Marco Buonocore said:
I on the look out for a new paper developer. I've used Dektol/D72 in the past, as well as Agfa Multicontrast... Both had a tendency to go a bit brown once the bottle was half full.
Do you mean Ilford Multicontrast developer? Although they (Kodak Dektol, Ilford Multicontrast, Agfa Neutol Plus, etc.) become yellow, orange and then brownish, they often show little change in the image quality as long as the full scaled image comes up within 2min or their normal developing time.
If you are set up to use Dektol, I'd rather collect a bunch of bottles and split up the stock solution. You'll save trouble and time going through another developer. Ilford Multigrade, Agfa Neutol Plus, etc. are also good developers but with greater convenience of more concentrated stock.
Some people remember that I had a print developer recommendation page on my web site. I've been trying to be a bit more aggressive in migrating my old Photo-Tech branch into the new wiki-based system. So the new link is:
Dead Link Removed
I can only comment on the keeping properties of the DS-14 and Tektol developers. On the extreme end, I've kept same working strength solution in my Nova slot processor for all fall-winter-spring seasons without a tight lid (Nova Monochrome doesn't come with a tight lid unlike color models.) I've noticed that the developer goes faster during summer, when my darkroom may hit 80's (or close to 30˚C) when the AC is off. But with full container, I can keep reusing the solution for many months with replenishment.
The way I do is to keep Tektol concentrate handy. Guestimate the fluid loss at the end of each session. Pour 10% of the concentrate, 90% of water to fill up the bottle. Cap. Some people use marbles instead of fresh developer to fill the void (or air to be precise) of the bottle. Of course, any of these would work with Dektol or Multigrade.
Tektol Standard gives warmer side of neutral black if you combine with a warmtone paper. If Dektol works for you, I expect Tektol Standard 1+9 should work right "out of the box." The reason why I asked Digitaltruth to release Tektol Neutral together is that some people dislike this "slightly warmer side of neutral." Indeed, these two developers can be blended at any arbitrary proportion to find the results you like the best.