Amidol for AZO: PF vs Artcraft

I've decided to give AZO a try, after seeing some of the prints I received from APUG members (thanks to all), and have been looking into sources for amidol. Can those of you who use it tell me why you prefer to buy from Photographer's Formulary or Artcraft? Can the PF amidol for azo package be used gradually, or must it be mixed all at once and used within 8 hours (a big drawback if it's so)? How much do you save by using AC and mixing it yourself? Finally, are there any restrictions on mailing these chems overseas? One more thing, if you wanted to try a pyro developer that'd be good both for enlarging and contact printing, for tray development, which would you choose? Or would you not use pyro for enlarging? Thanks a lot,

GB

P.S. I'd post this on the AZO forum, but it seems especially inactive lately. Anyone know why?

Whatever you mix has to be used. Some people report that it will keep up to a day in a covered tray. The best way is just to buy the bulk chemicals. The kits are too expensive, especially the small ones.

I've used PF and Artcraft. I think PF is a more consistent product, and the working solution doesn't have the stronger color the Artcraft amidol does, but I've never had any staining or issues with the Artcraft amidol - contrary to some posts on M&P.

Pyro is a film developer, not a paper developer - although there are some pyro paper developer formulas around.

The best way to find out about overseas shipping is just e-mail Artcraft or PF. Regulations vary from place to place.

Steve

I've kept Amidol in powder form for something like five years without a problem. I bought it (and almost all other toning and alt process chemicals I used) from a place in Canada. I don't remember the name so I don't know if that was Artcraft or not but whatever it was I never had a problem. I thought PF was overpriced for many of their raw chemicals. I didn't mind paying a premium for the things they mixed such as pyro, you obviously pay for the labor and convenience, but their raw chemicals sometimes were twice the price of other places so I usually I avoided them.

Forgive me for hijacking this thread, but could someone more knowlegeable than I explain why Amidol is the preferred developer for Azo? I use LPD with Azo, and I must say I think it looks good. I've also used Dektol.
What is it about Amidol? Does it give more contrast or impart a pleasing color to the paper? Convince me, and I might buy some.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Ben Calwell

Forgive me for hijacking this thread, but could someone more knowlegeable than I explain why Amidol is the preferred developer for Azo? I use LPD with Azo, and I must say I think it looks good. I've also used Dektol.
What is it about Amidol? Does it give more contrast or impart a pleasing color to the paper? Convince me, and I might buy some.

---

Amidol has the potential for providing a very unique three dimensional visual effect with Silver Chloride paper (Azo). Many famous photographers including Weston have used it for many years. You can also adjust the amount of the Potassium Bromide in the Amidol to adjust the print color to your pleasing a bit.

However it has been my opinion that the desired visual effect mentioned above is attenuated when all of the elements of a well executed negative come together and diminishes when these variables stray from optimal. The anology I would use is when a golfer hits a gold ball perfectly in the center of a forged blade golf club, the ball seems to go forever. Miss that shot just a bit and your hands immediately tell you of the condition.

Others use Neutol WA and LPD and find the results more than satisfactory. When I tried Dektol a while back it resulted in an unwanted color in the print. At the end of the day each of us has the ability to chose the tools that work best for us and there is clearly no right or wrong - just hard working photographers.

I have had success ordering photo chemicals (including) Amidol from JD Photochem in Canada (Claire) and find the process of mixing my own chemicals for negatives and printing cost effective and easy. You just need a scale, a mixer and something to mix your chemicals in. Recently Greg Davis made a significant contribution to all of us Amidol users as he was able to procure Chinese Amidol in bulk at a considerable savings so I should have enough to last me for a good long time. Thanks for all of your hard work Greg! It may be possible to pick up some of that product.

Cheers!

I won't debate Neutol vs. Amidol here ( I enjoy both of them, and they do produce different results )...

Artcraft is very nice. Before offering a prepackaged mix, he offered all the chemicals required for the M&P recipe. Because I had no scale at the time for that purpose, I asked for the recipe to be mixed up in packets, which I received and used with success. Mike at Artcraft was very helpful - just figure out which proportions of chems you want, and it's done.

Both vendors are reputable, fast with shipping and good to deal with - no bad experiences with them for me, both great.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Ben Calwell

Forgive me for hijacking this thread, but could someone more knowlegeable than I explain why Amidol is the preferred developer for Azo? I use LPD with Azo, and I must say I think it looks good. I've also used Dektol.
What is it about Amidol? Does it give more contrast or impart a pleasing color to the paper? Convince me, and I might buy some.

---

The reason that it is prefered is it's ability to be combined with a second water bath to allow fine tuning of a print. At least that's been my experience.