Long lasting developers

[2F/2F]

I would use Ilfotec HC or Kodak HC-110. They are effectively the same thing. It is easy to mix up a liter at a time straight from the concentrate, or you can make up stock solution for smaller batches. The concentrate lasts forever, and even the stock solution lasts at least 8 months in a half full bottle IME.

The Kodak is cheaper per unit of volume, and comes in smaller bottles, so is probably better for someone who does not shoot a lot and who likes to always go for the cheaper option. I use the Ilford, however, because I shifted over to them almost entirely to show my support. I still use Kodak D-19 premix, as well as their color materials and chemistry, and Tri-X and T-Max 400. However, I am mostly an Ilford user now.

 

[37th Exposure]

Ye Olde Rodinal. Super cheap, mixes instantly, forever shelf life even if opened, and totally versatile, and great negatives. What else can you ask for? That's why it's the world's oldest over-the-counter developer. But nothing's free, because try having it shipped unless you can get it from Freestyle.
Try diluting 1+50 or more and go real easy on the agitation (one inversion per minute after the first minute of constant gentle agitation) and the grain will be just a tad more than D76 but with greater sharpness and contrast control. You might need a presoak to make up for the lighter agitation. According to a hard copy letter I got from Agfa in Germany years ago, the minimum amount of Rodinal concentrate per 135-36 or 120 roll is 5ml regardless of dilution. I've heard just about everything else on APUG. I've tried 3ml with poor results (big loss of speed and very poor shadow detail though still printable). As soon as I bumped it up to at least 5, problem solved. So I don't know who's right. I've heard 10ml should be foolproof.

 

[SilverGlow]

Is it true that D76 is not known for being long lasting in the same ways HC-110 and Rodinol are?

 

[RobertV]

I've heard 10ml should be foolproof.

According Agfa, but 5-6ml is the real minimumfor a 135-36 or equivalent 120 roll film area. Otherwise the result is depending on the amount B&W area in the negative.

D76: 6-12 months.
HC-110: 5 years I think
Rodinal (Agfa): > 10 years I know and sometimes is reported Rodinal of 30 years is still working.

Dilution 1+10 (paper) 1+25 - 1+100 for film and 1+150 for ATP or Tech Pan film.
This Para-Amino Phenol developer is from 1891.
Still made in the old Agfa (now CMS) chemical plant in Vaihingen-Enz.

Best regards,

Robert

 

[archer]

Dear thisismyname09;
I am using the same Pyro Tri developer I mixed more than a decade ago and it works just as it did the day I mixed it. It's the one developer that gives Rodinal a run for it's money in longevity. According to Paul Farber, you can use it until it gets too thick to stick your film in. All kidding aside, if you want a worry free developer that gives beautiful long scale negatives and never have to replenish Pyro Tri is that developer. Photographers Formulary carries it.
Denise Libby

 

[markbarendt]

I've been using Xtol replenished.

My replenishment rate is 70ml per roll. That means the waste is 70ml per roll.

The stock is stored in a "recycled" wine box so no air (except what was in solution the day you mixed it) and that means it lasts very well. I just finished a box last weekend, lasted 9 months.

The working solution is kept in a "recycled" Margarita mix bottle, 1.75 liters. This volume gives me the ability to do one sheet of 4x5 in a 1-liter tank (17.5ml replenishment), or 1-roll of 135 at 300ml or 7-rolls of 135 at once (490ml replenishment) if I have a big weekend.

The efficiency of this system is greatest for small batches, say for 1-4 sheets of 4x5, my tank is designed for 12 sheets and needs a full liter just to cover the film. With a replenished system the is no extra waste.

 

[Rick A]

I've had D-76 last well over a year in full, tightly capped bottles, kept in the cupboard out of light. This the one developer that is the standard that almost all films have times established for, so eliminating a lot of experimentation, that you obtain good results without much frustration, and stay with developing. All too often I hear people say they were confused or disappointed in results from something they were recommended to try for their first time(at developing).

 

[Bastian Schramm]

D76 works for me as well, the last batch lasted more than 1 year and I don't even use protectan.

 

[An Le-qun]

I have been using a liter of Stoeckler Two-bath (actually two half-liters, stored in separate brown plastic bottles recycled from Arizona green tea that my daughter drank) for 14 months now. In that liter (actually two half-liters, for those that slept through my previous sentence) I have developed 12 5x7 and 7 4x5 negatives, and it is still working as well as it did when I first mixed it. I have no idea when it will start to go sour or whatever, but I love the stuff. Here's where I first saw the formula:

http://www.largeformatphotography.info/twobath/

Also, check out the chapter devoted to it in Barry Thornton's *Edge of Darkness.*

A L-q