What chemicals do you use?

*photolady* · 06-29-2009, 04:13 AM

I am considering developing my own b/w film for a bit. I used to use what chemicals the college had (D-76/HC-110, Kodak Rapid Fixer, Kodak photo flo, Kodak stop bath, is what I remember they had), but have used T-max developer in the last few years. Also used the stop bath and photo flo mentioned above.

Now my question, what other brands are as good as those I listed? Or do you have a special type/brand you use?

lithos · 06-29-2009, 05:14 AM

I, for one, cannot stand HC-110. The only thing that it's got going for it is that it's cheap and easy-to-use.

I like D-76. A good balance of speed, sharpness and grain.

By the way, don't bother with Photo-Flo or other wetting agents. Dishwashing liquid works wonders, and leaves your negs smelling lemony-fresh!

*photolady* · 06-29-2009, 05:42 AM

Thanks on the type of developer.

But dishwashing liquid!!? I would think that would leave a film or haze on the film.

What are your thoughts on fixer with or without hardeners? I've heard contraversy on hardener versus non hardener.

*Wheatfield* · 06-29-2009, 07:54 AM

I happen to quite like HC:110, though if you are going to shoot T-Max there are better developers out there (T-Max Developer if still available).
Rather than D-76, I prefer Ilford ID-11, which is apparently almost exactly the same formulation.
Ilford Microphen is also a nice developer, and if you are intending to shoop portraits, Kodak Microdol-X can't be beat. Don't use it with T-Grain emulsions such as T-Max or Ilford Delta though. It turns the crystal structure of those films into mush.
Photo-Flo is just a very high grade pure detergent, a few drops of any good dishwashing detergent in a gallon of water will do the same thing. I think Photo-Flo is cheap enough that the real thing wont break the bank though.
In over 30 years of darkroom work, I probably only bought the stuff 3 or 4 times, with a big spike when I ran my custom darkroom.
My understanding is that film comes pre-hardened from the factory, and so hardening fixers are not necessary.

*photolady* · 06-29-2009, 08:51 AM

Thanks Wheatfield for you thoughts and input.
When I had my own darkroom (built especially for me) before I lived here, I didn't worry about silver problems because of where I lived. And I used T-Max developer, with Kodak Rapid fixer and photo flo.

I do not intend to shoot portraits (been there done that, didn't like it), now I shoot nature and get no arguements from my subjects.

I was afraid dishwashing liquids could be more harmful than chemicals made for this. Some of them have some harsh ingredients in them. Perhaps something more simple than Dawn.

I do not have a darkroom now, but I have a changing bag and daylight tanks. If I decide to do this more than a few rolls a month, I might build a new room for this project.

As for getting rid of the silver, I could just dump the chems in a paint can marked accordingly, and have it go out with our hazardous waste pickup.

*Ratmagiclady* · 06-29-2009, 09:00 AM

I wouldn't use dishwashing detergent, Photolady, there's just too much extra stuff in there, or could be, and they seem to change the stuff so much it's hardly worth the effort to wash your dishes with the plainest stuff you can find just in order to save on photo chemicals.

How much you need a wetting agent can depend on how the water is where you are. I used to not bother, back home, but in the Midwest, forget about it. I'm actually a big fan of Rexton Hyperwet, for whatever reason, it seems to me to work better than Photo-Flo ever did for me. It's kind of like a bottle of vermouth, if you have a bar, you may as well have one: it'll last you.

I'm generally not interested in surprises when it comes to my negs.

Oh, as for chemical disposal, it really depends how much quantity you're using, and what there is for disposal in general. Kodak's got more information up than you would probably need about that on the website. Silver recovery is more worth the bother if you are doing your own prints, in general. I'm just not doing the quantity these days with any regularity, to be honest.

There *is* an intriguing fixer by Silvergrain which proposes to be a greener product (it's non-hardening fixer, I've been wanting to see if that'll help certain frustrations with scanning and all, myself: if it doesn't, I'll just use it for prints ) ...but asking on the Film board, no one seems to have tried it, yet, so I may be the guinea pig, there.

T-max developer is nice for some stuff, not so nice for others. D-76 is a nice all around type developer to start with, and good to learn the subtleties of development on. As is that Ilford stuff someone mentioned.

*photolady* · 06-29-2009, 09:10 AM

I'm generally not interested in surprises when it comes to my negs.

That's my thoughts exactly, Ratmagiclady. And why I was questioning the use of dish liquid as we know, are not all created equally.

I just searched for Rexton Hyperwet and Adorama says it's no longer available there. And Amazon says same. Looks like it's been discontinued. Photo-Flo is so inexpensive, I'll stick with that.

We have clorinated city water here. Probably florinated too. But at least it's not ironated like I had in Arkansas.

I bought water to use in my darkroom because of the iron and sulfer/iron ore water we had.

Venturi · 06-29-2009, 09:21 AM

I got into developing my own B&W this year and have primarily been using HC-110 for my devloper (thanks to advise from Wheatfield) in both dilution B and H with good results. I've run a few rolls of ASA100 with TMAX as well. My choices on developers were slanted towards ease of use/prep and shelf life (economy).

For the rest of the processing I'm using a 1:3 dilution of white vinegar for stop bath, Kodafix, Hypo Clear and Photo Flo.

*Ratmagiclady* · 06-29-2009, 09:46 AM

Originally Posted by photolady

That's my thoughts exactly, Ratmagiclady. And why I was questioning the use of dish liquid as we know, are not all created equally.

I just searched for Rexton Hyperwet and Adorama says it's no longer available there. And Amazon says same. Looks like it's been discontinued. Photo-Flo is so inexpensive, I'll stick with that.

We have clorinated city water here. Probably florinated too. But at least it's not ironated like I had in Arkansas. I bought water to use in my darkroom because of the iron and sulfer/iron ore water we had.

Bummer about the Hyperwet. But I'm pretty sure I've seen it elsewhere, anyway. It's not like it's a *huge* difference from Photo-flo, just that much nicer in my experience.

As for your water and such, I like to use the cheap bottled distilled water for mixing my chemicals, in most places, especially since sometimes the mixed stuff ends up stretching the shelf life lately while I try to get up to speed on digital: no need to have any extra contaminants from your pipes sitting in the bottles all that time, at least.

Doesn't hurt to have some bottled water around, anyway. I just occasionally toss a couple of those on the shopping cart.

*Ratmagiclady* · 06-29-2009, 09:52 AM

Hey, by the way, are you all set up with your tanks and stuff? I've got a little pile of extra Paterson reels: I was going to split this biggish lot of tanks and stuff off Ebay with a friend, but it turned out most of the tanks were cracked, so he got his own.

(Come to think of it, anyone got a good suggestion for sealing these tanks? I've never found a goop that really worked and I thought trustworthy)

Venturi · 06-29-2009, 10:06 AM

Originally Posted by Ratmagiclady

(Come to think of it, anyone got a good suggestion for sealing these tanks? I've never found a goop that really worked and I thought trustworthy)

J-B Weld will fix *anything*.

*photolady* · 06-29-2009, 10:18 AM

Or mighty putty. J-B weld is little caustic for my tastes, plus it might not work well on plastic tanks. I've used Mighty Putty for a lot things.

Ratmagiclady, I have one tank for one roll at a time. Which can be a pain at times when I more than roll to develop. I've not messed with this stuff since leaving the northern country in 2004. I did do a bit of color developing but that takes more patience than I have now. So, I've decided to stick to B/W.

I have not did any printing as I do not have an enlarger now. I'm only interested in developing the film.

*Ratmagiclady* · 06-29-2009, 10:35 AM

Originally Posted by photolady

Or mighty putty. J-B weld is little caustic for my tastes, plus it might not work well on plastic tanks. I've used Mighty Putty for a lot things.

Ratmagiclady, I have one tank for one roll at a time. Which can be a pain at times when I more than roll to develop. I've not messed with this stuff since leaving the northern country in 2004. I did do a bit of color developing but that takes more patience than I have now. So, I've decided to stick to B/W.

Well, I tend to end up with a bunch to do at once. The nice thing about spare reels is that they are *dry* if you want to do more than one tank in a row. Makes the reloading easier. I've just got at *least* a few more than I could possibly need.

What tank have you got?

If that Mighty Putty, speaking of its salesman , won't react with any of the chemistry or absorb it, that could be the thing.

If you do ever get a tall Paterson tank, or at least the one that holds two or three reels, I suggest wrapping some duct tape or something around the middle: great things, but when they made the taller ones, they didn't make the walls any stronger to account for the weight of the water: that's why they crack when you tap bubbles out a bit too hard.

*Ratmagiclady* · 06-29-2009, 10:43 AM

Originally Posted by Venturi

J-B Weld will fix *anything*.

I suppose there's nothing stopping me from trying it on one of these huge old things, maybe with some spent chemicals. I got at least one that's just kinda huge. if it works, it might be handy someday if I did a big shoot with 120, but who's in a hurry for their medium format these days, anyway.

*photolady* · 06-29-2009, 11:18 AM

I'm not sure about what Mighty Putty would do with reaction to photo chemicals, never had to use it on my tanks...never had one that was cracked.

You're only supposed to "tap" the side not knock it. LOL

Here is a tank similar to what I have.

MINI COMPACT Adorama Mini Universal Plastic Daylight Film Developing Tank with Reel for One 35mm Film.

I used to use all stainless stell tanks and reels. Still prefer them to plastic ones but they were too expensive, and I couldn't afford to buy them when I was doing this up north.