TD-30 B&W "Improved Dektol" paper developer formula

[darkroommike]

There was nothing special about Picker's developer. However, there was something very special about his Brilliant Bromide graded paper. But if it were still available, I sure wouldn't use his developer. I don't know if it's the same as D72 or not; but it does have a similar effect. The Z VI store was a mixed bag. Some great darkroom gadgets I'm still using; but his tripods were a disappointment. I never met Picker; but yes, he was a friendly and helpful person over the phone.

For most of his career as a retailer his stuff was just repackaged off the shelf stuff that could be bought elsewhere. He later started doing a bit of R&D and introduced some pretty good products. He had a guy (Paul Horowitz?) that reworked his meters so that they were more full spectrum, his tripods were off the shelf, his tripod heads were Bogen 4047, etc. Good gear and all tested by him before it got into his store, but nothing special. Then read his write ups and Oh BOY!

BTW my only experience of him on the phone is second hand. A guy I sold a view camera to, and a bunch of darkroom stuff, was having issues and called Fred. Picker was pretty rough with him, he was using Kodak Indicator Stop Bath instead of Kodak 28% Acetic Acid and Picker gave him a pretty good chewing out. I got the story from my customer, not the horse's mouth but there it is. The issue might have been pinholes in negatives, this was in 1975 so my recollection is not complete. Could it have been the stop bath? Maybe. But if both were mixed to spec, they would have had the same strength.

 

[chuckroast]

There was nothing special about Picker's developer. However, there was something very special about his Brilliant Bromide graded paper. But if it were still available, I sure wouldn't use his developer. I don't know if it's the same as D72 or not; but it does have a similar effect. The Z VI store was a mixed bag. Some great darkroom gadgets I'm still using; but his tripods were a disappointment. I never met Picker; but yes, he was a friendly and helpful person over the phone.

I found his paper developer unremarkably different from Dektol and cheaper.

 

[DREW WILEY]

Mike - His tripods were modified so-so survey tripods. I had to replace a delaminated plywood top, and then gave it to a coworker for his hobby telescope. The legs swelled when wet and literally froze up in the snow. I learned my lesson and switched to Ries. But in the meantime, I became a distributor of survey gear; and a basic domestic aluminum top, fiberglass clad wooden legs survey tripod makes a far better alternative; all one has to do is replace the 5/811 turnbolt with a 3/8-16 one.

Indicator stop bath doesn't pose any problems unless you use it too concentrated. It's just ordinary acetic acid plus a pH indicating litmus dye. A few films are susceptible to frilling if any kind of acidity is too strong. I typically use acetic acid around 1/2% or even less - if diluted from Indicator Stop, a pale piss color and one time usage.

There are plenty of past threads on the pros n cons of his modified meters. I only use the unmodified Pentax ones.

 

[Milpool]

For most of his career as a retailer his stuff was just repackaged off the shelf stuff that could be bought elsewhere. He later started doing a bit of R&D and introduced some pretty good products. He had a guy (Paul Horowitz?) that reworked his meters so that they were more full spectrum, his tripods were off the shelf, his tripod heads were Bogen 4047, etc. Good gear and all tested by him before it got into his store, but nothing special. Then read his write ups and Oh BOY!

BTW my only experience of him on the phone is second hand. A guy I sold a view camera to, and a bunch of darkroom stuff, was having issues and called Fred. Picker was pretty rough with him, he was using Kodak Indicator Stop Bath instead of Kodak 28% Acetic Acid and Picker gave him a pretty good chewing out. I got the story from my customer, not the horse's mouth but there it is. The issue might have been pinholes in negatives, this was in 1975 so my recollection is not complete. Could it have been the stop bath? Maybe. But if both were mixed to spec, they would have had the same strength.

You might like Richard Henry's book. Along with a lot of other myth busting he took apart quite a few of Picker's claims with hard data.

 

[chuckroast]

Well since the exact formula for Dektol is proprietary their assertion that TD-30 is an "improved" Dektol is hype (or at least hype adjacent) as is their claim of cleaner brighter prints. Your best bet would be to try a tray of Dektol and a tray of TD-30 in the same session, printing the same negative. The "secret sauce" might just be a bit more restrainer or a contrast booster.

I am now shamelessly stealing the term 'hype adjacent'...

 

[darkroommike]

You might like Richard Henry's book. Along with a lot of other myth busting he took apart quite a few of Picker's claims with hard data.

I've had Dr. Henry's book (Second Edition) for a number of years! I also like his chapter on REAL darkroom safety and safe practices (from the guy that created most of the industrial safety practices that manufacturers use for chemical safety).

 

[DREW WILEY]

Any serious R&D lab these days could easily take apart anyone's "trade secret" ingredients (maybe not their specific workflow batching those). Something like Dektol or its clones is kindergarten level.

Picker himself didn't try to hide anything about his own modified Dektol tweak. He merely packaged it in two parts to bypass any "redundant sequestering agent", and boosted the Hydroquinone. He also sold it in bulk cheaper than typical camera store Dektol packs. He also claimed it gave more open shadows with his Brilliant Bromide paper.

I didn't note much difference in that respect. If one wanted a "wow" developer for Brilliant, go amidol. I was lucky to find an old unmounted Brilliant print still untoned in my files, and gold chloride toned it instead of in Selenium like back then - and it turned out the most stunning pure black of any silver print I've ever made. Wish I had known that earlier.

I probably still have some old packs of the old ZVI Dektol tweak laying around. I moved on to better developers long ago.