What does glycin add to a developer?

[gary mulder]

Glycin was expensive enough everytime I checked in Spain to discard any kind of use. Also Ilford MG RC IV was completely inmune to any change in developer, and I tried several including advertised warm and cold tone developers, it delivered always the same print. So i chose the cheapest standard paper developer I found (Dektol, Neutol, Eukobrom, PQ).

Ilford MGFB.5k will exhaust most soft working developers quickly. You need a developer based on Hydroquinone Metol to get predictable results. I had some luck with Amidol based developers on smal sized prints.

 

[Alex Benjamin]

Ilford MG RC IV was completely inmune to any change in developer

I think this nails it on the head. The problem in assessing glycin's impact may have little to do with the chemistry of the developer, but more with the composition of modern paper. As I mentioned, when I compare D-72 and Agfa Ansco 130 in MG Classic fiber I see differences, but very subtle. They are there, but I have to look closely, and they are barely noticeable from a distance. But then, this paper also gives me very little results when selenium toned. I appreciate it, but at this point, I've decided that I'll take what it wants to give me, not what I would like it to give me.

Quite possible that we would have a whole different conversation regarding glycin and Agfa Ansco 130 30, 40 or 50 years when there were many more papers available, some proving to be more susceptible to be impacted by the chemistry than today's papers.