Chemical Use

[Anthony Martinez]

Right now I've got about 3/4gal of D-76 stock solution left, and somewhere around 250mL of Ilford Rapid Fixer left.

I've read conflicting reports about whether or not reusing D-76 is OK. If I develop a roll of 120 format HP5+ in stock D-76, can I use the same D-76 to develop two rolls of 35mm in another tank? Can fixer be used in a similar way? What about dilution to increase the number of rolls I can do with either in a single-use way? How does all of that stuff work?

Educate me.

[henrysamson]

You can reuse D76 but the development times will increase. You can also replenish it with D76R but it is hard to do accurately. My suggestion is to use developer one time and toss it. Then you know the development is consistent. I use HC110 this way. Many years ago I used D76 1:1 (the processing times are longer than straight D76) this way also. But beware of the shelf life of the remaining developer in a partially filled container. The air will cause it to go bad quicker than a full jug. There are bellow shaped jugs that allow you to squeeze the air out.

Although the developer used to develop one roll of 120 is enough to cover two rolls of 35mm, it IS used developer and it WILL take longer to develop the next batch. I would not recommend using it again. I know there is a temptation to use it again but how active it is depends on how hard it had to work the first time. Dense negatives or thin ones? Regular processing or "push" processing? You get the idea.

As far as fixer goes, the rule of thumb is to fix twice the time it takes to clear the film. I use Kodak Rapid Fixer and film is supposed to be fixed in it for 5 minutes. So, two minutes is a little less than half of the total. I open the tank and look at the film and it should be clear. As the fixer gets "used up", at some point I will open up at two minutes and the film is just slightly "milky" but is usually clear by 2.5 minutes. So I let it fix for five and it has gotten twice the time it takes to clear. But, just barely so that fixer is exhausted and I mix fresh fixer. If I have not processed in a week or two and I am concerned about the potency of the fixer, I take a small piece of film ( I use the tongues from 35mm that are cut off when loading the reels) and I pour some fixer in a tray and fix the small piece of film. If it is not clear in 2.5 minutes, the fixer is exhausted. I hope that makes sense.

[Anthony Martinez]

Thanks.

[KJ Smith]

This is copied from a previous post.


You will need to find a Time / Temp chart for the film you are using.

Kodak Chart
Check this out
Everything you need to know

I use T-Max developer, liquid concentrate, 1:4
Liquid concentrate fix 1:3
Liquid concentrate Orbit bath
Liquid concentrate photo flo.

My process allows me to only mix up what I need, when I need it.

I have a 1/2 gallon bucket and a 16oz mixing cup, thats marked in ml.

I get the water in the bucket to temp. This time of year I have to use ice to cool the water 68-72f works fine.

The tank needs 270ml to do 6 sheets of film. I use 300ml because the math is easier and I like a little spillage room.

I pre-wash for 1-2 minutes with water from the bucket. Dump down the drain. If you are re-using the developer this help keeps it clean.

60 ml developer is mixed w/240 ml water from the bucket, dump or save.

I use water from the bucket as a stop bath. dump

75ml fix w/225ml from bucket for fix. dump or save.

Cap full Orbit in 300ml from bucket. dump or save

Wash, you can let the faucet do it, rig a hose, or get the really awesome Jobo wash tube. I just got a Jobo and love it.

I dump a capful of Photo flo in the water left in the bucket. To much Photo flo is worse than not enough. Soak 30 sec. or so and shake off excess.

Now how to dry ? People are gonna gripe, I fold up a couple of paper towels, set the reel on them and leave it overnight. the film will dry overnight.

Yes it will flatten out, No I do not squeegee. No it won't leave water marks if you photo flo right and shake off most the excess.

Thats what works for me.
Everything is stored as a concentrate, so it last longer. I store no working solutions. Unless I have a lot more film to do.



There is very little I have changed since this post. I have started using HC110 a little more. You just need to mix it as per its directions. I wrote this for 4X5 developing. On roll film it is better to squeegee the film and hang it to dry.

For the most part I do small batch processing, so I one shot everything. ( dump it)

The Mass development chart can be handy.

The Massive Dev Chart: B&W film development database

The part that is important is the use of concentrate. Easier to store, easier to mix small batch and longer lasting.

[venchka]

What Henry & Kevin said. D-76 1:1 was the entry level developer back in the Dark Ages. It still works today. However, since have used & reused your bottle of D-76, starting with freash D-76 & 1:1 dilution may work best. There are numerous developers that are stored in a concentrated form and diluted for one time use. To the list above, add Rodinal, various Ilford clones of Kodak delevopers, Pyrocat-HD and Pyrocat-MC by Sandy King, etc. The list is almost endless. Or Diafine. Mix once. Reuse forever.
For the past 2-3 years I have been using Xtol diluted 1:3. I keep the Xtol working solution in a wine in a box bladder. So far, the Xtol was fine after 13 1/2 months in the 'fridge.
Testing fixer: I save scraps of film for testing. A small piece of film in a cap ful of fixer. Fresh fixer will clear film in seconds. One year old fixer will clear film in under a minute. Fixer is used up more by the number of rolls of film than by how long it sits on the shelf.

If you ask 100 photographers to name a film and developer combination, you will get close to 100 squared answers. Half the fun is finding your personal favorite combination.

[Anthony Martinez]

Thanks for the information guys. I think I may exhaust this D-76 and then look into a concentrated developer to mix as I go. I definitely wish I'd paid attention to the part about reusing fixer though! I've wasted a good 200ml of it! oops.

[venchka]

No worries. Chemicals are cheap. Freestyle's house brand chemistry works and is very inexpensive.

[Anthony Martinez]

Cool deal. I ordered a few 500mL bottles to store/mix some stuff in. When I exhaust this D-76 I think I'm going to give Ilfosol 3 a shot.

[Valerie]

I mix D76 1:1-- use it one shot.
For film, I keep fix in a bottle and use it for approx. 12-15 rolls (In college we were taught that 1 liter of fix will be good for 24 rolls of film).

[tropicpine]

I determine the required volume of D76 1:1 solution I will require to develop the film at hand.
I then extrapolate the grams of D76 powder required to make the required volume of D76 1:1 solution.
I then put the mixing bottle and funnel on a digital postal scale, zero the scale, then slowly pour in the D76 powder required.
Last I add water to make the required volume of solution, close bottle and shake to mix.

(NOTE: Many expeireneced photographer have informed me that this will cause problems. I have been doing this for about four years with no problem.)

[henrysamson]

Originally Posted by tropicpine

(NOTE: Many expeireneced photographer have informed me that this will cause problems. I have been doing this for about four years with no problem.)

Hey Lee, I resemble that remark!

I used to do this years ago (divide powdered developers). I was told by a Kodak representative that there were problems with this method as the powder is not uniform. Some components are finer than others and/or lighter than others and this prevents the powder from being evenly mixed. I must say that at the time I did not think there was a problem. Over the past several years I have gone back to some of those negatives from the early to mid 70's and they are hard to print and seem more inconsistent than what I have become used to. I am not sure if the processing has anything to do with. At that time I also experimented with replenishing D76 until I realized that it was too hard to do without decent quality control. I'm not sure which negatives were developed which way. I also like to think that perhaps my ability to expose consistently has improved over the years so that may be part of the problem also.

Now I use HC110 (a liquid which is uniform), mix the proper amount for the rolls being processed, use it once (dillution B) and then throw it away. I never keep the stock solution over two months. I have heard of photographers who mix HC110 directly from the unmixed "syrup" using a pipette as a way of avoiding having to mix the entire bottle.

I guess that this would be an easy thing to test. Measure out several batches of the proper weight powder. Mix developer from three or four of them and process partial rolls of the same subject shot in the same camera of the same test subject at the same exposure. Process identically and then check the negative density. Just a thought. If it works, you'll know. If it doesn't, you'll know. Almost everything that gets debated on the forums is usually really easy to test under your own conditions if you just step back and take a little time to think about it and then do it.

[tropicpine]

Originally Posted by henrysamson

Hey Lee, I resemble that remark!

You should. You are one of the afore mentioned photographers.

Originally Posted by henrysamson

Now I use HC110 (a liquid which is uniform), mix the proper amount for the rolls being processed, use it once (dillution B) and then throw it away. I never keep the stock solution over two months. I have heard of photographers who mix HC110 directly from the unmixed "syrup" using a pipette as a way of avoiding having to mix the entire bottle.

I originally used Ilfosol S for this exact reason. After two bottles that had apparently expired at the time I purchased them I decided to switch to powered chemistry due the added stability of a solid (powder) vs. liquid chemistry.

Originally Posted by henrysamson

I guess that this would be an easy thing to test. Measure out several batches of the proper weight powder. Mix developer from three or four of them and process partial rolls of the same subject shot in the same camera of the same test subject at the same exposure. Process identically and then check the negative density. Just a thought. If it works, you'll know. If it doesn't, you'll know. Almost everything that gets debated on the forums is usually really easy to test under your own conditions if you just step back and take a little time to think about it and then do it.

What we really need is access to a gas chromatagraph. You don't happen to have any outstanding favors at the A&M chemistry department?