Legacy Pro paper developer is dark black.

Pentaxian

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I just mixed up a pack of legacy pro paper developer. I noticed the powder was a greenish brown color when I opened the pack. Thinking it was normal, I thought nothing of it. When I added it to distilled water to mix it, the solution turned Guinness beer black. Did I have a bad batch of developer? Or is this normal for Legacy Pro paper developer?

I'm assuming it's bad. I've got one more pack of the same developer, but I'd rather not open it up and mix it if Legacy Pro paper developer is just a weird color
 
OP
OP

Pentaxian

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koraks said:
Me too. According to the SDS I can find in a quick search, this should be a regular PQ developer. If that's dark, it's bust.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I was just looking for some reassurance from someone more knowledgable than me. I'll give my other pack a try. If that one's trash, too, I'll try to hit up the semi-local camera shop to pick up some Dektol and reconsider buying Legacy Pro again.

No big loss, just inconvenient

Thanks for the reply
 

pentaxuser

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Have you tried to develop a print in it? If not it might be worth a shot. Wasn't there a thread in the last few years about another developer that was the colour of, I think, root beer and it still worked?

pentaxuser
 
OP
OP

Pentaxian

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koraks said:
Yeah, these things happen. Have you reached out to the seller? Maybe they can work out a solution with you.
Click to expand...

I may email Freestyle about it. I'm not sure it's worth the hassle. It was like $10, so not much was lost.


Second pack was fine. It mixed up as light beer yellow rather than porter black. And the prints made from a handful of holga snapshots look pretty good, considering it's been years since I've done any printing at all.
 
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OP

Pentaxian

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pentaxuser said:
Have you tried to develop a print in it? If not it might be worth a shot. Wasn't there a thread in the last few years about another developer that was the colour of, I think, root beer and it still worked?

pentaxuser
Click to expand...

I considered it. Decided against it and just dumped it. Batch from the second pack came out looking how you'd expect paper developer to look.

Once this batch is gone, I may consider buying the raw powders to mix up dektol myself. I developed a few rolls of film last week with d76 I mixed myself, so I'm feeling confident I can handle dektol. Perhaps there's less of a chance of a bad batch of powder if I just take the time to mix it myself?
 

koraks

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Pentaxian said:
Perhaps there's less of a chance of a bad batch of powder if I just take the time to mix it myself?
Click to expand...

Definitely! You can mix only what you need for a certain timeframe and you'll always have fresh chemistry on hand. Over time (not too much of it, either) you'll save money as well. And you can experiment to your heart's content with different developers if you're so inclined.
 
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