite AR seems to be common between the two so I will get twice the amount. Both developer and fixer should last for a while I think atleast 20L of each?

 

[Anon Ymous]

@indian Sodium sulfite AR, as in reagent grade? It's quite an overkill. I use technical grade sodium sulfite for all my chemicals and never had any problems. Nothing wrong with AR grade per se, but it can get very expensive.

 

[indian]

@indian Sodium sulfite AR, as in reagent grade? It's quite an overkill. I use technical grade sodium sulfite for all my chemicals and never had any problems. Nothing wrong with AR grade per se, but it can get very expensive.

I've option to buy Sodium Sulphite in three varieties (Anhydrous, For Molecular Biology & Normal) the price difference between the three is around 50 cents. AR falls in the middle.

 

[Anon Ymous]

I've option to buy Sodium Sulphite in three varieties (Anhydrous, For Molecular Biology & Normal) the price difference between the three is around 50 cents. AR falls in the middle.

Oh, I see. AR stuff around here is usually far more expensive...

 

[koraks]

I've option to buy Sodium Sulphite in three varieties (

Don't forget to include food grade suppliers in your search. It's usually the cheapest solution.

 

[Nicholas Lindan]

The swimming pool department at Walmart has S. Thiosulfate, S. Sulfite and S. Carbonate at probably the lowest prices. I don't know how that translates to India.

I'll be damned, in India it seems reagent grade S. Sulfite anhyd. is $4/lb (INR 334 / 500 gm). In the US you can buy 2.5 kg of J.T. Baker guaranteed assay AR/ACS S. Sulfite for $600. Amazon sells claimed AR grade of no particular provenance for ~$15-30 / lb.

 

[indian]

The swimming pool department at Walmart has S. Thiosulfate, S. Sulfite and S. Carbonate at probably the lowest prices. I don't know how that translates to India.

I'll be damned, in India it seems reagent grade S. Sulfite anhyd. is $4/lb (INR 334 / 500 gm). In the US you can buy 2.5 kg of J.T. Baker guaranteed assay AR/ACS S. Sulfite for $600. Amazon sells claimed AR grade of no particular provenance for ~$15-30 / lb.

Roughly around $3 for 500gms
https://www.ibuychemikals.com/product/Sodium-sulphite-ar-(anhydrous)
It probably would be much more cheaper if I had a larger quantity demand such as 25kgs & looked offline shops but don't want to go hunting around in the pandemic.

There are no Walmarts or swimming pools here

 

[indian]

D-72 is perfect. For the fixer, if you can get sodium bisulfite/metabisulfite I suggest Ryuji Suzuki’s neutral rapid fixer in place of TF-3 which is alkaline and will be more smelly than a neutral fixer. Working solution:

Ammonium Thiosulfate 60% 200ml
Sodium Sulfite 15g
Sodium Metabisulfite 5g
Water to make 1 liter

Yes I could certainly do with less odor. Would I need a citric acid stop or would plain water do?

 

[indian]

Yes I could certainly do with less odor. Would I need a citric acid stop or would plain water do?

Also how much Ammonium Thiosulfate should I dissolve in water for 800ml?