Kodak Gold in D-76/T-Max developer

Ektagraphic · Mar 24, 2012

Hello-
I have some Kodak Gold that I would like to experiment by developing in D-76 or in T-Max developer. Does anyone have an ideas as to what developing times I should use? Has anyone had any success with this?

Thanks,

Patrick

Rick A · Mar 25, 2012

You'll have better success using in a higher contrast developer such as D-72/Dektol. It's been years since I've done it, you'll need to experiment for time. You will also need to print on high contrast paper or filtering for decent prints, grade 4-5 are best.

Thomas Bertilsson · Mar 25, 2012

While I can't give you a developing time, I did try this with Superia 200 once, and I got negs that could be scanned, but printed very poorly. The orange RA-4 mask that's built into the film base acts as a very low contrast filter.

newcan1 · Mar 25, 2012

I would imagine you can negate the effects of the orange mask if you use a dichroic enlarger and dial in the opposite filters?

Thomas Bertilsson · Mar 26, 2012

newcan1 said:
I would imagine you can negate the effects of the orange mask if you use a dichroic enlarger and dial in the opposite filters?

Well, adding yellow and magenta is to 'remove' blue and green, which is what the paper is sensitive to. With the mask being orange, I don't know if there is enough blue and green left to be removed to have a proper paper exposure.
I've never heard of anyone that was entirely successful of getting great black and white prints from C41 color neg film processed in b&w chemistry. Unless you had Kodak Panalure, of course, which was panchromatically sensitive to light, same as color papers, and had to be printed in total darkness.

newcan1 · Mar 26, 2012

You raise an interesting point: using panchromatic paper. The easiest way out here would be to print the negatives on color paper.

But regarding my original suggestion: I believe that when you use multicontrast b&w filters, yes, orange may be low contrast, but magenta is higher contrast. I think a typical dichroic head could almost certainly provide the filtration to bring the contrast up. I would use a color analyser, get a reading of say a grade three filtration with a true b&w neg, then put the c-41 b&w neg in and adjust the filtration for the same reading. Probably a dichroic head would have enough filtration.

Thomas Bertilsson · Mar 28, 2012

newcan1 said:
You raise an interesting point: using panchromatic paper. The easiest way out here would be to print the negatives on color paper.

But regarding my original suggestion: I believe that when you use multicontrast b&w filters, yes, orange may be low contrast, but magenta is higher contrast. I think a typical dichroic head could almost certainly provide the filtration to bring the contrast up. I would use a color analyser, get a reading of say a grade three filtration with a true b&w neg, then put the c-41 b&w neg in and adjust the filtration for the same reading. Probably a dichroic head would have enough filtration.

There's only one way to find out. I remember how our master printer at the photo lab I used to work at would smile at me and say, 'you know, if you ever need any b&w prints made from color negs, let me know'... I never took him up on his offer, but decided that he must have been using Panalure. With C-41 film in b&w film, you obviously don't have the colors to deal with, but the orange mask instead, and a silver image that is probably not of the same density as a normal b&w negative, but don't quote me on that.

David Lyga · Mar 28, 2012

RickA is correct. For some reason C-41 types 'need' powerful B&W developers if you are to attain sufficient contrast. - David Lyga

Kodak Gold in D-76/T-Max developer

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