HP5+ and Perceptol - Ilford Development Times

Looking at the development times on my box of Perceptol for HP5+, I noted that the time for EI 250 at stock solution is 13 mins and for EI 400 is 11mins.

I would have thought that as EI 250 is "overexposure" compared to EI 400 the dev time for 250 would be shorter?

It is this way round for Delta 3200, Delta 100, Pan F and FP4 which is what I would have expected.

Can anyone shed light on this? Could it be a typo on the box or is there something different with HP5+ compared to the Ilford films mentioned?

pentaxuser

I have used Perceptol with HP5+ at a 1:2 dilution developed at 24' C. I generally expose at 200 ISO. Thus far, I have developed at 11 and 13'. Using 11' on a bright sunny day, I found I would need Grade 3 paper or slightly higher (I was using Fortezo and Galerie). 13' seems to be good for duller days (basically, I used Barry Thorton's recommendations in one of his books).

I cannot vouch for the Ilford times - but the times / dilution / temperature above works for me. Also, diluting will be much sharper.

All told, I found Perceptol and HP5+ a very nice combination for high contrast situations. Otherwise, I use HC-110 and Rodinal (for a gritty look).

pentaxuser said:

Looking at the development times on my box of Perceptol for HP5+, I noted that the time for EI 250 at stock solution is 13 mins and for EI 400 is 11mins.

I would have thought that as EI 250 is "overexposure" compared to EI 400 the dev time for 250 would be shorter?

It is this way round for Delta 3200, Delta 100, Pan F and FP4 which is what I would have expected.

Can anyone shed light on this? Could it be a typo on the box or is there something different with HP5+ compared to the Ilford films mentioned?

pentaxuser

Click to expand...

I thought I had found something which a number of our knowledgeable B&W subscribers would have been keen to comment on but I got only one reply which covered that subscriber's Perceptol and HP5+ combination and thanks for that but nothing by way of an explanation of why HP5+ seems to be different from other Ilford films in terms of lower EI and its affect on dev times.

I am still interested in any views which will cover this. Thanks

pentaxuser

Hello

i use practically only HP 5+ rated 200 ASA and devellop in Perceptol 1+3 at 24 ° C for 16 min ,agitation the firdt 30sec continusaly and after each 2' 3x the tank
gaves superb neg ,easy to print on grade 2-3 ,law grain even from 35 mm to 30x40

gave it a try a am sure you will continue

jm

Pentaxuser -- I think it must be a typo. As you say, a higher EI is usually "compensated for" with a longer dev time. Perceptol does not give "box speed" with any film I know of and the info sheet on the Ilford website (http://www.ilfordphoto.com/Webfiles/200621612182416.pdf -- leads to a PDF file) only gives times for EI 250 and 320 for HP5+ with Perceptol.

There is a fact sheet for HP5 Plus at http://www.ilfordphoto.com/Webfiles/2006216115453172.pdf (also a PDF file). It gives the same times as the Perceptol info sheet.

Thanks all. Inside my box which has the HARMAN label, it gives dev times for box speeds for a long list of films, both Ilford and non Ilford and only for Agfa APX 400 and 100 does it not give times for full box speed. It even gives full box speed for D3200 which is a film I thought was far from ideal for Perceptol. I have written to Ilford direct about this and will share the reply when it arrives

pentaxuser