H&W Control developer in glycol

[Alan Johnson]

Low contrast developers for microfilms are discussed in The Film Developing Cookbook 2020 p129-138 and in FDC 1998 p95-102. Amongst commercial developers are Adotech IV, Rollei RLC and Photoformulary TD-3. Dilute "ordinary" developers may work if the film EI is reduced sufficiently from box speed.
H&W Control developer was the basis of this experiment:

Photographic formulas from The Frugal Photographer

A solution was made up with the phenidone and hydroquinone in propylene glycol instead of dissolving them in carbonate solution as per the link.

MODERATOR'S NOTE - See Post #9 for a CCORRECTION to the following recipe:

H&W Glycol:
Part A
Propylene Glycol ......................170ml
Phenidone.....................................3.3g
Hydroquinone..............................0.5g
Propylene Glycol to...................200ml

Part B
Water...............................................170ml
Sodium Sulfite anh....................27.3g
Sodium Carbonate anh...............14g
Potassium Bromide (optional)..0.8g
Water to..........................................200ml

All dissolves with stirring at 40-50C
To make the working solution dilute 1 part A + 1 part B + 14 parts water.
Develop microfilm types12 min 20C with minimal agitation, 10 inversions at start and 2 inversions every 3 minutes.

I tried this on a dull day with Adox CMS20 II at EI=20



In this first test the H&W Glycol showed no evidence of the posterization which sometimes occurred with the original H&W Control in water.
As a one shot developer with a relatively short development time it is quite convenient to use.

 

[Alan Johnson]

I compared H&W Glycol with my other low contrast developer CD4-LC, using the developing times specified.

CD4-LC low contrast developer for scanning

I have found that use of high concentrations of CD-4 reduces the contrast of microfilms [pic] and the contrast is further reduced by minimal agitation every 3 min. In combination with reduction of contrast in scanner software this enables some microfilms to be shot at box speed. The CD-4...

www.photrio.com

Neither performed very well with the contrasty sun/shade subjects used and could probably have benefited from a reduction in development time. The separation in the highlights was poor and was a problem to rectify in scanning and probably difficult to print on silver gelatin. There was not much to choose between the two developers in this first test.
Former supplier of H&W Control type developer David Foy mentioned in this link that it was intended for use with Agfa Copex Rapid:

https://www.photo.net/forums/topic/33297-hw-control-developer-recipe/

I believe Copex Rapid is a less contrasty microfilm type than the Spur Ultra R 800 ( similar to Adox CMS 20 II) used here. The more contrasty Spur Ultra R 800 and Adox CMS20 II would thus necessitate more contrast reduction in scanning or printing on silver gelatin than H&W Control was designed for.

In CD4-LC:


In H&W Glycol:

 

[lamerko]

I think there's something wrong with this formula. Too much hydroquinone and phenidone.

 

[John Wiegerink]

That does seem like a bundle of phenidone in a developer. I'm going to dig out one of my reference books out and see what's in that.

 

[John Wiegerink]

This is what I found for the original non-glycol version:

The text below is taken from this source: https://frugalphotographer.com/info-formulary-general.htm

---

H&W Control
This developer, invented by Harold Holden and Arnold Weichert in the late 1960's, was patented in 1973. The patent has expired, and the formula is now in the public domain.
H&W Control was sold in retail stores for several years, but did not receive widespread distribution. Before being commercialized, it was used extensively by the US military for developing surveillance films, the kinds used by top-secret high-altitude aircraft of the day such as the U2.
Today's Bluefire HR developer is an updated version of H&W Control, reformulated for multi-year shelf life.
When mixed fresh, the H&W Control formula disclosed here will give you the same sensitometric results as the commercially packaged Bluefire HR. However its shelf life will be six months or less, depending on storage conditions.

Solution A:
Water	50 ml
Sodium sulfite	1 g
Hydroquinone	0.16 g
Sodium carbonate	4.6 g
Phenidone	1.1 g
Solution B
Water	50 ml
Sodium sulfite	8 g

Add Solution A to Solution B, then add water to make 132 ml of concentrate. Phenidone dissolves with difficulty. Use water heated to 55° (130°F). Mix the chemicals in the order shown, and be sure each is completely dissolved before adding the next. This is a concentrate. To use, add water to make to 2.1 litres of working solution per 132 ml of concentrate (approximate dilution of 1:16). Process at normal development temperatures with intermittent agitation for 14 to 18 minutes. Use working solution once and then discard.

Use with Bluefire Police, microfilms, and Kodak Technical Pan. Gives unacceptably flat images on ordinary films.
Shelf life of the concentrate is approximately six months in a full, tightly capped glass or PET bottle, less than one week in a partly full bottle. Refrigeration considerably prolongs shelf life. Normal color is pale yellow. Concentrate that has begun turning pink or red is oxidizing and should be discarded.

 

[Alan Johnson]

https://patentimages.storage.googleapis.com/9f/44/e5/dd19817395a784/US3772019.pdf

It's example A on column 10 of this patent which is the same as the link in post 1. I made 200+200 ml instead of 132ml .
I added some Potassium Bromide (optional).

 

[lamerko]

There are three formulas in the patent - A, B and C. We will skip the third formula because it contains formaldehyde. Formula A is for a working solution of 2.1 liters, formula B is for 2 gallons or 7.57 liters. The composition for one liter according to the formula A is as follows:
Hydroquinone - 0.076 g
Sodium carbonate - 2.19 g
Phenidone - 0.524 g
Sodium sulfite - 4.29 g
If we have two concentrates of 200 ml and a dilution of 1:1:14, then the formula is for 3000-3200 ml. This will give a solution with double strength...

 

[mshchem]

I remember shooting this stuff in high-school. Made an amazing portrait with the film/developer.

 

[Alan Johnson]

CORRECTION
Thanks to @lamerko for pointing out that the dilution 1+1+14 given in post 1 is wrong and gives a double strength working solution.
Here is the formula with the dilution corrected:

H&W Glycol:
Part A
Propylene Glycol ......................170ml
Phenidone.....................................3.3g
Hydroquinone..............................0.5g
Propylene Glycol to...................200ml

Part B
Water...............................................170ml
Sodium Sulfite anh....................27.3g
Sodium Carbonate anh...............14g
Potassium Bromide (optional)..0.8g
Water to..........................................200ml

All dissolves with stirring at 40-50C
To make the working solution dilute 1 part A +1 part B +30 parts water.
See later post for development times with agitation every 3 min.

 

[Alan Johnson]

Another attempt at a phenidone based microfilm developer bites the dust.

With Adox CMS20 II exposed at EI =20 on a dull day and processed in H&W Glycol 1+1+30 for 16m 20C agitating every 3 min the negatives appeared of low contrast and quite satisfactory.
Unfortunately when the highlights (skies) were processed to bring out gradation the old problem of posterisation with phenidone reappeared:



This posterization or streaking is discussed in The Film Developing Cookbook 2020 p132-135.
For now the metol based CD4-LC ,which does not show this problem, appears more satisfactory.

 

[John Wiegerink]

Another attempt at a phenidone based microfilm developer bites the dust.

With Adox CMS20 II exposed at EI =20 on a dull day and processed in H&W Glycol 1+1+30 for 16m 20C agitating every 3 min the negatives appeared of low contrast and quite satisfactory.
Unfortunately when the highlights (skies) were processed to bring out gradation the old problem of posterisation with phenidone reappeared:



This posterization or streaking is discussed in The Film Developing Cookbook 2020 p132-135.
For now the metol based CD4-LC ,which does not show this problem, appears more satisfactory.

Wow, that is really a good example of it. Otherwise the tones don't look too bad.

 

[relistan]

Another attempt at a phenidone based microfilm developer bites the dust.

With Adox CMS20 II exposed at EI =20 on a dull day and processed in H&W Glycol 1+1+30 for 16m 20C agitating every 3 min the negatives appeared of low contrast and quite satisfactory.
Unfortunately when the highlights (skies) were processed to bring out gradation the old problem of posterisation with phenidone reappeared:



This posterization or streaking is discussed in The Film Developing Cookbook 2020 p132-135.
For now the metol based CD4-LC ,which does not show this problem, appears more satisfactory.

I've seen it before, but that's even more stark! Nice call out, thanks for posting

 

[MattKing]

CORRECTION
Thanks to @lamerko for pointing out that the dilution 1+1+14 given in post 1 is wrong and gives a double strength working solution.
Here is the formula with the dilution corrected:

I'll add a note to your first post directing people to refer to this Correction.

 

[Alan Johnson]

Thanks Matt. New art form after Vincent Van Gogh.

 

[MattKing]

FWIW, you could have also Reported your first post and asked us to edit it with the correction there.