Tintype Developer

My Rockland Colloid Tintype Parlor kit just arrived. I ordered the small kit which makes eight 4x5 dry plates and includes the premixed developer (i.e. not the three developer components). I've read that the developer is only good for two to three weeks once opened. Is this a conservative estimate, or is it truly that much more "volatile" (for lack of a better word) than, say, paper or film developer? I expect to be able to store it in full airtight container(s). But even the bottle it came in has a big air bubble in it.

Curious to hear other people's experiences. Thanks.

hi there,

you should get good life out of the developer.
they say to put it in a tray for a number of hours to " ripen it "
put back in the same little container and squeeze the air out of it
before you cap it ...
and if you feel the developer is getting a little weak, put a pinch of dektol in to the
liquid you have in your tray and it will bring it back to life.
i've done my best to try to concoct my own brew using the ingredients that come in their
kit as the developer, and haven't managed to get it to work any where as well as their developer.

it must be something magical they put in there

have fun making ferrotypes !
john

hey,
If you speak about wet plate collodion so here's the recipe I use everyday
I work with Jody's Ake sugar developer
0,5L cristal/white vinegar
4g iron sulfate
3g sugar
7ml alcohol

Filter in a funel with a cotton ball
You can keep it for a long time, if you don't use it for a while, filter it, if it doesn't work anymore, trash it
you get some warm tone.
if it hot outside, add some sugar, if it's cold remove some

nede said:

hey,
If you speak about wet plate collodion so here's the recipe I use everyday
I work with Jody's Ake sugar developer
0,5L cristal/white vinegar
4g iron sulfate
3g sugar
7ml alcohol

Filter in a funel with a cotton ball
You can keep it for a long time, if you don't use it for a while, filter it, if it doesn't work anymore, trash it
you get some warm tone.
if it hot outside, add some sugar, if it's cold remove some

Click to expand...

This works quite well. Specially since the ingredients are relatively a lot less toxic.

Ref Tintype Developer.

This is Dektol, which keeps really well. To make it work well with tintypes, however, you must add a small quantity of ammonium thiocyanate. There is a reaction and the developer "ripens". This mixture will not keep well. Try 4g thiocyanate in 120ml of standard Dektol solution.

The alternative, which I confess I have yet to try, is to develop using a mixture of Dektol and a small quantity of exhausted fixer.
Again, this does not keep and has to be mixed fresh.

jcc said:

This works quite well. Specially since the ingredients are relatively a lot less toxic.

Click to expand...

Cheap, easy to do, And less toxic... My favourite mix for a while

Simon Howers said:

Ref Tintype Developer.

This is Dektol, which keeps really well. To make it work well with tintypes, however, you must add a small quantity of ammonium thiocyanate. There is a reaction and the developer "ripens". This mixture will not keep well. Try 4g thiocyanate in 120ml of standard Dektol solution.

The alternative, which I confess I have yet to try, is to develop using a mixture of Dektol and a small quantity of exhausted fixer.
Again, this does not keep and has to be mixed fresh.

Click to expand...

thanks simon
i think the dektol has to be alkali for just the ammonium thiocyanate to work.
the developer sold in the tintype kit's msds suggests the it
is a combination of alkali buffers ( washing soda, calgon ) as well as thiocyanate
and lastly the spent fixer ( equal parts with the cyanate ).

i've seen published recipes for ferrotype reversal developers that are similar, and others
that are just a weak hq developer with a ton of washing soda ... left to ripen for a few days
and the liquid on top removed and used full strength ...
but unfortunately none of these recipes seem to produce an image LOL
except for the one sold by rockland colloid !

nede and jcc
the developers you posted about are for WET plate tintypes
the OP is making DRY PLATE ones ...
they are the tintypes / postcards &C made by street photographers who had
something similar to an afghan camera ... but it was a small box camera with a sleeve
they would make the exposure, and put the exposed metal or paper plate into a tank UNDER and ATTACHED to the camera
the and then into a fixer bath ............
kind of like this: http://www.vintagephoto.tv/mandelette.shtml
the developers were proprietary ( like harvey's 777 is today ) so no one knows the recipes ...

ok sorry (I don't know all differencies in english language)