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  #11  
Old 20th January 2017, 08:10 AM
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Steve Smith Steve Smith is offline
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I used to use it a lot (mainly because it's quite cheap!). I'm currently using PMK Pyro which seems to last forever.


Steve.
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  #12  
Old 20th January 2017, 11:59 AM
Lostlabours Lostlabours is offline
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Autophen and Ilford's PQ variants of ID-11 includes Microphen/ID-68.

Ian
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  #13  
Old 20th January 2017, 12:52 PM
Svend Svend is offline
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Thanks Ian. Good info to know. Interesting that ID-68/Microphen has less sulphite than the others. I wonder if that's low enough to mute its solvent action significantly vs. ID-11 at stock concentrations? I seem to recall 100g/L being the threshold -- will check my A&T book.

I'm pretty sure I have all the bulk ingredients to roll my own, so if I like it I can keep making it from scratch, as needed. Just have to figure out how to measure 0.13g :-)

We'll see how I get on with it. Presently experimenting with Rodinal, but side-by-side trials are always insightful -- same camera, same scene, same film....different developers.

Best,
Svend

Last edited by Svend; 20th January 2017 at 12:56 PM.
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  #14  
Old 20th January 2017, 01:25 PM
Lostlabours Lostlabours is offline
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Svend, if you look at Agfa's fine grain developer Agfa 44 (Agfa Ansco -GAF - AN17) you'll see a similar level of Sulphite 80g/l and a drop in Metol compared to ID-11/D76. It's the same with Adox Borax MQ, you can find them all here.

I used Adox Borax MQ which is quite similar to Agfa 44for a few years replenished and used to supply it to a couple of commercial photographers, it gives finer grain, better sharpness and tonality, the reduced solvent effect gives better film speed as well.

The optimal level of sulphite is around 75-85g/l. The problem was this was realised after D76 had effectively been made an open source formula used around the world by the motion picture industry and made by almost all manufacturers so it remained the standard MQ Borax developer.

Ian
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  #15  
Old 20th January 2017, 04:29 PM
Svend Svend is offline
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Ian - I had no idea you had such a wealth of chemical formulae on your site. Well done! What a great resource. This will be extremely useful, as I do regularly mix my own brews, and even more once I start printing in my new darkroom...I see quite a number of paper developer formulas there. Kudos! We should all be grateful to you for such a resource.

Back to Microphen -- with its lower sulphite I might actually use a powdered developer at stock strength for once. I pretty much always use them one-shot for sharpness, contrast control (if needed) and consistency. But I've always had a hunch there might be something lost when diluting, so it will be interesting to experiment with this. As I noted, some images from this developer seem to have a wonderful glow and smoothness of tone. I'm looking forward to trying it. It really wasn't on my hit list until someone gave me a few cartons of it, but now that I look deeper I like what I see. If I can get a handle on it's unique character (that is, if it indeed has a distinctive and aesthetically interesting one), then it will be yet another tool in the shed to use when I want a particular "look".

Thanks again!
Svend
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  #16  
Old 20th January 2017, 05:59 PM
Lostlabours Lostlabours is offline
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These developers work best replenished, once they become ripened/seasoned you get the best from them in terms of finer grain, sharpness, tonality.

This is true for ID-11/D76, Agfa 44, Adox Borax MQ, Xtol, Microphen (ID-68) and Autophen, all of which designed from the outset for replenishment.

Probably the best way to describe this is - as you dilute say ID-11 an use it at 1+1. 1+2 or even 1+3 you get a slight increase in speed and better sharpness but an increase in grain depending on how much the developer and specifically the sulphite is diluted.

When used ID-11 replenished you get the sharpness and tonality you'd expect at 1+2 but the finer grain from using it full strength.

Autophen, Microphen (ID-68), and also Xtol, are better still - more stable when replenished because of Phenidone's tolerance of Bromide build up.

I've hardly put any of my formulae notes etc on my website Svend, I will add a lot more at some point .

Ian
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  #17  
Old 20th January 2017, 06:27 PM
Svend Svend is offline
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I wasn't aware that these developers when used as replenished had such properties. Gee, I am indeed learning a lot today. Thank you Ian! To be honest, I never really considered replenishers as they haven't been commercially available. Just didn't bother reading up about it as it was not relevant. But now that I am mixing my own brews from scratch this is actually a real option for once. I will most definitely research the particulars of replenishment, how it's done, storage, etc..

In principal, I like the concept. It will save a lot of mixing of powders. One-shot work is fine, but as I usually dilute at 1+1 or 1+2, I do go through a lot of stock (I no longer use 1+3 for image quality reasons). Now that I know the image quality is so good with replenished solutions, I'm sold!

The question is: if I mix up the packaged Microphen that I have on hand, will the ID-68R replenisher (as a homebrew mix) be compatible?

Best,
Svend

Last edited by Svend; 20th January 2017 at 06:35 PM.
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  #18  
Old 20th January 2017, 07:13 PM
Lostlabours Lostlabours is offline
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Svend, the huge advantage of replenishment is it's so economic, along with fast and quick to use. If you're an LF user then it doesn't matter whether you process 1 sheet of 5x4 in a litre or 6 (that's what my Jobo 2000 "inversion" tanks need per reel).

I used ID-68 replenisher with Microphen, the only difference between packaged Microphen and ID-68 is Metabisulpite is used at low level in Microphen Part A as a preservative to protect the developing agents.

This is done with some other Ilford (and older Kodak) powder developers. Once mixed in liquid form the Metabisulphite decomposes to Sulphite due to the the alkali - Borax or Carbonate.

Ideally I would use a minimum of 2.5 litres as w my working solution for replenishment. I found that worked well with ID-68/Microphem, ID-ii Adox Borax MQ and more recently Xtol.

I should have a Microphen data sheet from the mid to late 1970's with the replenishment details in an old Kentmere paper box in my darkroom, although you should be able to download via archive.org (The Way Back Machine).

Ian
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  #19  
Old 20th January 2017, 07:43 PM
Svend Svend is offline
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Excellent -- good news about using the ID-68 replenisher with Microphen. I'm good to go then.

BTW, no need to trouble yourself looking for the old Microphen tech sheet -- I found one in my archive from the early '80s which speaks about replenishment. Very simple to do.

Any particular reason for recommending the 2.5L working sol'n? I really would only use 1L at a time, as that is what my largest Paterson tanks will hold.

Last edited by Svend; 20th January 2017 at 08:05 PM.
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  #20  
Old 20th January 2017, 08:01 PM
Lostlabours Lostlabours is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by SvendN View Post
Any particular reason for recommending the 2.5L working sol'n? I really would only use 1L at a time, as that is what my largest Paterson tanks will hold.
Yes it even out variations between films, some use/exhasut developer more than others (due to subject matter, range of densities).

2 litres would be much better than one.

Ian
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