Kodak HC110 vs Ilford HC vs Legacy Pro 110

OptiKen · Mar 27, 2016

What's the difference?
Besides viscosity, I mean.
Legacy Pro says to use their product exactly as you would use Kodak's.
Development charts I have seen may list directions for using 3 different solutions of Illford HC (with different times for each) but maybe only one dilution of Legacy Pro 110, or not list Legacy Pro 110 at all but have various dilutions of Kodak.

I will use Legacy Pro 110 at Kodak HC110 dilutions for film with no issues but what a out Illford HC?
Can the same dilutions be used for Legacy Pro or Kodak at what may be listed for Illford HC?

I just want everyone to get along. Any ideas?

John Bragg · Mar 27, 2016

As far as I know, Ilford Ilfotec HC behaves exactly like HC-110. You can download the technical sheet on this link .
http://www.ilfordphoto.com/products/product.asp?n=32&t=Film+Developers#

esearing · Mar 28, 2016

One subtle difference between kodak and ilford in their tech sheets is that Ilford recommends you make a stock solutions (1:3) from the entire bottle of syrup. You can do the same for Kodak. However doing so you only have a shelf life of 6 months in tightly capped full bottles, 2 months for half full. Neither tech sheet indicates how long the syrup will last undiluted but I have had a bottle of kodak now half full for over a year and still get great results. So it may also depend on how much you will be developing and how often whether you mix stock or dilute working strength straight from syrup.

Gerald C Koch · Mar 28, 2016

It's best to just dilute the concentrate whatever developer you use. HC-110 is different from the other two developers. It contains no water and so is protected from aerial oxidation. Therefore the shelf life of HC-110 is far better than the other two. Be aware that just because two developers are said to act in a similar matter or produce equivalent results does not mean that they are equivalent chemically. You can see this by comparing the three MSDS's.

Jim Noel · Mar 28, 2016

I have never had a partly used bottle of HC110 syrup go bad, even after as long as 2 years.

Ko.Fe. · Mar 28, 2016

Here is ONE. I could get HC-110 locally. And only HC-110. Never seen another two.

Wallendo · Mar 28, 2016

L-110 can sometimes be easier to pour and measure due to its decreased viscosity. I don't know about its long-term stability, but I got 9 months out of a partially opened bottle. I always used the published times for HC-110.

I am currently using a bottle of HC-110 because I want to see if I was missing anything by not using the "real thing".

OptiKen · Mar 28, 2016

Wallendo said:
I am currently using a bottle of HC-110 because I want to see if I was missing anything by not using the "real thing".

Keep us posted on what you find out by using the 'real' stuff

mikebarger · Apr 3, 2016

In my darkroom I would consider a two year old bottle to be new, considering I have bottles more than 15 years old and still working fine.

Nicholas Lindan · Sep 4, 2021

mikebarger said:
II have bottles more than 15 years old and still working fine.

Ditto - 1/2 filled bottle of HC-110 syrup sat on the shelf for well over a decade and still works like new. Can't say I like the stuff, though, but it is good for quick-and-dirty work I don't really care too much about.

newtorf · Sep 4, 2021

Just renew my development with Kodak HC-110. The bottle has about 1/5 left since last time 5 years ago, and it works just fine.

btaylor · Sep 5, 2021

I have had a partially used with the air squeezed out bottle of Legacy Pro L 110 for about 5 or 6 years now. Works exactly the way it should.

Dave Krueger · Sep 7, 2021

btaylor said:
I have had a partially used with the air squeezed out bottle of Legacy Pro L 110 for about 5 or 6 years now. Works exactly the way it should.

This is good to hear. We don't know how long HC-110 is going to last yet because the new, less viscous, formula hasn't been around long, but L110 has been around for a while and it, too, is less viscous. That suggests that the more watery liquid hasn't completely lost its impressive life expectancy. I have an unopened bottle of L110 from when I bought some Legacy Pro products to test.

As for the comparison of the three, I have some decanted Ilfotec HC that has been in a half full bottle for 8.5 years that I just used at 1+47 to develop a short roll of HP5+ and the resulting negatives looked perfect to my eye. In fact, I have three additional small bottles that are full. Unopened, HC is supposed to last indefinitely, so I figure my full bottles will last at least that long if not longer (haha). I dilute directly from concentrate, but doing so makes accuracy a little less certain. To make 300 ml of working solution requires 6.25 ml of concentrate. I use a 10ml syringe which is graduated in increments of 0.2 ml. Diluting it into an intermediate stock solution defeats the long shelf life, which is a characteristic I'm not willing to sacrifice.

Kodak HC110 vs Ilford HC vs Legacy Pro 110

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