New Ilford developers.....first test

Les McLean · Jan 17, 2006

I spent a few hours in the little darkened room yesterday making prints using Ilford Warmtone paper and Warmtone and Cooltone, their two new developers. I thought that there would be some interest in the results of my happy morning playing with some new materials.

I made virtually straight prints from a known negative on Ilford Warmtone fibre paper with the developers diluted 1 part dev to 9 parts water, as suggested by Ilford. I made 3 prints, one developed for 2 mins in Warmtone developer, one developed for two mins in Cooltone developer and the third developed for 45 seconds in each of the two developers.

The prints posted here are captioned with development details. I'll do the same test with Multigrade IV when I'm next in the darkroom and post them here.

Those going to the Silver Conference will have the opportunity of seeing the results of my tests with these two developers in the lecture that I am presently preparing. In addition to Ilford papers I am printing on Legacy by Fotospeed, Oriental Seagull, Kentmere Kentona and the sadly missed Kodak Ektalure. I look forward to seeing you in LA.

timeUnit · Jan 17, 2006

At first look I thought the difference seemed very subtle, but on a second look it seems just right. If one wants a more dramatic change there are toners or other papers, I guess.

CraigK · Jan 17, 2006

I spent much of the weekend working with the two new developers and Ilford MG and MG warmtone fibre papers. So far, I am very impressed. Some preliminary observations after developing identical prints in Cooltone, Warmtone and standard Multigrade dev's:

1. Both of the new developers seem to be somewhat slower acting than the MG dev. Images take longer to first appear but develop fully in my standard 2 minute dev. time.

2. The cooltone dev. really cools the image tone a lot, even on warmtone paper. This was a bit of a surprise I must say. I was expecting a much more subtle shift in tone. The cool tones on both MG and MWWT are gorgeous IMHO. I am particularly pleased that I am able to get a nice cool tone on the MGWT paper since I actually like the gloss surface of the paper better than the gloss surface of the MG paper. So now, with one paper, (MGWT) I can get a wide range of image tones from very warm to quite cool just by changing dev's. What's more, the MGWT takes selenium toning much better than the regular MG paper si I expect to see some interesting results with MGWT in the cooltone developer followed by selenium toning when I get around to trying that combination out this weekend.

3. The cool tone dev seems to offer a slightly higher contrast and somewhat slower speed. I found that I had to dial in about 1/3 of a grade less contrast and maybe 5-10% more exposure in order to make the print match the others.

4. The warmtone developer offers a more subtle shift on both papers, warming then slightly towards yellow-red....quite nice. I use Edwal Platinum ll for my warmtone images. But I think the new Ilford may edge it out in terms of midtone separation. I need to do a head to head comparison of the two though.

All in all, I am excited about these new developers. If they are any indication of the quality of other new Ilford products in the works, then there are happy days ahead for those of us that do it in the dark!

Bruce Osgood · Jan 17, 2006

Thank you Les for showing this.

I don't think any of the 3 prints compares favorably with the original I've seen. The silk does not come across as silk, lacking the sheen of silk.

In your book "Creative B/W Photography" the 2 prints of this image you show have a deeper black while not being overly contrasty. These 3 don't have the lushness in the shadows that I've seen.

The cooltone image (#2) has the best representation of highlights, even brighter than those in your book, but this may not be a good thing. The warmtone developed image (#1) is closer to the LPD image in the book but does not capture what the LPD image does. But this may be a factor of the abbreviated 2 min development.

I'd be interested in seeing more tests tough,

clay · Jan 17, 2006

Anyone know where to buy these new developers in the US?

lee · Jan 17, 2006

PM sent

lee\c

davekarp · Jan 17, 2006

Clay,

I have seen them on the shelf at Freestyle.

wfe · Jan 17, 2006

Very interesting, thanks for sharing Les.

grahamp · Jan 17, 2006

It is not easy to judge on a screen, but the Warmtone may be a valid alternative to Neutol WA for me. And if the Cooltone developer will alter Warmtone paper that much I may not need to worry about stocking anything except Warmtone.

I am not sure about the split developed version. It looks like warmer shadows and cooler highlights to me, but the shadows don't seem very convincing. I will also admit my ignorance - why 2x 45sec and not 2x 60sec? Is there an additive effect?

Leon · Jan 17, 2006

cheers Les - I've very keen to try these out myself

Les McLean · Jan 17, 2006

grahamp I am not sure about the split developed version. It looks like warmer shadows and cooler highlights to me said:
Good question Graham. When I made the first print using both developers I gave each 60 sec and the densities just ran away from me so I reduced the time to 45 seconds. I did consider posting the 2 x 60sec print but after scanning and on a VDU I felt that it was a pointless excersise. I have planned much more testing when I my schedule allows for I am quite excited by the response of the Warmtone paper when usinf the developers as a two bath. I have not yet tried these developers with other papers but will do so in the coming week when I make the final prints for the Silver Conference lecture.

Craig · Jan 17, 2006

I've found the cooltone developer adds some contrast to both the cooltone and regular multigrade paper. Putting a Cool/cool print beside one done on cooltone paper in multigrade devloper shows quite a difference, the cooltone developer has a much cooler tone. I quite like it.

Nige · Jan 17, 2006

I had to join the three together to get a decent look at the differences (tone only, not even trying to compare other factors in scans) Hope you don't mind me attaching it Les! I'm very excited by your inital results (and Craigs reports). Anyone know comparitive (to regular MG devl) pricing? I loved Neutol WA but here it was over 3 times the price of Agfa's regular MG devl (which is a good general devl anyway)

Craig · Jan 17, 2006

Nige said:
Anyone know comparitive (to regular MG devl) pricing?

In Canada, regular multigrade developer is $9.95 for 500ml, and cooltone/warmtone is $19.95 for a litre, so the same price.

Les McLean · Jan 17, 2006

Nige said:
I had to join the three together to get a decent look at the differences (tone only, not even trying to compare other factors in scans) Hope you don't mind me attaching it Les! I'm very excited by your inital results (and Craigs reports). Anyone know comparitive (to regular MG devl) pricing? I loved Neutol WA but here it was over 3 times the price of Agfa's regular MG devl (which is a good general devl anyway)

Thanks Nige I didn't think about joining them up until after I'd posted them. I promise I'll do that with the next tests I post

Mark Layne · Jan 17, 2006

Anyone know where to buy these in Canada. Ilford tell me there will be no Canadian stockist
Mark

Bob F. · Jan 17, 2006

Cheers Les and CraigK. I'm dying to try these out...

Any idea when they will be available in the UK? I see they are available in the US already (that growling noise you may be able to hear is the vocalization of my irritation at them not being released in their home country at the same time...).

Nige: http://www.freestylephoto.biz/sc_search.php?rfnc=301 shows both MG Dev. and the new Warmtone & Cooltone.

Cheers, Bob.

FrankB · Jan 17, 2006

These look very good. Of course, the fact that the example is one of my favourite images doesn't hurt...!

Thanks Les. Very much appreciated.

Mongo · Jan 17, 2006

Thanks very much for taking the time to do this and to post your results Les. As best as I can judge from seeing the images on screen, it looks like those two developers and MGWT will be enough to keep me very happy.

CraigK · Jan 17, 2006

Re: availability in Canada:

When I asked my local stockist if he had any of the new dev's he admitted that he had not even heard of them. However, it only took a phone call or two to the distributor and he was able to bring in a dozen bottle of each within days.

They are now in stock (at least in Winnipeg) at www.photocentral.ca

I expect other canadian stockist simply need to call the Ilford distributor.

Simon R Galley · Jan 18, 2006

Dear All,

First, its great to see the positive feedback on our new devs, thanks to Les for taking the time, as to availability we have now shipped to all markets ( including the UK )

Simon ILFORD Photo / HARMAN technology Limited

Bob F. · Jan 18, 2006

Cheers Simon for that news. Looks like a call to Silverprint is in order in the morning... My final batch of Neutol WA has been in the Nova for 2 months now so it will soon be time to dump it... Here's hoping the new developers last as long in the Nova (1 month would be OK ).

Cheers, Bob.

Keith Tapscott. · Jan 19, 2006

Simon R Galley said:
Dear All,

First, its great to see the positive feedback on our new devs, thanks to Les for taking the time, as to availability we have now shipped to all markets ( including the UK )

Simon ILFORD Photo / HARMAN technology Limited

You forgot to provide a technical data link Simon.
http://www.ilford.com/html/us_english/pdf/ctwt.pdf

Sal Santamaura · Jan 19, 2006

Keith Tapscott. said:
You forgot to provide a technical data link Simon.
http://www.ilford.com/html/us_english/pdf/ctwt.pdf

I suspect the next issue will correct that typo on page 4. Washing time for RC paper ought to be considerably less than 120 minutes.

Oren Grad · Jan 19, 2006

Has anyone observed whether either of these new developers gains any Dmax with MGIVFB compared to PQ Universal?

New Ilford developers.....first test

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