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  #1  
Old 6th March 2017, 12:00 AM
Svend Svend is offline
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Default Print developer with long tray life?

I'm curious to know if anyone can recommend a print developer with a long tray life? By that I don't mean print capacity, but rather one that is long-lasting in an open tray without going dead overnight. My experience with Bromophen and Dektol has been just that -- they are great developers, and I will still use them for longer single sessions. But it would be nice to be able to walk away from the darkroom for a few days and walk right back into a printing session without having to mix a fresh batch of developer every time. With a busy work schedule and active family, it's difficult to dedicate long blocks of time to printing -- 2 to 4 hours at a time is realistic.

I will try the ID-78 formula from Ian Grant's site for when I want a warm tone developer. But for most of my printing I prefer neutral tones, and will do selenium (mostly) or sepia (occasionally) afterwards to suit the image. So a long-lasting neutral developer is what I'm after. Ansco 130 is said to be such, but the short shelf life of glycin is making me hesitate.

For off-the-shelf products, Edwal TST and Ethol LPD are apparently very good in this respect, and perform well image-wise too, but they're not available here in Canada and the US shops won't ship them out of country.

Any recommendations for commercial products or DIY formulae greatly appreciated! Many thanks...

Svend
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  #2  
Old 6th March 2017, 06:51 AM
Slixtiesix Slixtiesix is offline
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Calbe N113, now manufactured as Adox Adotol Konstant. Neutral tone, very long shelf life. It is a powder that lasts indefinitely in its unmixed form and also very long as a solution. I do not leave developer in an open tray overnight though, always poor it into a bottle when I end the session.
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Old 6th March 2017, 07:29 AM
Richard Gould Richard Gould is offline
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Most print developers will keep for a few days, up to a week, if poured back into a bottle after the session, the only one I know of that does not keep well in a bottle is Ilford MG Developer, I use either Fotospeed WT10, which I use at 1/19, and have kept that for a week in a bottle, or Firstcall paper developer, which is a clone of a Rollei pasper developer, same thing, keeps well in a closed bottle, but AFIK no paper developer will keep more than a few hours in a open tray
Richard
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Old 6th March 2017, 11:00 AM
Lostlabours Lostlabours is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by SvendN View Post
I will try the ID-78 formula from Ian Grant's site for when I want a warm tone developer. But for most of my printing I prefer neutral tones, and will do selenium (mostly) or sepia (occasionally) afterwards to suit the image. So a long-lasting neutral developer is what I'm after. Ansco 130 is said to be such, but the short shelf life of glycin is making me hesitate.

Svend
ID-62 is close to PQ Universal and gives Neutral tones, essentially the only difference beteen ID-78 and ID-62 is ID-78 uses 4g/l Potassium Bromide which giveve the warmth and ID-62 has less Bromide 2g/l and 20ml IBT (benzotriazole soln) which gives neutral tones.

So you could mix a batch and split finally adding the restrainers.

Ian
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Old 6th March 2017, 11:46 AM
Mike O'Pray Mike O'Pray is offline
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My immediate reaction was to suggest Ethol LPD, based on what I had read on APUG where the U.S. must be over 95% of the membership. It seems crazy that with 1000s of miles of border and much of the U.S. closer to Canada than the rest of the U.S. that it isn't available in Canada.

Unfortunately while AgPhotographic had a picture of it on its site for a long time it never seemed to materialise and I know of no other U.K. stockist that even mentions it.

It is something I might try as well if it were available

Mike

Mike
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Old 6th March 2017, 11:56 AM
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photomi7ch photomi7ch is offline
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Maybe you need to use a slot processor. I can leave the diluted chemicals in there for weeks without use and find on my return that they are still usable. When it come to trays I pour into bottles at the end of each session to keep them fresh. In each case I do a quick test at the start of the session before I get carried away.
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Old 6th March 2017, 01:24 PM
alexmuir alexmuir is offline
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Default Print developer with long tray life?

If you want to keep the developer in the tray, you could devise some sort of floating lid, together with cling film to reduce oxidisation. The only downside I see, however, is that this would involve a lot of messing around, and mess, at the start of a new session. Decanting to bottles as others suggest would be my preferred option. Slot processors also work well for preserving chemicals, but they don't appeal to everyone. I wouldn't like to be without mine for the convenience it gives.
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  #8  
Old 6th March 2017, 01:44 PM
Svend Svend is offline
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Some good suggestions here -- thanks!

Slixtiesix -- I will check for the Calbe/Adox product here. I can get Adox Neutol and MCC here in Canada (at Argentix), but I've not seen Adotol here or for order from the US stores.

Richard -- I've not tried pouring Dektol working sol'n back into a bottle to try to keep it going. I did try using plastic film wrap to cover the tray but it didn't keep more than a couple of days. It would be nice to have something last at least a week.

Mike -- you've made me dig a bit deeper into getting Ethol shipped to Canada. Turns out Adorama can do it (and they ship to the UK as well...just sayin'...). The powder form is what I've been looking for, and they've got it. Everyone else has only liquid and/or will ship only within the US. Definitely worth a try - thanks for the nudge.

Ian -- from some comments I've read about tray life of ID-78, it sounds exactly like what I'm looking for, except for the warm tones. So if ID-62 is as long lasting and gives neutral tones, then it might be ideal. And I'm pretty sure I have all the ingredients on hand to mix up a batch. This will be a good starting point to see how it performs image-wise and how it lasts.

Alex, Mitch -- not sure I want more equipment in the house . It's pretty crowded in the workroom as it is. I will check out the slot processors, but I do love to see the image appear in front of me in a tray. Gives me more control too, as I can pull it if need be. I don't think you can do that with a slot tank(?).

Good tips from you all about pouring working sol'n back into a bottle instead of leaving it in a tray. I will definitely try that. Alex - you're right, plastic film is a drippy mess -- tried that, and would rather not go there again.

Best,
Svend

Last edited by Svend; 6th March 2017 at 01:52 PM.
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Old 6th March 2017, 02:14 PM
JOReynolds JOReynolds is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by alexmuir View Post
...you could devise some sort of floating lid...
I would like to put in a good word for Plastazote from https://www.efoam.co.uk/zotefoam-pla...FQaVGwodj1gBCg
as a floating lid. Type LD33 is Nitrogen-blown (so it won't react with the developer) and made of cross-linked polyethylene (so it isn't affected by it). A metre-square sheet, 5mm thick, costs £14.65 in post and VAT. It is a material I can vouch for. I recently came across a 60L RA4 developer replenisher tank with its floating lid from the mid-1990s, in a fully-functioning state. It looked disgusting but came up shining after a couple of days in 5% citric acid.
Make sure it fits well in the dish.
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Old 6th March 2017, 03:08 PM
EdmundH EdmundH is offline
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I have exactly the same problem regarding time and family, and working space. My answer to quick setup is to keep working solutions in 600ml plastic soup tubs (We get 'fresh' soup from the supermarket in these). The wide top makes it easy to pour in or out of trays, and they also fit into the microwave for quick heating to working temperature. Despite the large air space, the chemicals generally stay usable for up to two weeks.
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