J.W.Shaw - Hydroquinone p-Aminophenol Developer

[Ian Grant]

Ian Grant submitted a new resource:

(there was a url link here which no longer exists) - J.W.Shaw - Hydroquinone p-Aminophenol Developer

Warm Toned Print developer. (Using Rodinal)

Solution A

Hydroquinone 16.7 g
Sodium Sulphite 91 g
Citric Acid 6.25 g
Potassium Bromide 3.12 g
Water to 1 litre

Solution B

Sodium Hydroxide 16.7 g
Water to 1 litre

Solution C Potassium Bromide Solution 10% (!00 g/litre)


To Use:
24 ml Soln A
24 ml Soln B
1 ml Rodinal (Agfa)
12 ml Soln C
100 ml Water

Originally formulated for lantern slides this developer works well with warm...

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

 

[hasselbladuser]

Hi,

What's in the rodinal that makes it necessary to add to this developer mixture?

Jeroen

 

[Ian Grant]

Rodinal is a concentrated developer containing p-Aminophenol. It's normally used diluted between 1+25 to 1+100. So in this case it's used in combination with Hydroquinone.

Using 2 developing agents together give additivity, usually it's Metol or Phenidone & Hyroquinone/Glycin/Pyrocatechin, but p-Aminophenol can be used instead and in this developer gives very fine grain which in a print causes greater warmth.

Ian

 

[hasselbladuser]

Oke, that's interesting, thanks for clarifying!

Jeroen

 

[gainer]

I suppose one could use p-aminophenol directly, but the amount required to match the recipe would be so small as to be difficult to measure consistently. The amount of p-aminophenol in a liter of Rodinal stock is at most 100 grams, or at most 0.1 grams/ml. It's easier to measure a ml of liquid than 0.1 g of powder.

 

[Ian Grant]

Interestingly when this developer was formulated Rodinal & the Ilford equivalent Certinal were one of the recommended as Bromide paper developers, at 1+30 so it may have been very popular. After all most companies made a p-Aminophenoll equivalent, Kodak - Kodinol, May & Baker, Johnson's etc, just the same as D76 was made by every company 30 years later.

Ian

 

[Christiaan Phleger]

Hmm. Why does the formula call for citric acid? Do you think I could subsitute Ascorbic Acid for the Hydroquinone, making a p-Aminophenol/Vit C warm tone paper developer?

 

[Photo Engineer]

That high level of sulfite and high level of bromide might do some nasty things to modern chloride papers. IDK for sure, but I would suggest a test first. It would certainly be good with Bromide or Br/I materials.

PE

 

[Ian Grant]

Hmm. Why does the formula call for citric acid? Do you think I could subsitute Ascorbic Acid for the Hydroquinone, making a p-Aminophenol/Vit C warm tone paper developer?

Citric Acid is used in quite a few warm tone developers, so must serve a purpose so adding Ascorbic instead would probably have the wrong & possibly an opposite effect.

My Bible (L.P. Clerc) is still in the UK as it's rather heavy but I think he'd explain why it's used.

That high level of sulfite and high level of bromide might do some nasty things to modern chloride papers. IDK for sure, but I would suggest a test first. It would certainly be good with Bromide or Br/I materials.
PE

Once diluted the levels of Sulphite &b Bromide are more typical of other developers.

Ian

 

[Photo Engineer]

Ian;

Sorry, it may seem that way. Look at the bromide though. That is over 1.2 g/ 100 ml of the mix. (12 ml of 10% = 1.2 grams in 100 ml + bromide in part A = 12+ grams in 1 L. of working solution).

For Sulfite it works out to about 22 grams of Sulfite / L coming from part A + the Rodinol contribution of about 5+ g/L at an estimate.

These just seem high to me for a paper developer. looks fine for a film developer though.

PE

 

[Ian Grant]

Not too high for Warm tone papers though especually with that level of Hydroxide, after all Lith devs used for lith printing can contain even more Bromide

Ian

 

[Photo Engineer]

Not too high for Warm tone papers though especually with that level of Hydroxide, after all Lith devs used for lith printing can contain even more Bromide

Ian

I don't disagree. My original post referred to the use of modern chloride papers or high chloride papers which may not react well with this developer.

PE

 

[srs5694]

That high level of sulfite and high level of bromide might do some nasty things to modern chloride papers. IDK for sure, but I would suggest a test first. It would certainly be good with Bromide or Br/I materials.

FWIW, I gave this formula a try today with three papers. My initial reason for trying it was that I've got some Kodak Polycontrast III RC paper purchased from Photo Warehouse a year or two ago that's in pretty bad shape. I was hoping that a different developer from my usual (Suzuki's DS-14) might help. It didn't, but the developer didn't work any worse than DS-14. I also used it with some fresh Ilford MG-IV and some old but useable Kodak Elite Fine Art S2, and it was fine with both of them.

I honestly don't know which, if any, of these are "modern chloride papers." The developer developed images on all the papers with no obvious problems, aside from those already noted with the Polycontrast III, and I've seen that with every developer I've tried it with. I believe this developer produced warmer tones with the Ilford, and maybe the Kodak Elite, than I see with DS-14, but the prints aren't yet completely dry and I've not yet done a side-by-side comparison.

 

[Photo Engineer]

Very good to know.

I was just putting up a precautionary note. Better to be safe than sorry.

Thanks.

PE