RJS said:
I've been using Dektol for years. Generally I am not making prints for exhibition etc., but even so I see little if any difference between reasonable dilutions i.e. 1:1 or 1:2. The contrast probably (always said to be) somewhat higher with 1:1 but during one printing session I try to make a print I like - it may be with a different VC filter, higher or lower than with a different dilution, but my concern is only with prints made at that time.
The point is, I wonder if others find the same thing, i.e. dilution basically hardly matters when you lookat the final result. Maybe I'm just horribly sloppy - but I would enjoy hearing comments etc.
I think varying the dilution does make a difference. I've typically used Dektol at 1:3. I find I get smoother tonal variations with it that way. At more concentrated mixes, I've found that the contrast gets TOO punchy. You should use a consistent developer dilution when working to establish a predictable baseline. Otherwise, your results are not repeatable. Do some basic tests to see what varying dilution will do - make several copies of the same print at the exact same exposure, but develop it in 1:1, 1:2, and 1:3, or whatever dilutions you want to try. Note what you're doing on the back of each print so you can tell what the result is.
Take a look at the paper developer ringaround test I did to see one example of this kind of testing -
Here is the result with Bergger Warmtone paper -
(there was a url link here which no longer exists)
Here is the result with Kentmere VC neutral tone paper -
(there was a url link here which no longer exists)
This was a developer comparison for image tone, so I was only working with the developers to see what the effect on the paper was.
As a general principle, the same kind of effects occur when working with dilute paper developer as working with film developer at higher dilution. However, the effect is more subtle. You should also do some testing to see what developing time is best for a given paper/developer combo, and not just rely on the old 2 minutes standard of Dektol. There was an article on this in Photo Techniques recently (I think it was PT). The article said that the author found an ideal developing time for most papers/developers he was testing was somewhere in the 1 1/2 minute range, but he was testing a very limited number of combinations.
