I tried out some Liquidol paper developer yesterday and unfortunately was not wow'ed. The images are much softer and flatter (less glossy) than what I get with LPD 1:1 or PF 130. Blacks were dull black with shadows very open. Highlights were never really white but rather a very soft grey even when using high contrast filters and shortening times. Midtones were not muddy, but there was little separation where I expected to see it, but instead more of a gradient transition. Looked about the same wet or dry. I did like the short one minute development times for testing.
Dilution was 1:9 fresh out of the bottle. Paper MGFB Classic, also new. Acid Stop and Ilford Rapid fixer. It could be the temperature in my darkroom was a bit hot (90 degrees F) so developer rose from 70 to nearly 80 degrees by the end of the one hour session.
I know this developer has its fans who get rich blacks and good results. Is there some learning curve with exposure or a better mix for this developer? Or are its characteristics just extremely different than LPD and PF 130?
Also what is the working strength practical shelf life in a bottle? Documentation motions up to 32 hours in a tray, but no mention of sealed bottle.
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