HC-110 dilution recommendation?

TheTrailTog · Aug 24, 2007

So I'm finally about to try my hand at processing film. I have few rolls of Plus-X, Tri-X, Delta 100, and TMax 100 to play with. My question is I know there are various dilutions of HC-110 that people use, are there some dilutions that work better with certain films? Will one give better contrast over another? Any recommendations on a good dilution to start with? More than anything, I am looking for stronger contrast even if it means a little extra grain. Thanks in advance for any help/recommendations/guidance

Aaron

Lee L · Aug 24, 2007

Aaron,

There is a lot of discussion of HC-110 on APUG. You can use the forum search tool to find appropriate posts. There is also an unofficial HC-110 web page at http://www.covingtoninnovations.com/hc110/ that you might find useful.

Lee

r-brian · Aug 24, 2007

I've used Dil B for all the films you listed. All seem to work just fine. Lately I've gone to Dil H (double Dil B) to increase my development times. If I'm a little less consistent with my times, it makes less of a difference with longer times. Also, the more dilute solutions help me tame the extreme contrast and extreme highlights you get here in New Mexico.

TheTrailTog · Aug 24, 2007

Thanks for the input guys I've been reading a ton on the different dilutions. I think part of the problem is having read so much without any actual experience, my head is kind of spinning. I was planning on trying Dil. B. Just wasn't sure if there was any general consensus to one over the other for the given films.

Happy Shooting,
Aaron

John Bragg · Aug 24, 2007

Hi, Aaron.

My vote is for dilution H. The main reason is more control, since the time is doubled over normal time for dilution B. Also, depending on the agitation given there is better control over contrast in the highlights and it is twice as economical. Try it, I think you will like it !!!

Regards, John.

TheTrailTog · Aug 24, 2007

Thanks John Economical and control are always good. Now you said "depending on the agitation", what do you recommend for an agitation schedule keeping in mind I want more contrast? Thanks again for the help

Aaron

John Bragg · Aug 24, 2007

I am usually trying to tame contrast to make the negative fit the paper, so I ony agitate minimally. 30 secs initial and then only 2 inversions each minute. If you are looking for more contrast then 5 inversions every 30 secs should do it.

Regards John.

GeorgesGiralt · Aug 24, 2007

Aaron,
If you do not go for the pre dilution of the concentrate to make the stock solution, bear in mind that HC-110 is a really thick syrup.
According to a lot of organist chemist I know, the only accurate way to measure such a syrup is by weight. Compute the amount of concentrate you need for each volume of processing solution, and using 1.215 as the density, calculate how much syrup you need and weight it.
Doing this since a long time now, I can see that the quality of my negs have improved.

eddie gunks · Aug 24, 2007

i use dil. h and dil. g. i use higher dilutions to get qa bit more speed and less grain. i have had great results. i usually agitate every 2nd min for dil h and every 3rd min for dil g. for more contrast agitate more.

eddie

John Bragg · Aug 24, 2007

GeorgesGiralt said:
Aaron,
If you do not go for the pre dilution of the concentrate to make the stock solution, bear in mind that HC-110 is a really thick syrup.
According to a lot of organist chemist I know, the only accurate way to measure such a syrup is by weight. Compute the amount of concentrate you need for each volume of processing solution, and using 1.215 as the density, calculate how much syrup you need and weight it.
Doing this since a long time now, I can see that the quality of my negs have improved.

Or you can simply use a syringe.

Removed Account · Aug 24, 2007

I'll second the suggestion for Dilution H. I did some printing last night with negs developed in Ilfotec HC, which seems to be basically identical to HC110, and I am quite pleased with the results. Not sure what format you are using, but my Tri-X 320 looks very nice with it, and the long dev. times are nice to work with.

- Justin

lionelpina · Aug 24, 2007

Here's a dilution recommendation for you:

http://www.mironchuk.com/hc-110.html

TheTrailTog · Aug 24, 2007

Thanks again everyone for all the help For reference, this is 35mm. I had planned on using a syringe to measure the concentrate. I'll give the dil H a shot and see how it goes. Wish the new guy luck

Happy Shooting,
Aaron

Rolleijoe · Aug 27, 2007

When I use HC-110 I always mix 1:50 straight from the syrup. A time of 6.5 min as a starting point generally gets me what I want. I've also noticed that with this dilution, Plus-X & Tri-X look very much the same, with Plus-X having of course finer grain.

Tri-X also looks great in Rodinal 1:50 or 1: 100.

TheTrailTog · Aug 27, 2007

Thanks Rolleijoe I actually just got done mixing up my chemicals about an hour ago. Mixed up dilution H for this round. Just waiting for my apartment to cool down right now. Room temp is about 85 Supposed to be nice and cool this evening so I'll be playing tonight. Any last words of wisdom for someone about to process their first rolls???

greybeard · Aug 27, 2007

Any last words of wisdom for someone about to process their first rolls???

Yes: if you find afterwards that you made a mistake, the price of the film and chemicals was...tuition!

George Collier · Aug 27, 2007

For syrup measurements - measure out the water you want. Take some of it and put it into a small grad cylinder, to an even cc mark (like, if you want 15cc pf syrup, make water to 30cc, in a 50cc cylinder). Then add the 15cc syrup to it, bringing it up to 45cc, so most of what is in there is water. Makes a clean meniscus, and helps to get all the syrup out. Fill and dump the cylinder a couple more times to get it all.

TheTrailTog · Aug 27, 2007

greybeard said:
...if you find afterwards that you made a mistake, the price of the film and chemicals was...tuition!

ROTFL...That's great! I think I'm going to have to add that to my sig I almost just freaked out a few minutes ago. Was loading my reels, first one went fine but, the second one got screwed up at loading somehow (I have a Paterson Super System 4 for reference). I started to panic but, took a second, sat back and tried again. Second attempt went smooth as silk. Probably not a good idea to drink so much coffee this afternoon Room temp down to 80. Come on night time!

eddie gunks · Aug 27, 2007

i get my water to 68 degrees and then mix and go. this way i do not have to wait. the problem i have in in the summer i can not get my water below 82 without ice! damn municipal water:)

eddie

TheTrailTog · Aug 28, 2007

WOOHOO! Success! YEp, I'm offically a convert!!!! Good lord that was easy. I don't know why I was so worried about the whole process. I had it built up in my mind as some crazy process. The hardest part of the whole thing is loading the reels and cleaning up the bathroom now...LOL I ended up processing the 2 rolls of Plus-X, in dilution H, at 72 degrees for 5 1/2 minutes. Came out great other than a stray fingerprint or 2. DOH! Now I need to get myself a scanner and also some real darkroom space! Thanks for the help everyone. I'm sure I'll be back with more questions

Aaron

HC-110 dilution recommendation?

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