RODINAL 10 years old

kingreverent · Feb 24, 2009

Hi,
After years straying in the virtual digital world, I came back to analog photography.
I'm experimenting with all kind of developers and films which I kept partially used at home.
I found a 500 ml bottle of Rodinal made by AGFA, 3/4 filled and turned into tee colour. I had bought it some 10 years ago!
The plastic bottle, kept in the dark, but not so cold place in summer time, wasn't even squeezed and looked brand-new. No cristals on the bottom.
I gave it a try and the result was as it was bought yesterday!
Together with HC 110, Rodinal has the best keeping properties.
It really lasts "forever".

Markok765 · Feb 24, 2009

Not to steal your thread, but I can't get Rodinal anymore as they will not ship it. Anyone know of a liquid dev with similar characteristics of rodinal?

Colin Corneau · Feb 24, 2009

Marko, which vendors have you approached about this?

Photo Central, here in Manitoba, has Rodinal and ships...

Dead Link Removed

wogster · Feb 24, 2009

Markok765 said:
Not to steal your thread, but I can't get Rodinal anymore as they will not ship it. Anyone know of a liquid dev with similar characteristics of rodinal?

Where abouts are you in Ontario, Henry's has it, so if your near a city that has a Henry's store then call the store, they can probably get it for you.....

PHOTOTONE · Feb 24, 2009

Rodinal is one of those "eternal" developers. Another one is Kodak HC-110.

jim appleyard · Feb 24, 2009

If you can't get a Canadian supplier, try Freestyle in LA. It may cost you a bit for shipping across the border, but maybe if you bought a few bottles. I think someone once said that it lasts forever...

You can also get the fixin's for homebrewd "Rodinal" from the Formulary. Heck, Formulary's in Montana, they could walk it across the border!

GM Bennett · Feb 24, 2009

Marko - Henry's in Toronto carries Rodinal (or "Blazinal" as I guess it's now called here) for about $15 a bottle. Not sure if the Waterloo store carries it, but if they don't they can get it in for you.

accozzaglia · Feb 24, 2009

Markok765 said:
Not to steal your thread, but I can't get Rodinal anymore as they will not ship it. Anyone know of a liquid dev with similar characteristics of rodinal?

Check in with FilmPlus in Toronto. I bought my new bottle of Rodinal there in September. A guy named Guy (as in Lafleur) is the person I talk to when I stop in. I don't see why in-province shipping would be problematic. Double check to be sure, of course.

Removed Account · Feb 25, 2009

I bought mine from Beau Photo in Vancouver. It would be a ways to ship to Ontario, but they'll do it!

P C Headland · Feb 25, 2009

Marko

If all else fails, you can make yourself some "Rodinal" - have a search for paRodinal. All the ingredients should be readily available locally.

epavelin · Feb 25, 2009

Rodinal has a reputation for lasting "forever". I was recently in a similar situation- I came back to darkroom work and pulled a 9-year old bottle of Rodinal out of the cupboard "just to try". It worked fine.

wogster · Feb 27, 2009

jim appleyard said:
If you can't get a Canadian supplier, try Freestyle in LA. It may cost you a bit for shipping across the border, but maybe if you bought a few bottles. I think someone once said that it lasts forever...

You can also get the fixin's for homebrewd "Rodinal" from the Formulary. Heck, Formulary's in Montana, they could walk it across the border!

I work for a courier, so I know a little about this stuff.....

The problem with a lot of this , is that some chemistries, especially the colour ones, are considered class 8 dangerous goods, now shipping dangerous goods via ground transportation within the same country is relatively easy, although it requires hand movement through the carrier facilities, so it's a little more expensive, usually a small special handling fee, that can be added to the shipping costs.

However when the same goods cross an international border they must follow a lot of special regulations, with a lot of extra paperwork, and there must be a dangerous goods cleanup company on call to deal with issues. Not to mention that with increasing amounts of perceived terrorism, a lot of countries are much more strict about what they will and will not allow in. When dealing with customers about international shipments I would tell them, the shipping takes 3 days, barring customs delays. Customs can delay whatever they want for as long as they want, which tends to happen any time the paperwork is not exactly perfect.

A lot of retailers do not want to deal with all of this, so many do not deal with international shipments, and even fewer who want to deal with dangerous goods shipping....

BobNewYork · Feb 27, 2009

wogster said:
I work for a courier, so I know a little about this stuff.....

.... and there must be a dangerous goods cleanup company on call to deal with issues. Not to mention that with increasing amounts of perceived terrorism, a lot of countries are much more strict about what they will and will not allow in. ....

I wonder what the world history is on Rodinal-related deaths?:rolleyes:

wogster · Feb 27, 2009

BobNewYork said:
I wonder what the world history is on Rodinal-related deaths?:rolleyes:

Doesn't mean that it's not considered dangerous goods, most developers are alkaline, strangely enough, acids are corrosive, but so are alkalies, even if they are fairly weak, they are still considered a corrosive for dangerous goods purposes. Most people do not consider mouth wash as dangerous, but it's considered a flammable liquid, because it contains alcohol, so it's also a dangerous good for shipping purposes.

WGibsonPhotography · Feb 27, 2009

BobNewYork said:
I wonder what the world history is on Rodinal-related deaths?:rolleyes:

*does my best news reporter impersonation*

"Im here at the scene of a terrible chemical spill. In the UPS truck right behind me, a 500ml bottle of Rodinal, a common photographic film developer, spilled in the interior, contaminating the packages inside. As you can see, a cleanup crew, armed only with paper towels, is inside the truck cleaning up the spill. There are no injuries or deaths related to this spill, and the truck driver is fine. More on this story as it develops. Back to you, John."

BobNewYork · Feb 27, 2009

wogster · Feb 28, 2009

WGibsonPhotography said:
*does my best news reporter impersonation*

"Im here at the scene of a terrible chemical spill. In the UPS truck right behind me, a 500ml bottle of Rodinal, a common photographic film developer, spilled in the interior, contaminating the packages inside. As you can see, a cleanup crew, armed only with paper towels, is inside the truck cleaning up the spill. There are no injuries or deaths related to this spill, and the truck driver is fine. More on this story as it develops. Back to you, John."

It's all funny until someone gets hurt, most photo chemistries that do qualify as dangerous goods, are slightly corrosive, it's more about preventing spills then cleaning them up, so such items are handled by hand rather then by machines. They also tend to be loaded as far from the driver as possible, and are recorded on a special form that goes into a pouch beside the driver, so that if the truck is involved in a traffic collision emergency services knows what they are dealing with, even if the driver is incapacitated. It's a good system and it works well, even if some of the items that are classed as dangerous are not as dangerous as others.

RODINAL 10 years old

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