Kodak D-76 shelf life - and yes, I searched...

[Kirks518]

Not sure how/why this thread got resurrected, but...

I did buy the packets, and I'm now on my second gallon. Both the first gal and the current one are just fine. So, IMO, while there may be an expiration date, I think it's there for the same reason the word 'Repeat' is on shampoo bottles.

 

[Bill Burk]

I thought I'd add my observations on the life of D-76... since it's my main film developer and I allow it to age - sometimes over a year.

I believe what I've read that D-76 goes through its ups and downs of activity the first couple weeks of mixing, then stays stable for a long time. I have no reason to doubt this.

Many people use it fresh, or keep track of the activity and never miss their mark.

I simply mix a batch of D-76 and decant into four sealed quart brown plastic bottles, note the mixing date on the label and use it whenever I get in the mood to develop film.

I find it is a reliable developer for me, simply because I allow a generous tolerance. Even when the developer has been kept in the bottles for a very long time.

I just used some that was 11 months old and overshot my mark. I got Contrast Index 0.92 (when I aimed for 0.80 — a 15% miss, overdeveloped). So it certainly didn't "lose" activity.

Now if a 15% miss from your aim is unacceptable, you might not want to use it past the recommended time. I would prefer to have my contrast within 5% of my aim, and most of the time I am within 5%... I always check. But I think it would take more than a 15% miss to "ruin" a negative. So I sometimes take a chance and develop film in year old D-76.

I did, however, just pour out the second half of that bottle... and mixed up a fresh batch today.