Mixing rodinal and dd-x

[Xmas]

Mixing two middle of the road developers is unlikely to find a magic bullet.
Most of the performance is film dependent developers make only small difference.
To claim differences you would need step wedge and test charts.
But alchemy can work Damascus steel was lost but has resently been reverse engineered.
So book on developers, micro balance, raw chemicals, etc.,
Ignore nay sayers eg read...

http://sandykingphotography.com/resources/technical-writing/pyro-staining-developers

 

[Trask]

Let's not forget Donald Quall's Super Soup -- HC110 mixed with Dektol etc. IIRC a fair number of people tried it and liked it.

 

[cliveh]

I like to mix D76 with Amfix, which allows development and fixation at the same time. It also cleans the tank during the process.

 

[Gerald C Koch]

I like to mix D76 with Amfix, which allows development and fixation at the same time. It also cleans the tank during the process.

The Un-official HC-110 site contains directions on how to make a monobath using HC-110 and Ilford Fixer concentrate.

http://www.covingtoninnovations.com/hc110/

Anyone interested in monobaths should get a copy of Grant Haist's book The Monobath Manual. His MM-1 monobath is flexable, works with many films and produces good results. You can get used copies for $10 to $15 from Amazon. Lots of good information that not only applies to monobaths but also developers in general.

 

[removed account4]

a little OT
but gerald do monobaths work with today's modern emulsions?
i was told ( on the telephone ) when i had a few conversations with
jerry katz from the photo lab index ( he was the chemist who did it all for morgan/morgan/lester )
that at a certain point ( 70s/80s/90s? ) films were being filled with poly vinyl fillers and not enough silver to
really work as well and because of this monobaths might cause reticulation ...


(sorry OP for the de-rail )

 

[Gerald C Koch]

I think the question in the OP has been answered. I believe that cliveh's point was that it is permissible to modify a developer for certain specific reasons. In this case converting a developer to a monobath. (Whereas just mixing two developers together in the hope that this will result in better results is probably misguided.)

The silver content or additions to the emulsion should not affect how a monobath works. Modern films may require a slightly different formulation for the bath but Haist gives instructions on how to do this. In a way modern emulsions, being pre-hardened, may remedy one of the classic problems of the bath causing unwanted softening of the emulsion. For anyone interested give them a try but a bit of experimentation may be required.