General question about B&W chemistry

[JMC1969]

Hello, been a long time for me and please, I ask not to get too upset with me for this question.

Yesterday I went through the rabbit hole on black and white developer, and it took most of the day. I think I like the idea of D 23 though a lot of people seem to really like the replenishment of it. I don’t know that I’m going to be processing that much in my “restart“ of getting back in the dark room.

I will be shooting film I have in my freezer/refrigerator consisting of three formats 1. 120 roll - HP400, Tri-x, TMax
2. 2 1/4 x 3 1/4 (mini speed graphic) Efke 25 and 50, J&W 100 and 400
3. 4x5. - HP 400, Tri-x, TMax

For printing, I have a ton of RC papers I will start off with to get back in the hang of it.

I am looking for a for the best fluidity I can get as my time will be fairly limited. I want to get in, mix up and go so have the time to find my own personal standard.

So, is it a real issue to mix different brands? Can I use a D23 and get away with using a fixer that does both film and paper like a Clayton RF19?

Interested in self life once open, once mixed as it may be a week or 2 between times I get to come out to darkroom.

As much as I read yesterday, I can’t retain if I saw the self life of stock D23.

Also, 120 and 4x5 will be developed in SS canisters with SS reels, while 2 1/4 x 3 1/4 will be in plastic. Not sure if that really makes a difference.

Any thoughts are welcome and thank you for your time, patience and willingness to help.

Jody

 

[pentaxuser]

Hello, been a long time for me and please, I ask not to get too upset with me for this question.

Yesterday I went through the rabbit hole on black and white developer, and it took most of the day. I think I like the idea of D 23 though a lot of people seem to really like the replenishment of it. I don’t know that I’m going to be processing that much in my “restart“ of getting back in the dark room.

I will be shooting film I have in my freezer/refrigerator consisting of three formats 1. 120 roll - HP400, Tri-x, TMax
2. 2 1/4 x 3 1/4 (mini speed graphic) Efke 25 and 50, J&W 100 and 400
3. 4x5. - HP 400, Tri-x, TMax

For printing, I have a ton of RC papers I will start off with to get back in the hang of it.

So, is it a real issue to mix different brands? Can I use a D23 and get away with using a fixer that does both film and paper like a Clayton RF19?


As much as I read yesterday, I can’t retain if I saw the self life of stock D23.

I see no problem with different brands

D23 in full bottles will last several months It is easy to make and cheap . Make it as 1L and it is only going to last you a few films anyway which you will be able to do in the time frame you mention

pentaxuser

 

[xkaes]

You've got a good batch of films. All you need to do is shoot at the recommended ISO or slightly below, and develop as recommended in whatever you want. Temps and times are easy to find on-line. Same for paper. Once you get comfortable with that, you can think about changes/improvement, etc.

Tell us more about your plans POST development. That's when it can get more complicated, as there are more options.

 

[JMC1969]

Thank you.

Edit, J and C (not j&w) 200 and 400

 

[xkaes]

I posted a tip for the J&C film. Sounds like normal stuff. Pretty easy to test on one sheet of film. You need to run some calculations first to get the shutter speeds correct.

 

[Andrew O'Neill]

I like using D23. It'll last up to 6 months, as long as you can keep air out of the storage container. I like it diluted 1+1, for economy, and for a little more sharpness. I use Ilford Rapid Fix for both film and paper.

 

[Paul Howell]

I mix and match different brands of developer, stop, fixer and clearing agent all the time, never had an issue. D23 is a good developer, easy to mix and economical. Once you have developed a few rolls and sheets of film you can decide if D23 will be right developer for you taste and workflow. I do recommend a fixer with hardener for Efke and J&C , the emulsions are very soft. As you live in Florida how warm is your summer tap water? I live in the Desert Southwest, my summer tap water is over 90F and I built a chiller to keep my wash water at 75 degrees. Before I made the chiller I had Efke emlusion come off the wash.

 

[JMC1969]

I mix and match different brands of developer, stop, fixer and clearing agent all the time, never had an issue. D23 is a good developer, easy to mix and economical. Once you have developed a few rolls and sheets of film you can decide if D23 will be right developer for you taste and workflow. I do recommend a fixer with hardener for Efke and J&C , the emulsions are very soft. As you live in Florida how warm is your summer tap water? I live in the Desert Southwest, my summer tap water is over 90F and I built a chiller to keep my wash water at 75 degrees. Before I made the chiller I had Efke emlusion come off the wash.

Thank you! Tap water can get around 80°, but in the past I will bring some cold water from dispenser in refrigerator and mix water to temp and then add chems. Conditioned darkroom, so it doesn’t change too much. The wash gets cooler as it flows. I have considered using my old “wort” chiller from homebrew (cooper coil) to feed the washer.

 

[JMC1969]

I like using D23. It'll last up to 6 months, as long as you can keep air out of the storage container. I like it diluted 1+1, for economy, and for a little more sharpness. I use Ilford Rapid Fix for both film and paper.

Great info. Thank you much.