Seeking a New Paper Developer

[NortheastPhotographic]

I went through all our LPD and found it pretty nice, but I'm looking for something else now.

I have experience with Ansco 130 which is great, but I don't totally trust glycin to be good even when I order direct from Photo Formulary. BW65 sounds promising, also glycin based. I have loved Moersch Eco 4812 but I don't think it's going to be available in the 'states in the near term.

I like to develop my fiber prints for 2-3 minutes. I keep the working solution in a tank with a floating lid so it either needs to be long lasting enough to work with that or cheap enough to use one shot.

Any suggestions?

 

[MARTIE]

I like Ilford Bromophen.

 

[ags2mikon]

I have ordered glycin from PF a couple of times in the past and it was fresh. I re-bottled it into smaller glass bottles and placed it in the freezer and got about 5 years out of it. Once in solution it keeps very well. It is a nice developer to work with.

 

[Paul Howell]

My current developer is Clayton P 20, I use it as one shot, does not have the staying power of LPD, but it is cheap enough to use once and dump. Freestyle also sells it as their house brand. Ultafine (Photo Warehouse now in New York) sells a dektol clone that is rather nice at a good price. .

 

[chuckroast]

I went through all our LPD and found it pretty nice, but I'm looking for something else now.

I have experience with Ansco 130 which is great, but I don't totally trust glycin to be good even when I order direct from Photo Formulary. BW65 sounds promising, also glycin based. I have loved Moersch Eco 4812 but I don't think it's going to be available in the 'states in the near term.

I like to develop my fiber prints for 2-3 minutes. I keep the working solution in a tank with a floating lid so it either needs to be long lasting enough to work with that or cheap enough to use one shot.

Any suggestions?

I like 130 a lot. In only a month or two, I've gotten really comfortable with its look.

At the recommendation of some people here, I bought glycin from PF, put the container in a plastic bag, and store it in the freezer. (There is no food in this particular freezer as I would not store chems and comestibles together.)

 

[Alex Benjamin]

What paper are you using? Ilford, Bergger, Foma ? Warm tone, cool tone, neutral ? Glossy, matt, semi-matt ?

And when you say you're "looking for something else," do you mean you feel like experimenting, or you have something specific in mind, that you're not getting with LPD?

It all makes a difference. For example, there's some interesting warm-tone developers out there — ID-78 or D-166 are two that I've tried —, but they'll work very differently on Ilford's or Foma's warmtone papers, and work very little (or not that pleasantly) on Ilford's classic FB.

 

[NortheastPhotographic]

I'm mostly using Ilford papers, RC and FB. WT and Classic. Semi-matte for warm tone and glossy for FB classic.

 

[mshchem]

I'm mostly using Ilford papers, RC and FB. WT and Classic. Semi-matte for warm tone and glossy for FB classic.

I have a warm spot for glycin. Wonderful stuff. However I highly recommend Bromophen

 

[Sanug]

A very long lasting developer is Adox Adotol Konstant. The formula is from the the famous Orwo N113. But I am not sure weather it is available in the U.S..

 

[tezzasmall]

I used Ilford MG developer for years in my Nova slot processor and it has a really good working life, both the concentrate and when mixed. I found a litre bottle of the concentrate at the back of the cupboard recently, which must have been at least 5 to 6 years past it's expiration date and it still works great!

I then got into mixing my own chemicals and have tried a lot of formulas out. I finally settled on D72, supposedly a Kodak Dektol clone. I use it at 1 to 2 and that too has a good life in the Nova, so should be good for your tank. I've recently been trying out E72, but that is a one time use developer, but uses no Hydroquinone.

The main papers that I use are Ilford MGV RC satin and MGIV FB matt.

I'm sure others will look down on my choice of developer, but it works for me.

Terry S
UK

 

[jim appleyard]

If you would like to mix your own, that can open many doors and save quite a bit of money. The "Darkroom Cookbook" has lots of recipes.

 

[BHuij]

I hear Liquidol is particularly good for long-term tray storage as it resists oxidation. I haven't validated that claim myself, but know a photographer who swears by it.

I use E-72 myself. It's a more eco-friendly version of D-72, which is itself a Dektol clone. E-72 is basically vitamin C and phenidone, with some sulfite and buffers, and a bit of bromide (which I assume acts as a restrainer). I also use a bit of EDTA in mine as a chelating agent so it's clear enough to watch the print in the tray, though this isn't strictly necessary. I don't think E-72 will be particularly good for long-term storage after mixing. I mix it up and basically use it one-shot per printing session since it's so inexpensive. Might get two sessions out of it if they're within a week or so of each other; I'll just store in the bottle in between. Two different approaches to the "longevity" problem. Results are indistinguishable from Dektol to my eye, when I did a side-by-side.

 

[tcolgate]

I'm using Bellini Eco BWD100 at the moment. I'm in no way qualified to say if it is any good, but the concentrate and working solution both seem to have a very long shelf life. I have a second bottle, when it's done I'm considering switching to E-72 as I have a lot of the ingredients for the developers I'm mixing.

 

[cjbecker]

I am on my 4th or 5th bottle of Adox Neutol eco, and I’m really loving it. I really cannot find a single thing wrong with it. At one time I only used a130 and then switched to liquidol. It has faster development times then you would like at the 1+4, For me it a plus. The 1+9 might be up more your ally. I can also say it does pretty well in deep tanks with a floating lid. I’ve been using it 1-19 for 4x5 hp5 and also 120 tmy-2.

 

[Alex Benjamin]

A very long lasting developer is Adox Adotol Konstant. The formula is from the the famous Orwo N113. But I am not sure weather it is available in the U.S..

B&H has it. But it's in-store pick-up only. No shipping.

Semi-matte for warm tone

I like this Ilford paper a lot. I would use it almost exclusively, but it's gotten impossible to find in Quebec in formats larger than 8x10.

Both LPD and Ansco 130 are neutral tone developers. It might be interesting for you to try the Ilford warm-tone semi-matte with a warm-tone developer. ID-78 is easy to mix from scratch, and similar to the old Agfa Neutol WA.

Here's a page on it:

-- ID-78 Warm Tone Developer --

As @cjbecker just posted, Adox still makes Neutol WA, in two versions, the old Agfa formula and an "eco" version.

The best things in life are analog | NEUTOL Liquid WA

www.adox.de

The best things in life are analog | NEUTOL ECO DEV

www.adox.de

 

[Paul Howell]

I hear Liquidol is particularly good for long-term tray storage as it resists oxidation. I haven't validated that claim myself, but know a photographer who swears by it.

No longer available, PF could not source one or more chemicals.

 

[MattKing]

Both LPD and Ansco 130 are neutral tone developers.

From the old LPD cans:

 

[Alex Benjamin]

From the old LPD cans:
View attachment 406286

Interesting. Thanks for the info.

 

[Paul Howell]

Edwal can used from cold to warm tone, it is expensive at $76 a quart but makes a few gallons of working solution, just too expensive blows my budget.

Most versatile black & white paper developer available. TST Concentrate is accompanied by "Solution B". The use of "B" controls contrast on any paper. Tones ranging from high density cold images to warm portrait blacks are possible. 1 gallon of TST produces 12 gallons for heavy-duty applications; 16 gallons of commercial strength developer; 20 gallons portrait strength, and can develop over 4,000 - 8 x 10 prints. Has a working temperature range of 55-90 degrees F.