Where did this come from?

[Ariston]

I have no memory of ever buying it, but there is a package of Ilford ID-11 on my shelf. I have only used Ilfosol and HC110 in the past. I have two questions, if anyone knows:

1) How does ID-11 compare to those other two developers, and
2) Will it keep indefinitely in powder form?

Thanks for the information. I feel like I just got some free developer!

 

[cmacd123]

Think D76. almost identical, but with the components in More than one bag. if all the contents of the envelopes are white and free running, it may very well be good.

 

[Ariston]

Think D76. almost identical, but with the components in More than one bag. if all the contents of the envelopes are white and free running, it may very well be good.

I've never used D76. Do you know how it compares to HC110 or Ilfosol?

 

[cmacd123]

D76 is _the_ reference developer since it came out in the 1930s . Slower to develop than HC110, Don't know about the ilfosol, I bought it on a couple of occasions but it went bad each time before I could use it.

 

[Paul Howell]

Although very different from a chemistry point of view Kodak developed HC110 as an alternative to D 76, same balance between grain, contrast while maintaining shadow detail. HC 110 will keep just about forever, I've had Ilfosol go bad in just a couple of weeks, ID11 or D76 is good for about 6 months. I use D76 1:1 or 1:2.

 

[pentaxuser]

ID11 or D76 is good for about 6 months. I use D76 1:1 or 1:2.

I take it that you mean once it is made into a liquid stock solution? In air tight bags I see no reason why ID11 should not last indefinitely or as near to indefinitely as to make no difference.

Even as stock it should last longer in airtight winebags or in full to the brim 250 or 300ml bottles.

pentaxuser

 

[Agulliver]

ID-11 is good for 6-7 months once you've made the stock liquid solution.

In the packets, probably good for many years unless moisture gets into the chemical packets.

ID11 is the only developer I use these days.

 

[drpsilver]

10 June 2019

My "go to" developer is D76 (stock). My limited experience with HC110 is that it is much faster working, slightly finer grain, and maybe better acutance. I suspect that the difference between D76/ID-11 and HC110 will be more pronounced in small negatives that large. ID-11 should be good in powder form for many years as long as it is cool and dry. When you mix the stock solution it should be clear and colorless (or slight buff color). If it is cloudy or brown, toss it. As stated above, the stock solution should be good for 3-6 months depending on how much head space is left in the bottle. The fortunate thing is that color is a reasonable indication of activity for both D76 and ID-11.

Hope this helps.

Regards,
Darwin

 

[Ariston]

I take it that you mean once it is made into a liquid stock solution? In air tight bags I see no reason why ID11 should not last indefinitely or as near to indefinitely as to make no difference.

Even as stock it should last longer in airtight winebags or in full to the brim 250 or 300ml bottles.

pentaxuser

ID-11 is good for 6-7 months once you've made the stock liquid solution.

In the packets, probably good for many years unless moisture gets into the chemical packets.

ID11 is the only developer I use these days.

10 June 2019

My "go to" developer is D76 (stock). My limited experience with HC110 is that it is much faster working, slightly finer grain, and maybe better acutance. I suspect that the difference between D76/ID-11 and HC110 will be more pronounced in small negatives that large. ID-11 should be good in powder form for many years as long as it is cool and dry. When you mix the stock solution it should be clear and colorless (or slight buff color). If it is cloudy or brown, toss it. As stated above, the stock solution should be good for 3-6 months depending on how much head space is left in the bottle. The fortunate thing is that color is a reasonable indication of activity for both D76 and ID-11.

Hope this helps.

Regards,
Darwin

Thank you, this information is what I was looking for. I had intended to stick with HC110 since it is perfect for my "workflow," but since I have some ID-11 setting around, I guess I will use it next.

 

[markbau]

I think it's worth pointing out that the popularity of HC110 is probably due to the fact that Saint Ansel did his development tests that appear in the book The Negative with it. It's a very thick liquid which makes it hard to mix small quantities. I've never noticed any difference between it and D76. Knowing Kodak they probably introduced it because it was cheaper to manufacture than D76.

 

[Pentode]

It's a good idea to mix it a day before and let it settle before you use it. If you use tap water (which is perfectly fine in most cases), there might be some precipitate in the solution after it's sat overnight. Strain it through a paper coffee filter and you'll be good to go. If there's no precipitate don't bother with straining.

The tonality of ID-11(D-76) will be similar to what you're used to from HC-110. I prefer it diluted 1+1 and used one-shot but many people use it straight and replenish. The powdered chemicals will last nearly forever in sealed envelopes.

It's a really good developer. Let us know how you like it!

 

[MattKing]

I think it's worth pointing out that the popularity of HC110 is probably due to the fact that Saint Ansel did his development tests that appear in the book The Negative with it. It's a very thick liquid which makes it hard to mix small quantities. I've never noticed any difference between it and D76. Knowing Kodak they probably introduced it because it was cheaper to manufacture than D76.

The power of HC-110 comes from the fact that it could be used to give results similar to many other developers, simply by changing the dilution. That is why there are a number of standard dilutions. And its keeping qualities while in syrup form are of course advantageous to labs who use a lot of it.
The matched HC-110 replenisher (no longer made) added to that efficacy - replenishment techniques could be used with all normal dilutions.
It was marketed to commercial labs - with one developer they could replace several. Initially it probably wasn't intended to be used by home developers

 

[cmacd123]

And its keeping qualities while in syrup form are of course advantageous to labs who use a lot of it.

because of the fear that home users would not get the dilution right, the instructions did call for a multi-step process using the entire 16US oz bottle to make an intermediate solution.

I wonder if HC-110 was a challenge given out by someone at Kodak Labs. "Make a developer which ships without ANY water in the bottle" The lack of Water probably helps the concentrate to last longer. And removing ALL the Water is the highest concentration you can have!

it is certainly not part of the normal product stream, having the Unique HC name, rather than a "d" or a Koda this or EktaThat name.

basically the only film developer I use these days.

 

[MattKing]

because of the fear that home users would not get the dilution right, the instructions did call for a multi-step process using the entire 16US oz bottle to make an intermediate solution.

Actually, I would expect that the intermediate stock instructions were aimed as much at labs that were running a lot of film in either multiple different dilutions, or somewhat smaller tanks.
The intermediate stock has decent shelf life - 6 months in a full and sealed bottle - so there was no down side for a busy lab to make up two or more quarts of the stock solution and have it ready.
No issues with respect to careful dispensing of a thick syrup - just dump and rinse the entire bottle.

 

[RalphLambrecht]

I've never used D76. Do you know how it compares to HC110 or Ilfosol?

different dev times but similar result to Ilfosol;finer grain than HC110.