longest shelf life paper developer (liquid)

I want some advice regarding a long shelf life liquid paper developer concentrate similar to Rodinal or HC 110 for film. Mixing dry chemicals is not what I want and I also desire deep blacks using FB VC paper such as Ilford MG IV or Adox 110.

Currently I use Ilford MG paper developer but a 5 L plastic container lasts more than 6 months and turns a deep brown towards the end. Is there a way to test to see if this developer (about 9 months old since opened) is still good?

Pour it on a piece of exposed paper/strip. If it stays white, its bad.

I used to be in the same boat but it just doesn't work that way. Developer oxidizes no matter what. The way I look at it, a gallon of dektol costs about $6. the time, cost of film, cost of paper, and time (for emphasis) that it takes to make a fine print is not worth the anxiety whether my 8 month old bottle of liquid developer is almost over the hill. I once spent a hole day printing with partially spent developer before it occurred to me. I bought a magnetic mixer and mix paper developer a gallon at a time and divide it into 4x1 quart bottles. Diluted 1:3 I use ~600ml per printing day so a gallon would last for a week of intense printing. If I have any doubts, I dump it and mix $6 worth of developer. Also, my printing time is erratic. Sometimes I go a few months (one must fish in the summer) without printing at all. If I were in the darkroom all the time, I might prefer liquids but then I would focus on the higher material cost and much higher shipping costs. In the end, I suggest going powder for paper developer.

ansco ( formulary ) 130 lasts for at least a year when it is stock solution.
i mix about 6 gallons a year, once a year and never have trouble with it going bad.

good luck
john

I'll second the Ansco 130 comment, but I DIY mix mine.

Other than Multigrade, which I have used intermittently over the years, all the other print developers that I bought commercially were powders that were mixed to make a stock solution.

I presume the Formulary makes a 130 kit.

The 130 developer will go funky brown, like Multigrade does when it is well on its way to dying, but still gives great looking prints. I have used it for periods up to one year and it was still viable.

You can split a 5 litre bottle into smaller bottles, 1 litre or whatever suits, and label well, it'll keep considerably longer that way.

Agfa used to recommend Rodinal for developingprints as well. Kodak and Ilford did the same with Kodinol and Certinal

Ian

Moersch ECO 4812 is incredible in this regard.

Ethol LPD (for 'lasting paper developer') is available in powder or liquid form. Dilution controls cool-warm tones.

Lee

I have split my Dektol developer into a large number of small clear glass bottles with teflon lined caps. I set some bottles aside for an age test. Even after many years in the back of the cabinet they are still clear as the day they were mixed and work perfectly.

They were mixed with distilled water that had been boiled to remove oxygen then cooled to proper temperature before mixing.

Liquidol from Photo Formularly

Kodak Polymax-T developer (in some regions of the world, this appears to now be marketed as "Liquid Dektol"):

http://wwwcaen.kodak.com/global/en/professional/support/techPubs/j5/j5.pdf

I bought a sealed 5L container of Ilford MG Dev from someone who had given up darkroom printing, they had already owned it a couple of years. That was at least 3, probably 4, years ago. Immediately split it between 5 glass bottles, filled to the top and tightly capped. Just started the last bottle this year and it's still working fine.

Ian

Insisting on only a liquid print developer severely limits your number of choices. Dissolving powder developers is not hard. The thing to remember is not to mix chemicals in the darkroom.

I have been disappointed by the shelf life of most liquid paper developers which tend to go bad in 2.5 to 3 months. Powder developers last maybe 4 months. Moersch ECO 4812 will last 5 to 6 months in its container.