Seasoned paper developer - smoother highlights?

Hi everybody

I had done a darkroom print yesterday with a (just my guess) overexposed and overdeveloped Tmax400 negative. It was a female portrait and i had a bit of a hard time, figuring out the right exposures. Especially bringing down the highlights to my like, so that the skin is bright, but also smooth (did add some diffusion with the grade 0 filter). Finally after midnight i've printed a image to my like, but was too tired and lazy for cleaning up the darkroom. So i just let the developer (Multigrade 1+9) sit overnight in the tray.

Today i've done a second print in the already "seasoned" tray.... let the print sit a little bit longer than usual time in the developer.... and got the smoothest pure white downward gradation i've ever experienced in my prints. I'm by no means a pro in the darkroom or in chemicals.

Therefore my question to the advanced guys - can somebody explain what's happened in the paper/dev (was fb classic).... and is this effect somehow repeatable in a controlled manner?

Thanx in advance and sorry for my maybe somehow strange english (not my first language)

Hi there.
As long as the developer is not too exhausted to give you true blacks, it is certainly smoother to print with than fresh developer.
So, yes, i do actually alwas keep exhausted developer. and mix it with freshly mixed dev to start a session.

Thanks for your answer Chris! Definitely have to experiment more with this...

Your developer has simply lost some of its activity and turned into a lower-contrast developer, which works well with the particular image you're trying to print. If you need snap and more contrast, you'll want fresh developer though...

Doremus

Does this theoretically mean, you could develop the highlights in a seasoned tray for smoothness and give it a short dip in a second tray with fresh dev for punchy blacks?

I’ve been replenishing my paper developer for about 3 months now. I’ve been working with 2 liters (printing 4x5/5x7 prints) and I just add fresh developer to top it at 2 liters, every second session, as I lose about 200ml per session. I’ll go on indefinitely with this replenishment regime. It not only makes me save quite a bit of developer but the results are excellent.

Granted, for this to work, you must be printig at least every week.

As with D76, a seasoned dektol is the way to go. I’ve been adding dektol, ilford multigrade and kodak polymax-T to the mix.

I cannot say what exactly is special about it other than saving at least 50% of developer, and the results are excellent.

Urs Gantner said:

Does this theoretically mean, you could develop the highlights in a seasoned tray for smoothness and give it a short dip in a second tray with fresh dev for punchy blacks?

Click to expand...

In theory, yes. Using split-developing with graded paper was/is a standard practice to achieve intermediate contrast. One would develop the print first in a low-contrast developer like Selectol Soft or Ansco/Agfa 120 (Metol-only developers) and then finish the print in a higher-contrast developer like Dektol. Time in each developer determined the contrast.

In your case, using VC paper, I'd just use seasoned developer if you like the look better, or switch to a less-contrasty print developer to start with. Check out the Beer's two-solution formula.

Best,

Doremus

Thank you very much Doremus, this makes sense. I guess first i‘ll need maybe a little less development for my rolls. Or maybe for mid-aged women portraits shootin at EI200 and pull it.
Next would be some experimenting with low contrast paper developer.