How Good Ansco 130

[haryanto]

I try to search in apug and elsewhere include books AA, and Darkroom Cookbook, I know ansco 130 has long lifespan, and has good black

compared to dektol or bromophen from ilford or any others paper developer, what the advantage of ansco 130?

any one could help me

I intend to use it maybe coupled it with ansco 120 or selectol soft

Many thanks

 

[payral]

TRY IT !
That's the best way to know.

 

[reellis67]

I've switched to it as my main neutral tone developer, but keep Ilford Cooltone on hand as well. Well used 130 can be mixed half and half with fresh to make a warm tone developer, but as Philippe already said, the best way to understand what it is capable of is to use it and see.

- Randy

 

[haryanto]

many thanks Philippe and randy,

what the advantage this developer?

 

[TheFlyingCamera]

There are several advantages to Ansco 130. It produces some of the very best deep black tones, has a very pleasing neutral-to-warm color balance on prints, and it has a very long life even when mixed to working strength. I have had a batch of it sitting out in open trays for a week, come back and still been able to print from it.

 

[brian steinberger]

I've use 130 and LPD as my main developers. As has been stated already, 130 can acheive excellent blacks. But I'm more impressed by the "glowing" highlights that I can acheive on some papers, especially Forte Polygrade V FB. I've never tried polywarmtone, but I'm sure the results would be similar. I read somewhere before that it's the glycin in the 130 developer that is responsible for the "glowy" highlights. Try some and see for yourself!

 

[haryanto]

thanks Brian and Flyingcamera sorry i don't know your name,

I use dektol and selectol soft for my print, I've found that selectol soft has very short life in tray, after 3 papers it took long long time to developed

few days ago I mix Ansco 120, very good life in tray, after printing whole day I didn't change my development time, and in my eyes i see good separations in middle value of my prints (has lovely grey)

I've used Ilford MGIV FB, that's the only brand still sell in my country, good for me I have to stick in just one papers, but still looking for the best combo paper developer with Ansco 120

Sandy said in this forum, somewhere , that's ansco 130 has almost identical result with Amidol MAS with AZO, I've seen MAS prints , and it's really really beautiful

maybe I should give a try for Ansco 130

many thanks for your time to answer

 

[TheFlyingCamera]

haryanto -

You're welcome. My real name is Scott. Glad I could help. Yes, many people have said that Ansco 130 is a very close alternative to Amidol - it is a very good overall paper developer, and it is much less toxic than Amidol. Another thing I like about it is that it does not produce greenish tones on my paper like Dektol does. You can vary the dilutions with 130 to get different contrast and different tonality. One tip though - instead of the usual 2 minutes development time, try three minutes as a starting point. This helps get richer blacks and more detailed highlights.

thanks Flyingcamera sorry i don't know your name,

I use dektol and selectol soft for my print, I've found that selectol soft has very short life in tray, after 3 papers it took long long time to developed

few days ago I mix Ansco 120, very good life in tray, after printing whole day I didn't change my development time, and in my eyes i see good separations in middle value of my prints (has lovely grey)

I've used Ilford MGIV FB, that's the only brand still sell in my country, good for me I have to stick in just one papers, but still looking for the best combo with paper developer

Sandy said in this forum, somewhere , that's ansco 130 has almost identical result with Amidol MAS with AZO, I've seen MAS prints , and it's really really beuatiful

maybe I should give a try for Ansco 130

many thanks for your time to answer

 

[eric]

many thanks Philippe and randy,

what the advantage this developer?

I love it in my Vertical processor. That stuff stays in there for months and months and months. I never empty it. I just throw out half of it, and add 1:1 more to fill it up.

 

[haryanto]

it's very helpfull Scott, thanks

Great forums,
thanks a bunch to Sean

 

[Shawn Dougherty]

Scott (and anyone else),
Does Ansco 130 respond to a water bath? I love my Amidol but if Ansco 130 does respond to a water bath I would consider giving it a try. Thanks. Shawn

 

[TheFlyingCamera]

I have not tried this, but it is my understanding that it does. It would of course depend upon the dilution you use for the main developer bath. At 1:1 or full strength, it should be effective. If you use it more dilute than 1:1, it may not.

 

[reellis67]

I'm in the same boat as FC as far as water bathing prints goes. I've found numerous references where people say it can be done, but no one has worded it like they themselves have done it, so take it for what's it's worth.

- Randy

 

[haryanto]

maybe I repeated what Randy said

but maybe this could help,
Sanking has test in a thread, here I quote: "I later tested 130 with water bath development, with the following scenario: a) 2.0 minutes in developer, 1.0 minutes in water bath, b) 1.5 minutes in developer, 1.5 minutes in water bath, and c) 1.0 minutes in developer, 2.0 minutes in water bath. The water bath resulted in a change of speed but no change at all in exposure scale, which was 1.45 for all three situations described above."

the link: (there was a url link here which no longer exists)

 

[MattKing]

I am not really in a position to make my own developers from scratch. I don't really have an adequate location for the work, nor do I have a good location for storing dry chemistry.

Accordingly, if I were to experiment, I would be looking for pre-prepared liquid versions.

My questions to the group are:

Is Ansco 130 the same as the FORMULARY 130 PAPER DEVELOPER?

How does the FORMULARY BW-65 LIQUID PAPER DEVELOPER compare with both?

And finally, given that I use RC paper, would I be likely to notice much difference between any of these developers and the Polymax developer I currently use?

Thanks for sharing your experiences.

Matt

 

[Shawn Dougherty]

maybe I repeated what Randy said

but maybe this could help,
Sanking has test in a thread, here I quote: "I later tested 130 with water bath development, with the following scenario: a) 2.0 minutes in developer, 1.0 minutes in water bath, b) 1.5 minutes in developer, 1.5 minutes in water bath, and c) 1.0 minutes in developer, 2.0 minutes in water bath. The water bath resulted in a change of speed but no change at all in exposure scale, which was 1.45 for all three situations described above."

the link: (there was a url link here which no longer exists)

Thanks for the link. That is an excellent thread. I'm disapointed however. Equal results but no contrast reducing waterbath effect with the 130... Water bath is really a critical part of my printing with Kentmere Bromide. Oh well. Thanks again. Shawn

 

[Dhar]

Is Ansco 130 the same as the FORMULARY 130 PAPER DEVELOPER?

I've got a box of Formulary 130 waiting to be mixed at home right now, and was wondering the same thing. I checked both recipes, and they are the same.

IIRC, this is also the same formula as that for GAF 130, as given in Carson Graves' "The Elements of Black and White Printing".

Yay! I'm a newbie but I can help someone!

-g.

 

[Colin Graham]

Is there an advantage to water bath over a two bath with ansco 130 & 120? Other than only needing water for the second bath, that is.

 

[Alex Hawley]

... Water bath is really a critical part of my printing with Kentmere Bromide. Oh well. Thanks again. Shawn

I'm waiting for this weekend to try PF 130 for the first time, and Kentmere Bromide will be one of the papers I try it with. Shawn, After reading several of these threads, I'm of the opinion one may need to keep two trays of 130: one for 1:1 and one for 1:2 or some other dilution for reducing contrast. That of course depends on what results I get with a water bath.

To answer other questions about 130, the Formulary version, PF 130, is supposed to be the standard Ansco formula. The dry chemicals in the kit come pre-measured. All that remains is mixing them with water in the the specified sequence. I also bought some one liter amber glass bottles to store the stock solution in.

 

[removed account4]

i have been using ansco 130 for a number of years now as my primary developer. when i make paper negatives i use a water bath and
very dark/oxidized developer, it works very well in reducing contrast.
i have used it straight ( no water bath ) as well, and is way more contrasty ... maybe it is because the developer i am using is spent, not new?

good stuff!
john

 

[dancqu]

... ansco 130 ... ansco 120 ...

An interesting pair. A. Adams split 130 into two
solutions for contrast control. Dr. Beers took 120
and added a second solution for contrast control.
The B portion of both developers contains the
hydroquinone which ups the contrast in
proportion to the amount added. Dan

 

[haryanto]

Here s the summary from books and many threads here in Apug about Ansco130
The recipe:

Hot Water (125F/52C) 750 ml
Metol 2.2 grams
Sodium Sulfite (anhydrous) 50 grams
Hydroquinone 11 grams
Sodium Carbonate 78 grams
Potassium Bromide 10%solutions 55 ml
Glycin 11 grams
Water to make 1 liter

AA version is make separated hydroquinone solutions, omit the Bromide and hydroquinone, and reduce sulfite to 35gr /L, then add bromide only as needed to prevent fog
AA said that’s: use in full strength for maximum contrast. The result is a brilliant, cool-toned developer.
If you found contrast was too low, add the following hydroquinone
Water 750 ml
Sodium Sulfite (desiccated) 25 grams
Hydroquinone 10 grams
Water to make 1 liter

To dissolves it:

From : http://www.jackspcs.com/index.htm
Place the warm water in the storage container and add a pinch of sodium sulfite. (A small amount of sodium sulfite will minimize the initial oxidation of the metol. If more is added at this point, the metol will not dissolve). Add the metol to the solution and stir until all of the metol is dissolved. It is important that all of the metol be dissolved before the other chemicals are added. Add the sodium sulfite, stirring until the solid dissolves, Add each chemical in the order given in the table above. Be sure each chemical is completely dissolved before adding the next one to the solution. Finally, add water to the solution to bring its final volume up to size.
Glycin should be in the neighborhood of white when it's fresh. It gets brown as it gets older. Better way to keep it, is in refrigerator with good sealed


The Fact
- Scott said that: Ansco 130 give beautiful rendition black both in shadow and highlight (it has luminous highlight, and good black with detail)
- Tom Hoskinson in this forums (somewhere) said that tonality :” side-by-side print/developer test results comparing Ansco 130/Azo with Michael Smith Amidol/Azo resulted in a small but noticeable tonality advantage for Amidol/Azo.”
- Sanking said: when doing the AZO Amidol vs 130 tests yesterday I also tested both Amidol and 130 to see if dilution affects contrast. The answer is basicaly no for both developers. There was virtually no differnce in contrast between AZO when developed in both Amidol and 130 straight, diluted 1:1 and diluted 1:2.
- Photoformulary 130 for whom cannot mix their own brew, is identical with Ansco130
- Ansco 130 Has long long life span, days in tray, even months and months if u keep it in a glass bottle after used it

I’ve seen MAS print AZO/Amidol is really2 beautiful, I can’t afford Azo nor Amidol, if Ansco130 will make such beautiful prints in enlarger paper, why I don’t give a try (Maybe I will use it combine with Ansco120 (that give me nice tonality in middle grey value)

Here is the link about fact of ansco 130 compared to amidol in Azo:

http://unblinkingeye.com/Articles/Azo/azo1.html

here is the interesting discussions about Ansco130
(there was a url link here which no longer exists)
(there was a url link here which no longer exists)
http://www.jackspcs.com/index.htm


this is only summary from newbie like me, forgive me if I’m wrong, please help to correct it or added something that I missed.

thanks for you all for your contributions, is beautiful your generous that willing to share your knowledge

 

[juan]

I've used Ansco 130 for several years. Formulary 130 is the same thing. I use it by mixing 1-liter of full strength, then diluting that 1:1 with distilled water. I pour it into two 1-liter glass bottles. I use one bottle as my developer, and after a printing session, top off the first bottle with developer from the second bottle. When I've used up the second bottle in this way, I discard the developer. That's usually a couple of years.

I have tried using a water bath with Ansco 130 and Azo. I was not able to get contrast control.

However, I did find that I could get about the same contrast control by varying the amount of agitation. For instance, if I planned to develop for two minutes, I would agitate for only the first 30-seconds, then let the print lie in the developer without agitation for the balance of the time. That process gave me about the same degree of contrast control as a water bath with amidol. This was with Azo, so I don't know if other papers would react the same.
juan

 

[Michel Hardy-Vallée]

I'm waiting for this weekend to try PF 130 for the first time, and Kentmere Bromide will be one of the papers I try it with. Shawn, After reading several of these threads, I'm of the opinion one may need to keep two trays of 130: one for 1:1 and one for 1:2 or some other dilution for reducing contrast. That of course depends on what results I get with a water bath.

You'll like it. I've used PF 130 1+1 on Kentmere Bromide 8x10, and it gives an extra edge above prepackaged developers like PolymaxT. I made a side-by-side comparison between prints developped in the two mixtures, toned in selenium, and the 130 gives better contrast, more delicate highlights ("separation" I guess), solid shadows, and a cooler tone. I find it's a great neutral-cool tone developer. Like everything in photography, it's a subtle difference, but when you're the printer, you're the one who knows how far you can take your printing.

Also, I've found that it works wonder even with ordinary RC VC paper. The contrast is just better, and I think I agree with someone who said that their prints had shades of grey they didn't know existed before.

Oh, and I'm working with 35mm, so you can only imagine how nice the gradations of MF/LF will be.

 

[eclarke]

Don't laugh at me but I substitute 30cc 1% benzotriazole for the bromide (I make 2L of stock) dilute 1+1 and print on Ilford Warmtone FB. It produces a lovely steely color in the print. This mix seems to turn less brown with time..Evan Clarke