what is the last thing you developed or printed

[pdeeh]

yeah, sucks like a FOX

 

[erikg]

Well, horses for courses I guess. I've had no problem getting a good black with Sprint print developer and I have compared it to Dektol side by side. That said my favorite print developer is Ansco 130. I can say that the Sprint print developer and film developer are two different formulas, not just differing dilutions of the same. They are related in the way that all M/HQ and P/HQ are related and similar, but not the same. The fix times line up with the Ilford recommendations and I have tested them personally so I trust the times given. The infamous "pink" is not the indication for proper amount of fixing, there are other and better ways to clear it. There is no harm if some pink cast remains anyway. Tons of threads on that, lots of opinions and preferences.

 

[removed account4]

erik

the claim the 2 developers were the same formula didn't seem right.
unfortunately, the interweb is always swimming with stuff that isn't exactly true.
and it is hard to separate fact from fiction so its good someone who actually knows
about the developers could shed light and verify they are different formulas.

thanks!
john

 

[Thomas Bertilsson]

I think each and every one should use what they like, but base it on personal experience with it, instead of what they read online.

Seems to me that Stone has done some testing with both kinds of developer, and that's great. He picked something he likes.

Still, that doesn't mean the Sprint developer sucks just because a couple of users dislike it. I've seen plenty of prints from people using Sprint print developer, or the whole Sprint system, actually, that blew me away. It's all subjective, and the argument boils down to the simple task of simply staying humble and being careful with how we express ourselves.
It's too easy to end up in unnecessary arguments by being much too strong worded instead of simply claiming what you say as opinion.

 

[removed account4]

Try not even close to true.

its jam packed with everything that is true ?

 

[eddie]

I've had no problem getting a good black with Sprint print developer and I have compared it to Dektol side by side.

I used Sprint once (a few years ago) when I was out of Dektol. I found them to be very similar, to the point of no perceptible difference. I also had no issue getting good blacks, which matched prints done from the same negative/same paper as prints previously made with Dektol.
I think the reason schools choose Sprint is because it's cheap, easy to mix, and relatively long lasting.

 

[eddie]

But I can certainly see that the blacks aren't as black as they could be, no matter how much I expose them or how long I develop them, just not as rich as the Dektol developer prints I've seen.

You need to remember that the whole system, from camera exposure/film development/paper choice/paper development is an interdependent relationship. To get the deep blacks you want, you may have to alter the negatives you create to get them with the Sprint developer. To make a comparison to Dektol prints you've "seen" is useless. Do you know whether the Dektol prints you've seen were selenium toned? Have you tried toning the Sprint prints? To infer characteristics from prints you've seen, without knowing how the negative/print were created makes no sense. The only way you'll ever find out if there are differences between the two developers is to actually make prints with the two developers.

You've started on a fantastic journey... Don't limit it by accepting as true things you haven't tried for yourself.

 

[removed account4]

I think each and every one should use what they like, but base it on personal experience with it, instead of what they read online.

Seems to me that Stone has done some testing with both kinds of developer, and that's great. He picked something he likes.

Still, that doesn't mean the Sprint developer sucks just because a couple of users dislike it. I've seen plenty of prints from people using Sprint print developer, or the whole Sprint system, actually, that blew me away. It's all subjective, and the argument boils down to the simple task of simply staying humble and being careful with how we express ourselves.
It's too easy to end up in unnecessary arguments by being much too strong worded instead of simply claiming what you say as opinion.

thomas

i am all for stone's trying developers and papers and films and learning and deciding about what he likes because of personal experiences

but when someone makes blanket statements like "sprint developers suck" i want to hear why, not to change his mind, but to know why
because i have had exactly the opposite experience, even the first roll i exposed and printed.
when someone then makes false statements like "the print and film developer are THE SAME DEVELOPER" i will call them on it
and say it isn't true, just like i would do if someone said tri x and some other film were the same film, just a different notch codes ...
and to make assertions that the developers are sub par because they are "formulated to mask over poor technique" ( which i think was a slight directed at me? )
i will ask again, if the developers it is most closely related to ( like d76 and id 11 ) are also tailor made for people who are incompetent ...
if i made blanket statements and said something like d76 and dektol suck, they are the same developers, and are tailor made for people
who are incompetent, i would certainly expect a rush of people telling me that i was wrong and ask me why i thought these thing.

 

[Thomas Bertilsson]

thomas

i am all for stone's trying developers and papers and films and learning and deciding about what he likes because of personal experiences

but when someone makes blanket statements like "sprint developers suck" i want to hear why, not to change his mind, but to know why
because i have had exactly the opposite experience, even the first roll i exposed and printed.
when someone then makes false statements like "the print and film developer are THE SAME DEVELOPER" i will call them on it
and say it isn't true, just like i would do if someone said tri x and some other film were the same film, just a different notch codes ...
and to make assertions that the developers are sub par because they are "formulated to mask over poor technique" ( which i think was a slight directed at me? )
i will ask again, if the developers it is most closely related to ( like d76 and id 11 ) are also tailor made for people who are incompetent ...
if i made blanket statements and said something like d76 and dektol suck, they are the same developers, and are tailor made for people
who are incompetent, i would certainly expect a rush of people telling me that i was wrong and ask me why i thought these thing.

Exactly, John. You just reinforced what I was saying.

Everybody is welcome to have an opinion, but when you make blanket statements that simply claims that something sucks, then it gets weird.

I've learned that unless I have very specific knowledge of actually being able to tell specific differences between two products, tested properly, then I will just keep my pie hole shut. It's best for everybody that way.

 

[Thomas Bertilsson]

Two rolls of 120 Neopan Acros in D76 straight.
Two rolls of 120 Tri-X in Harvey's 777 Panthermic.
Two rolls of 120 HP5+ in Harvey's 777 Panthermic.

Need to get into the darkroom and make some prints soon too. My grandfather passed away last week, and I have a portrait of him I want to print as a gift to my relatives.

 

[pdeeh]

The thing I most recently exposed and then developed was this.

It's a contact print on 60yo+ Grade 2 Velox 6.5x9cm, from a 6x9 negative shot recently on 70yo+ nitrate film, and developed in ID36 1+1 with a bit of benzotriazole.

Does ID36 "suck", but the way?

(As you can see, I am a Master Printer producing work of the highest Exhibition Quality)

 

[Thomas Bertilsson]

Very cool. I used to have a bunch of old Velox around that expired in the 1950s, and it printed really well in low fog developers.
But they were so small I couldn't find much use for it, sadly.

Glad you're enjoying yours!

The thing I most recently exposed and then developed was this.

It's a contact print on 60yo+ Grade 2 Velox 6.5x9cm, from a 6x9 negative shot recently on 70yo+ nitrate film, and developed in ID36 1+1 with a bit of benzotriazole.

Does ID36 "suck", but the way?

(As you can see, I am a Master Printer producing work of the highest Exhibition Quality)

 

[cliveh]

The last thing I developed and printed didn't work, so it went in the bin. I have many like that.

 

[Kyle M.]

I shot some still lifes today on a roll of Rollei ATP 1.1, I shot it at ISO 25 in my Nikon F with the 50 1.4, developed for 12 minutes in Rodinal 1+300. It just got done drying and I've noticed that it is without a doubt the curliest film I have ever seen. I'll have to get that straightened out before I can scan it.

 

[Wayne]

My blackberry anthotype is printing itself on the balcony.

 

[Dr Croubie]

I think I'm getting the hang of this 8x10 thingummy:

 

[scheimfluger_77]

I think I'm getting the hang of this 8x10 thingummy:
View attachment 96319

Braggart! However I think you have cause. If the scan looks this great the print must be phenominal.

 

[erikg]

Here is mine, made from a paper negative from a pinhole camera. The camera has multiple apertures.

Ilford Multigrade RC, developed in Ansco 130.

 

[MattKing]

A demonstration print.

I was doing a demonstration of my take on split contrast printing for my darkroom group. In my friends' darkroom, with 8+ people watching and discussing and asking questions - it was great fun!

It is the same image as some people will receive in the current Postcard Exchange. And a bit of a challenging negative.

Ilford MGIV RC glossy in, I think, Ilford Multigrade developer.

I expect it would have looked quite good in Dektol, or Sprint, or Polymax T (my favourite) or Formulary 130, or ...

 

[RattyMouse]

This weekend I developed 2 rolls Acros (120), 1 roll Delta 3200 (135), and 2 rolls of HP5 (120). Mighty busy with chemicals at home.

 

[StoneNYC]

I think I'm getting the hang of this 8x10 thingummy:
View attachment 96319

Nice!!!!!!

 

[NedL]

The thing I most recently exposed and then developed was this.

That's very cool. There is something interesting about the look of this, and I don't mean the composition or photograph but the look of the contact print, the result of the film + velox. Neat!

 

[NedL]

My blackberry anthotype is printing itself on the balcony.

Please share it here, or when you make one you like.

 

[Thomas Bertilsson]

I think I'm getting the hang of this 8x10 thingummy:
View attachment 96319

Very nice photograph! Love the light and how large format negatives deliver such clarity when used well.

Are the uneven densities in the sky from the scan, though?

 

[Bill Burk]

Shame on me. Looks like I'm not printing. I've gone through less than a gallon of Dektol this past whole year. A bottle of Dektol I just poured into the tray shows it was mixed October 7, 2013