Higher contrast paper developer

[Dave Krueger]

From all this discussion about changing the contrast of graded papers, I gather that some people really prefer working with graded papers rather than VC papers which seem to be so much more convenient to use. Or am I just missing something?

 

[Ole]

Does he ??? What's his handle ?

Wolfgang Moersch...


Yes, some of us prefer graded papers, or prefer "special" papers that are not available as VC.

I recently came across a lot of Ilfobrom Gallerie G1, and in the first test it turned into my favorite "standard" paper. I have never seen a VC paper with anything even remotely like that tonality. But all I have is G1, and sometimes I need G2 or G3, or even G0 (maybe even G-1?). So being able to adjust the contrast over even a small range is sometimes far preferable to using VC paper.

 

[nworth]

Very similar to Beer's 5; make that 5.5 grams each
...
That Gevaert formula nworth mentioned this thread
is very interesting. Know anything about it? I've not
found any mention of it. Dan

I've been reluctant to post a reply because I can't find where I got that formula. It doesn't have a reference citation with it. I checked some of the usual printed suspects and didn't find it. That means it probably came off some web site. I remember seeing a bunch of Gevaert stuff on the web a couple of years ago. I collect these odd recipies like some people collect cooking recipies. I can't guarantee them all, but they are interesting.

 

[fhovie]

One thing that I would add to all this is to raise the temperature of the developer - I believe I get one paper grade from 70F to 85F. Another thing is Potasium Dichromate or Benzotriazole. Adding these will restrain the development of highlights allowing for greater contrast.

Oh yea ... Being a cheapskate, any thing that costs as much as Amidol (even the cheap Chinese stuff) needs to be good for more than one shot. I have nursed Amidol for weeks. It has a lot of capacity and if stored in a full amber glass bottle, I can get several printing sessions out of it. I will admit that the Amidol-only charactaristics fall off pretty fast. It starts to act like Dectol after the second session.

 

[Photo Engineer]

Potassium Dichromate will oxidize the developing agent if added to a developer. This will render both of them inactive. I doubt if it would work in the developer to increase contrast unless the developer was used instantly and even then I have no idea how it would work.

PE

 

[Gerald Koch]

Another thing is Potasium Dichromate or Benzotriazole. Adding these will restrain the development of highlights allowing for greater contrast.

I believe what you meant was potassium thiocyanate. This was added to paper developers before the advent of benzotriazole. It produced similar results when added in small amounts.

 

[dancqu]

...some people really prefer working with graded
papers rather than VC papers which seem ...
Or am I just missing something?

I've come to believe you and all other darkroom
workers are missing something. I seem to be the only
one who appreciates the high level of darkroom lighting
made possible by the use of the blue only sensitive
graded papers.

I've 5x7 VC paper used for tests and proofing.
So much easier going when the amber/reds are off
and the yellow-yellow/orange are turned on. Dan