when the developer has expired?

[sergioto]

How do you know when the developer has expired without trying to develop a roll of film (and finding that is has been ruined....)?

 

[Rick A]

If I remotely suspect my developer is bad, I dump it and start with new chems. Age is a major factor with film developers. You can always do a clip test. Snip the exposed leader from a film, drop it in a tank and develop as usual, finished results tell all.

 

[bobwysiwyg]

I have enough obstacles standing in the way of my taking good photos , so I eliminate one of them by never reusing developer. There are recommended replenishment procedures depending upon what film and developer you are using, but this might give you a sense.

Dead Link Removed

 

[removed account4]

if you are uncomfortable with tests and potentially using bad developer to develop film its best to
mix new developer than to use olde spent, maybe limited life left developer .. a lot of
time effort &c is spent making exposures of things that will never be as you saw them again ..
so it might not be best to use risky chemistry ...
that said, you can put a bit of suspect developer on a clip of film leader and in room light see
if it develops it. if it turns the film the developer might still be ok if not, mix new ...


good luck !

 

[Gerald C Koch]

There is the "snip test." Put a small piece of film in the developer and see if it blackens. However this test cannot distinguish between a good developer and one that would cause under-development. It's sort of all or nothing. Best to use developers within the published shelf lives.

 

[gone]

Does that test hold true for paper developers as well Gerald? I would think so, as a developer is a developer in a sense, but just thought I would ask.

 

[Gerald C Koch]

Does that test hold true for paper developers as well Gerald? I would think so, as a developer is a developer in a sense, but just thought I would ask.

Yes it would. However paper developers can be used even if showing signs of weakening. One just increases the development time.

 

[paul_c5x4]

I have enough obstacles standing in the way of my taking good photos , so I eliminate one of them by never reusing developer. There are recommended replenishment procedures depending upon what film and developer you are using,

If my throughput is a handful of sheets or rolls at a time, one shot is the way to go. If I have a large batch to process, a fresh bath of developer regularly replenished is my preferred option. Developer is cheap in comparison to the cost of film and getting the shot, so it makes no sense to scrimp.

 

[Sirius Glass]

There is the "snip test." Put a small piece of film in the developer and see if it blackens. However this test cannot distinguish between a good developer and one that would cause under-development. It's sort of all or nothing. Best to use developers within the published shelf lives.

I use the snip test with 35mm film. Most recently I needed to test the developer before I developed six 120 rolls from a vacation. Rather than snip the end of a new roll of 35mm film, I shot several frames on my single frame Tessina, opened the camera in a dark room bag to develop properly exposed negatives for the test. I restarted the film in the Tessina.

 

[sergioto]

thank you all

 

[Regular Rod]

How do you know when the developer has expired without trying to develop a roll of film (and finding that is has been ruined....)?

There are some developers that in their stock solutions for all practical purposes simply don't go off if the cap is put back on the bottle between sessions.

Kodak HC110
510-PYRO
OBSIDIAN AQUA

to name but three.

The other strategy is to use a developer like Caffenol, which you make up from its ingredients directly into the working solution and then discard it after one use.

RR