My Bottle of HC-110 Finally Died

Roger Cole · Feb 27, 2015

SLVR said:
I have a 1l bottle I picked up a couple months ago. After snooping around on apug I decided to decant it into smaller bottles, 1 500ml, 2 250ml then mix from concentrate. Haven't had any problems yet!

So far I'm having great luck with dil b.

never had any developer change color and oxidize too crazily. Maybe some ilfosol 3 I had turned a little brown before it died but I've mostly worked with Xtol prior and used it up before it spoiled most of the time.

Xtol doesn't change color when it goes bad. It just stops working. That's a huge drawback for people like me who work very intermittently, and one of the reasons I don't use it. Most developers will warn you they are going bad and start to change color before they actually become that bad.

ciniframe · Feb 27, 2015

Another fan of HC-110, usually use unofficial del H to control time more carefully. I don't have much film to develop so my first small bottle took 4 years to use up. Got real redish brown towards the end but seemed to make no difference at all. Just because I already had a bunch of 4oz. brown bottles I decanted the next fresh container into them, still have one fresh unopened bottle of the old size, not the new 1L size.

Christopher Walrath · Feb 28, 2015

There are films that would require less than five minutes in DilB. That runs the risk of uneven developing. Further dilution and prolonged development lessen that risk.

Richard S. (rich815) · Feb 28, 2015

Christopher Walrath said:
There are films that would require less than five minutes in DilB. That runs the risk of uneven developing. Further dilution and prolonged development lessen that risk.

Exactly.

KenR · Mar 2, 2015

I generally split the contents of the bottle in order to preserve it, but have never had a problem even with red-brown colored HC110. That said, I keep one of the old 500 ml bottles, wash it out when empty and pour in the contents of one of the 1000 ml bottles until the smaller bottle is full. I then use use the 1/2 remaining in the large bottle first - it is pretty dark after 6 months but has never died. When done, I open up the full small bottle and start that.

stefano giovannini · Oct 1, 2016

Neil Souch said:
I have resolved to start using it more and will try to do just that using the 1:49 dilution which I prefer to use over the official established dilutions.

Neil.

Hi,
I have been using XTOL but just bought a bottle of HC-110 to see if I get some more contrast / deeper blacks with developing and not through adjustments in Lightroom. dil B dev times seem too short. Does the dilution you are using 1:49 mean 1+49?
how do the dev times differ in percentage from the official dilution E 1:47, so I can adjust for films that have no 1:49 dev times listed on the internet.

thank you!

stefano

Jim Noel · Oct 1, 2016

RattyMouse said:
After god knows how many rolls of film developed, I finally drained my bottle of HC-110. I shoot a lot of film and it took me maybe 1.5 years to use up a whole 1 liter bottle (I used dilution E 99% of the time). When purchased the syrup had a light yellow or amber color to it. The sample I pulled from the bottle yesterday was a very very dark, almost electric red color. The amount of oxidation that had taken place was quite severe. The viscosity of the fluid was noticeably higher than fresh fluid. It almost seemed a semi-gel at times. Regardless, the negatives that I made yesterday looked spectacular. I dont think you can find a more bullet proof developer than HC-110. I stored the stuff in the original bottle, making no effort at all to control oxygen content at all.

Next up, I'm going to try the Ilford equivalent to HC-110. I'm told that the results that this developer produces are the same.

If you are happy, why change?

Neil Souch · Oct 1, 2016

stefano giovannini said:
Hi,
I have been using XTOL but just bought a bottle of HC-110 to see if I get some more contrast / deeper blacks with developing and not through adjustments in Lightroom. dil B dev times seem too short. Does the dilution you are using 1:49 mean 1+49?
how do the dev times differ in percentage from the official dilution E 1:47, so I can adjust for films that have no 1:49 dev times listed on the internet.

thank you!

stefano

This has been discussed here before - have a look at:

(there was a url link here which no longer exists)

All good advice which I use myself.

Neil.

Gerald C Koch · Oct 1, 2016

Dear Ratty You may not be satisfied with the shelf life of the Ilford product. It is not anywhere near as long lasting as HC-110.

silveror0 · Oct 1, 2016

peter k. said:
Ha.. gotta do something with my marbles ...

I lost all mine quite a while ago.

Vaughn · Oct 1, 2016

stefano giovannini said:
...Does the dilution you are using 1:49 mean 1+49?...
stefano

Does not really matter -- just do one way or the other (add 1 to 49, or add 1 to 48), but pick one and stick with it.

RattyMouse · Oct 1, 2016

Gerald C Koch said:
Dear Ratty You may not be satisfied with the shelf life of the Ilford product. It is not anywhere near as long lasting as HC-110.

I bought another bottle of HC-110. Now that I'm in the US, this bottle will probably last me 10 years or more. I simply dont shoot that much. In China, I shot 10-15 rolls of film per week. I think in the past year I *might* have shot 10 rolls. Probably less.

37th Exposure · Oct 1, 2016

Gerald C Koch said:
Dear Ratty You may not be satisfied with the shelf life of the Ilford product. It is not anywhere near as long lasting as HC-110.

How long does it last? I was going to switch since B&H hasn't shipped the Kodak HC-110 since the bottle change. As long as the Ilford stuff keeps at least a year after opening that's all I ask.

Gerald C Koch · Oct 1, 2016

37th Exposure said:
How long does it last? I was going to switch since B&H hasn't shipped the Kodak HC-110 since the bottle change. As long as the Ilford stuff keeps at least a year after opening that's all I ask.

As mentioned before HC-110 contains no water whereas the Ilford product does. Makes all the difference in how long a developer will keep once opened. The MSDS for Ilfotec HC says that it is water based. Once opened I would guess the same life expectancy as any PQ developer 6 to 9 months. I would be surprised if it lasted a full year.

The prices at B&H show that the Iilford product is twice as expensive as HC-110. Certainly no bargain unless HC-110 is hard to obtain. The present B&H catalogue does however list HC-110 for $28.50 per liter.

miha · Oct 2, 2016

Ilford Ilfotec HC is my standard developer. I have been using it on and off for the last 15 years. It easily lasts for years. Ilford says the concentrate lasts indefinitely. It contains no water. The only problem I see with this develope is price which is around 50€ per litre!

Chris Livsey · Oct 2, 2016

ILFOTEC HC STORAGE
Full, unopened bottles of ILFOTEC HC concentrates stored in cool conditions, 5–20ºC (41–68ºF), will keep indefinitely.
Once opened use completely to make stock solutions. If stored in cool conditions, 5–20ºC (41–68ºF), ILFOTEC HC stock solutions will keep for up to :- 6 months in full tightly capped bottles 2 months in half full bottles.
http://www.ilfordphoto.com/Webfiles/2011427105392231.pdf

Is this where confusion arises? Ilford are adamant we cannot accurately measure small volumes and recommend a stock solution be used which of course has a reduced shelf life.

I don't see on the safety sheet where it says it is water based, other than stating it is 100% water soluble which is not the same of course.

http://www.ilfordphoto.com/Webfiles/2015529947531453.pdf
Revision Date 14/05/2015 Revision 12 Supersedes date 05/11/2014

Chris Livsey · Oct 2, 2016

Not picking on you Gerald but price competitiveness varies across the world, UK prices:

ILFORD ILFOTEC HC DEVELOPER Size: 1 ltr £23.68
Kodak Professional HC110 Film Developer 1L96654 Cost: £27.98

For the record I'm currently on HC110.

silveror0 · Oct 2, 2016

Chris Livsey said:
Not picking on you Gerald but price competitiveness varies across the world, UK prices:

ILFORD ILFOTEC HC DEVELOPER Size: 1 ltr £23.68
Kodak Professional HC110 Film Developer 1L96654 Cost: £27.98

Chris-
Here in the U.S. we can get Ilfotec HC 1L from B&H (usually the best price) for 45.99USD, and they will ship it. They also sell HC-110 1L for 28.50USD but will not ship it. Freestyle in California sells HC-110 1L for 28.50USD and WILL ship it. Go figure.

Gerald C Koch · Oct 2, 2016

Chris Livsey said:
ILFOTEC HC STORAGE
Full, unopened bottles of ILFOTEC HC concentrates stored in cool conditions, 5–20ºC (41–68ºF), will keep indefinitely.
Once opened use completely to make stock solutions. If stored in cool conditions, 5–20ºC (41–68ºF), ILFOTEC HC stock solutions will keep for up to :- 6 months in full tightly capped bottles 2 months in half full bottles.
http://www.ilfordphoto.com/Webfiles/2011427105392231.pdf

Is this where confusion arises? Ilford are adamant we cannot accurately measure small volumes and recommend a stock solution be used which of course has a reduced shelf life.

I don't see on the safety sheet where it says it is water based, other than stating it is 100% water soluble which is not the same of course.

http://www.ilfordphoto.com/Webfiles/2015529947531453.pdf
Revision Date 14/05/2015 Revision 12 Supersedes date 05/11/2014

The MSDS that I consulted said that it was water based. Water being nontoxic does not have to be listed as an ingredient on an MSDS. Then too manufacturers are a bit cagey when writing these documents. Each ingredient may have a lower and an upper limit specified. If you add up all the lower limits they usually total < 100% while the upper ones total > 100 %. So water can be present. HOWEVER it would not be the first time that an MSDS contains an error.

Chris Livsey · Oct 2, 2016

Gerald C Koch said:
HOWEVER it would not be the first time that an MSDS contains an error.

Indeed they are constantly being re-written as requirements change.
I still think it is related to solubility, the one I quote mentions it in relation to spills affecting water courses etc.
Still we take comfort from the indefinitely.
In the UK medicines legislation requires an expiry date on every licensed product, with a specified maximum, thus medical Oxygen in a cylinder has an expiry date, there is no end to correctness.

Gerald C Koch · Oct 2, 2016

Chris Livsey said:
Indeed they are constantly being re-written as requirements change.
I still think it is related to solubility, the one I quote mentions it in relation to spills affecting water courses etc.
Still we take comfort from the indefinitely.
In the UK medicines legislation requires an expiry date on every licensed product, with a specified maximum, thus medical Oxygen in a cylinder has an expiry date, there is no end to correctness.

The US military requires that each item purchased have a military part number and expiration date. Often these dates are wildly conservative. Years ago a friend of mine told me about his father and brother both millionaires. One would buy expired O-rings surplus from the government and the other relabel them and sell them back to the government. The rings were well within the manufacturers expiration date so there was really nothing wrong. Our government protecting our tax dollars.

My Bottle of HC-110 Finally Died

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