Print Developer Questions

For the past 10 or 12 years I have been using D-72 and been relatively happy with my prints. Recently, someone commented that the prints on Ilford MGIV and Oriental VC had a slight green cast to them. Being colorblind in reds and greens, I never noticed. Researching ways to eliminate the green cast, I modified the print developer by replacing the 2gm of potassium bromide with 0.2gm of benzotriazole. I also increased the carbonate from 80gm to 100gm following a post I read on Ansco 130 as a way of perking up the shadows. I wasn't able to print for about 6 weeks and when I went to make a contact print I got a very blue tone. Attached is a straight scan of the contact prints made with unmodified D-72 and the 6-week old modified D-72. Has anyone run into this? I experienced something similar with Maxim Muir's Blue-Black Developer but it was much more pronounced. Does the pH of the developer effect the benzotriazole over time?

As a side note, I have been looking at the Ilford ID-62 Cool Tone concentrate on Ian Grant's website with the thought of replacing D-72 due to dilution considerations. There is a note on Ian's site that says sodium carbonate is best replaced by potassium carbonate and sodium hydroxide to increase solubility in concentrates. The formula given then lists sodium carbonate in addition to potassium carbonate. Is that a typo or is the sodium carbonate part of the concentrate formula?

Thank you in advance.

The tone is usually referred to as olive and it is fairly common with MQ print developers like D-72 with certain papers. At one time the tone was a desired one and some manufactures advertised that certain of their papers produced it. Switching to another MQ developer is probably not going to help. It is the metol/hydroquinone combination that causes it. Try increasing the amount of potassium bromide in small increments to warm the tone slightly.

Many of us lightly selenium tone our prints just to neutralize or warm-up the olive cast you get with MQ developers on many papers. You may want to consider adding a toning step to your regime.

Alternately, you can, as Gerald implies, change your print developer. I found that BW-65 developer from Photographers' Formulary produced prints on many papers that matched pretty closely prints made with Dektol and then lightly selenium toned. There are likely others as well. If you can't see the difference, however, you'll need someone to help you evaluate the print tones produced by various methods.

Best,

Doremus

Thank you to Gerald and Doremus.

I'll try doubling the bromide and see if that takes care of it. Have to make a few prints this weekend and let a friend look at the and see if the green cast is gone. I just wasn't expecting the blue tone I got with the benzo and increased carbonate.

No, increasing the amount of bromide is usually what is done. Can't remember which book on printing mentions this. It might have been Lootens.

Having a look at the books I have, it appears increasing the bromide retards development and promotes a warmer (brownish) tone. That should override the greenish cast. I'll have to play with the amount as I would like a more neutral tone rather than a warmer one.