Processing HP4?

Dear · Sep 15, 2011

I bought a Yashica 44 LM and got a few rolls of outdated film along with the camera.
One of them is Ilford HP4.
That's all good, but the problem is that I have no clue of how long I should develop it?
I only have HC-110 and ID-11 available.
Can anyone recommend developing times for this film with one of these chemicals?
I'm not looking for advise on wether or not to use it, 'cause I certainly am gonna try just for the fun of it!

Ottrdaemmerung · Sep 15, 2011

B&W film doesn't lose much with being outdated, unless it's decades old, so go ahead and use developing times listed at www.digitaltruth.com .

Dear · Sep 15, 2011

Ottrdaemmerung said:
B&W film doesn't lose much with being outdated, unless it's decades old, so go ahead and use developing times listed at www.digitaltruth.com .

I tried that but I can't seem to find the times for HP4.
And it probably IS decades old!
I don't know exactly how old this one is, as it was without the cardboard case, only the paper wrapping

Roger Cole · Sep 15, 2011

EDIT - deleted former post - didn't notice you said a 44. That's 127 film, no? New film is of limited variety and expensive, so NOW I understand trying to save the old stuff!

Kevin Caulfield · Sep 15, 2011

HP4 IS decades old, so you won't find it there.

If it was the predecessor of HP5 then it's probably ISO 400. By now it's probably dropped its effective speed quite a bit, so it's probably more like ISO 100 or less by now.

onepuff · Sep 15, 2011

HP4

HP4 was available between 1964 and 1976 and was rated at 400-650 ASA. There is a booklet here http://www.photomemorabilia.co.uk/Ilford/Chronology/HP4_in_Action.pdf with some details on developing etc.

brucemuir · Sep 15, 2011

Why not ask Simon what the best approach would be?
I assume you don't have info on how it was stored ?

OP: Simon Galley is a Ilford rep and valued member here on apug.
He will set you straight I'm sure.

steven_e007 · Sep 16, 2011

Hi,

I developed a roll film a few years ago. When I contacted Ilford they gave me these times:

400 ISO in ID-11
35 mm: high contrast 15 mins. normal contrast 9 mins
120 rollfilm: high contrast 14 mins. normal contrast 10 mins

400 ISO in Microphen
35 mm: high contrast 13 mins. normal contrast 7 mins
120 rollfilm: high contrast 12 mins. normal contrast 8 mins

Note how 35mm film needs less time than 120 for normal contrast, but more for high. That's not a mistake.

I expect 127 is basically the same as 120?

When I developed my film I found it was VERY foggy. Still printable, with difficulty, but as already mentioned drop the film speed down a couple of stops. Microphen might be a better bet as it produces less background fog than ID-11 - but to be honest I doubt it will make a lot of difference. Not worth buying for just one film.

Ottrdaemmerung · Sep 16, 2011

Oops, my mistake! I was thinking of FP4+. I often get Ilford's films confused: FP4, HP5...

hpulley · Sep 16, 2011

Maybe HC-110 for even lower fogging? 5:00 dilution B 1+31 at 68F/20C would be something to try.

2F/2F · Sep 16, 2011

I'd try a snip piggybacked onto another roll developed in HC-110 dilution B and see what kind of fog you have before even loading any of it into the camera and shooting. Could save yourself some trouble. Just unspool the roll and take a little snip off the end, then respool it.

IME, expired film isn't that useful unless you get it in large quantities. What good are two or three rolls of something if you have to shoot at least one of them just to get a handle on the film?

Rick A · Sep 16, 2011

My PLI shows to develope it for 12 mins in ID-11 1+1 for G0.55 and 18 mins for G0.70. You could try half speed (200) and these times or even at 100. One thing I would do is develope at temps below 65f and adjust time to help reduce fog.

Jim Noel · Sep 16, 2011

Add a little benzotriazole to the developer to decrease the fog. Use times suggested by Steven and develop the first roll. YOu can make any necessary adjustments from there.

Wade D · Sep 16, 2011

I have a 5 roll box of 120 HP4 sitting in front of me, expired 5-79. On the box it recommends:
ASA 400, 7 min. in ID-11
ASA 650, 5 min. in Microphen
ASA 200, 8.5 min. in Perceptol
All at 68 F. Agitation for 10 seconds every minute.
Of course that is for fresh film but possibly will give you a starting point.
The price tag is still on the box. A whopping $2.00!

Dear · Sep 19, 2011

Thanks to everyone for making suggestions on how to do this.
I ended up trying hpulley's suggestion.
The results was pretty much as I expected.
HORRIBLE!
But I don't mind that. As I said, that was what I expected!
One funny thing though, is that it seems the emulsion is sort of peeling off the film!?!
I guess it has been stored in a drawer or something like that for probably around forty years or so, resulting in this strange phenomena.
Of course, I knew when I loaded the camera, that this film might not turn out at all!
So I didn't use it for anything important, just a fun little experiment.
Still I think I'm going to making a print or two, just to see how it will be!
Another little challenge in the darkroom!

Here's a few pictures of the film (taken with my cell-phone..) :

hpulley · Sep 19, 2011

I think that looks good considering!

Simon R Galley · Sep 19, 2011

Dear..Dear...

Just caught up with this thread...

This film could well be over 40 years old, I see you got something off it so well done.

As always the advice was good I would have said rate it at 100 iso and dev for 12 mins in ID11 / D76

As you say it was just a bit of fun...so fine...

Simon

ILFORD Photo / HARMAN technology Limited :

Dear · Sep 19, 2011

Simon R Galley said:
Dear..Dear...

Just caught up with this thread...

This film could well be over 40 years old, I see you got something off it so well done.

As always the advice was good I would have said rate it at 100 iso and dev for 12 mins in ID11 / D76

As you say it was just a bit of fun...so fine...

Simon

ILFORD Photo / HARMAN technology Limited :

Thank you!
Actually I rated it at 400 to start with, but then someone here suggested that I rated it at 100 instead which I'm sure has a lot to do with the presence of an image at all!

Processing HP4?

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