Mixing My Own Chemistry

[neil poulsen]

For various reasons, I'm giving thought to mixing my own chemistry for D76. And, Steve Anchell has a recipe for a "Dektol like" paper developer, so I'm considering that as well.

For those who've already embarked on such a process, is there advice that you would offer? Chemical sources and grades, procedures, equipment, etc?

I'm eager to hear what suggestions that you might have.

[xkaes]

There are lots of good balances for very little money. Get one that gets down to a hundred of a gram. No need to get reagent grade chemicals -- use photo grade.

[Tin Can]

Get a good magnetic heated stirrer

bought one years ago

and good beakers

[Graham Patterson]

Weigh onto slick surface paper, not the top pan of the balance. Most balances have a tare function to zero off the paper which saves doing arithmetic during weighing. I have a few proper spatulas for weighing. One with a scoop end for big weights, and a smaller square end one for fine weighing, but you will find what works best for you. Remember to wipe the spatula clean before moving on to the next chemical.

Most chemical 'recipes' presume room temperature water, around 80% of the final volume, and mixing in the order given. Different mixing temperatures may be given. The final volume is made up after mixing (and at room temperature), and ideally you want one of more storage bottles of the correct total volume.

Label bottles correctly (including raw powders), and keep them separate from everything else. Eye protection is a good idea - fine powder in the eyes is a literal pain.

It is all fairly logical.

[Fred L]

fwiw, when I mix up 4 litres of Formulary 130, I use a dedicated bucket and small cordless driver/drill with a paint stirring attachment. Don't need to run the drill at max speed but have never noticed any oxidation issues from over vigorous mixing. First lab I worked in had a large metal pail with a drill attached for mixing huge quantities of D-76. Got buzzed a few times when there was a short or something.

+1 on the recommendation about scales. Small digital scales that have tare function save lots of aggravation. They're also very affordable.

[Eric Woodbury]

Except for very photo specific chemicals, I find many of the basic chemicals at Amazon and eBay.

Instead of Dektol, I prefer Ryuji Suzuki's DS-14. It keeps well and no carcinogens.

[Ironage]

I prefer Photographer’s Formulary. I have been using them for decades. It is a small company and they off great service. If you want formulas there is an App called Formulas in the Apple App Store that has lots of them. Better living through chemistry!


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[paulbarden]

Neil,

If the "Dektol alternative" Anchell describes is D-72, then it's as close to Dektol as you'll ever need it to be. I make and use D-72 and find it perfectly suitable.

I recommend buying the raw materials from Artcraft Chemicals (https://artcraftchemicals.com/) - they have good prices and excellent service. I get all my materials from Artcraft. You can buy a digital scales off Amazon for about $20, and I have had mine for 4 years and it works very well. Just don't drop it, or you'll ruin it. It's very precise.
A heated magnetic stirrer is overkill if all you want is to make a couple liters of D-76 every few weeks. It's just as fast and simple to heat your water and use a suitable stir stick to mix. D-76 can be assembled in 5 minutes.

[Tin Can]

I treat all chem as deadly poison

Even food grade citric acid for stop

Watch out for kids of any age

[Doremus Scudder]

I have a quadruple-beam balance scale and digital scales that I use for mixing film developers, etc.

That said, for the print developers I use (D-72, ID-62 usually and a couple softer-working ones I use occasionally), I have spoon recipes. Fast and precise enough. If I'm printing for a couple of days or more, I'll mix up stock solutions. If not, I'll just mix enough for the session. I rarely need vessels larger than two liters; I'll mix a stock and add water to the tray when I need more.

Some things I find easier to keep as pre-mixed solutions of individual chemicals. I have 10% potassium ferricyanide, 3.5% potassium bromide, 10% sodium carbonate and 1% benzotriazole around all the time. They get used for mixing bleaches, mixing (and doctoring) print developers, etc.

Somewhere here or over at Photrio I've posted my spoon recipes.

Best,

Doremus

[Michael R]

1. Ditch the "cookbooks". Simply mix from Kodak or Ilford published formulae - which cover everything. Keep things simple.

2. Get a decent scale. Nothing fancy required. You don't need any other lab apparatus or equipment.

3. Generally unless you need an exotic compound, everything you get from reputable sources will be "technical grade" which is good enough for photography. Photographers Formulary is ok. I think Artcraft and Bostick are a little better for certain things. Not a big difference.

4. Be safe. Compounds best avoided: Pyrogallol, Catechol, PPD, strong acids/bases

5. General best mixing practices:

i) Use distilled water when mixing developers if possible. It simplifies things.
ii) Heat water to approx. 40C to mix.
iii) Proper formulas list the ingredients in the mixing order. Dissolve them one at a time, completely, in that order.

[tundra]

For various reasons, I'm giving thought to mixing my own chemistry for D76. And, Steve Anchell has a recipe for a "Dektol like" paper developer, so I'm considering that as well.

For those who've already embarked on such a process, is there advice that you would offer? Chemical sources and grades, procedures, equipment, etc?

I'm eager to hear what suggestions that you might have.

Lab apron

Eye protection

N95 masks

Nitrile gloves

Good ventilation

A scale with .01g resolution and a scale that can handle 1000+ grams. It likely will not be the same scale.

Glass beakers in varying sizes

Disposable trays to measure things in

Spatulas to lift the chemistry from the container onto the disposable weighing tray.

A heated magnetic stirring stand

A decent thermometer. It doesn't have to be perfectly accurate. A good digital BBQ thermometer serves me well.

Brown glass bottles in various sizes to hold mixed chems. Get the ones with polycone style caps.

I buy most of my chems from Artcraft here in the US, and some from Amazon, and some from Photographer's Formulary


Most of all be aware of how to mix chemistry, what things to never mix together, and basic lab technique. A refresher in basic lab procedures is always helpful. Most things we mix aren't too terrible if you wear good eye, skin, and breathing protection. A few - anything with Pyro, for example - merit extra care. The primary risk is inhalation of airborne dust, so learn how to scoop, measure, and pour while minimizing chems dust. You can practice with powered sugar.

[Alan9940]

I second Paul's recommendation of ArtCraft Chemicals...reasonable prices and great service. If you decide to buy a scale, I'd recommend reviewing the recipes you plan to mix to ensure that you won't max out the upper weight limit of the scale. For example, I have two electronic scales--one that goes up to only 100g, while the other goes up to 1Kg. I can't mix fixer, for instance, using the "lightweight" scale.

[paulbarden]

Oh, and in case you were not aware of this, Neil - when mixing D-76 from scratch, always add a pinch (maybe 1/8 tsp or thereabouts) of the Sodium sulfite before adding the Metol and Hydroquinone. This scavenges the oxygen from the water and helps prevent premature oxidation of the developer.

Kodak D-76

Water 125F/52C 750 ml
Metol 2 g
Sodium Sulfite (anhydrous) 100 g
Hydroquinone 5 g
Borax (granular) 2 g
Cold water to make 1000 ml
Mixing Instructions: Add chemicals in specified sequence.

[Drew Wiley]

I once used a cordless drill stirrer, replete with 316 grade stainless steel chuck and chemical-grade stainless stirrer. No more. Some things will over-oxidize if excessively agitated; and stirring by hand with an ordinary plastic paddle seems to work just as well, with less splash risk, unless you're making up huge quantities at a time. Large amounts in a 2-.2 or 5-gal paint bucket should be stirred at moderate (not high) RPM through the bung hole of the lid, with the lid in place. If you want to go that route, the specialty paddles can be obtained from places like McMaster and Lab Safety Supply.

[jp]

I've got a magnetic stirrer.. Much simpler/cheaper than a heated magnetic stirrer. Let's do me other things while chemistry dissolves/mixes like cleaning up and getting bottles ready

Some things I mix from chemistry ingredients, other things I buy commercially. It's good to have options in any case.

[LabRat]

Not rocket science, and seem to make better solutions that packaged chems... :) Good route to take and you won't look back with the ease/keeping/costs and quality you get...

A scale can just be an old Ohaus triple beam balance from a pawn shop for $20-$30 that can weigh between about 3/10's of a gram to about 100 without the auxiliary weight sets, which is good for most 1-2 liter stock amounts... Mixing with a magnetic mixer at medium speeds with mixing bar off-center in a standard 2 liter flat bottomed graduate works well with a minimum vortex of air whipped into solution... The mixer works so well that even hard to dissolve agents (like phenidone) mix well at room temperature within a few minutes (in my case)... Heating not always necessary as single components tend to mix better than packaged formulas... A good measure to hold chems on scale is a package of paper drinking cups, as they are remarkably consistent in tare weight, and easy to shake chems in/out of...

Normal safety procedures should be applied, but the usual normal photo ingredients are also in many household cleaning products (at lower concentrations), so no more toxic than housework... Some chems can dust into the air, but many are just crystals that spread like salt... Some can be an irritant to skin if handled directly, but some workers can have allergic reactions to some...

I tried many dozens of formulas from old books etc and have gotten unique results, but eventually searched for "standard" formulas to use for most all my work, and found developers I now use about 100% of the time... For FB papers, the old Agfa 100 neutral tone developer expands midtones and shadows of cold tone papers, gives WT papers a bit more edge, and use smaller amounts of ingredients (economical to mix), and keeps well!!! Film is another success story... Was planning to jump up to 11X14 shooting, but started chem experiments while waiting... Was shooting 35mm film snips to test formulas... To my shock, those tiny negs looked better and better... So forgot about the ULF, got a Focomat, mixed chems, grabbed a 35mm, and went (literally) to town!!! I showed some portrait prints to a sour old pro I worked for, and he asked me if these were shot with a 4X5 or 8X10 camera, and I told him 35mm Nikon... He went ashen... :0

Ask questions...

Good luck!!!

Steve K

[neil poulsen]

Thanks for all the comments and advice. I'll look into ArtCraft. Technical Grade/Photo Grade both sound good too me. We have our local American Scientific that I can check. Definitely do have an automatic stirer.

Interesting on mixing order. I was thinking of making my own bags to be used later??? Maybe better to compound developer only as needed.

Also have a hepafilter grade, full facemask that I always use when mixing powdered chemistry.

Reassuring on D72. Will give it a try. Will be interesting to compare it with Steve's Dektol like recipe.

Again, thanks on all the replies.

[Steve Goldstein]

I keep a few old yogurt cups for weighing chemicals. The plastic is inert and is easily washed for re-use. The only exception is when I weigh out Catechol for mixing Pyrocat - that cup retains the chemical’s odor so goes into the recycle bin.

[Pete Oakley]

I mix D-76H. It's easy relatively cheap and it's never let me down. Water stop bath and a neutral or alkali fixer. I use Foma films and I've found through experience that it's best to stay away from acidic chemicals. I wash the negs then do a final rinse in de-ionised water and just hang them up to dry. Works for me.
Pete.

[tgtaylor]

I keep a few old yogurt cups for weighing chemicals. The plastic is inert and is easily washed for re-use. The only exception is when I weigh out Catechol for mixing Pyrocat - that cup retains the chemical’s odor so goes into the recycle bin.

I use little plastic salsa cups https://www.webstaurantstore.com/choice-2-oz-clear-plastic-souffle-cup-portion-cup-pack/999P2C.html that I got from a local El Pollo Loco for measuring out small mass of chemistry. For larger mass I use the measuring tub that came with my Ohaus digital scale. The salsa cups are tough and rinse easily. I've been using the 10 or so that I have for about 15 years now.

[LabRat]

Thanks for all the comments and advice. I'll look into ArtCraft. Technical Grade/Photo Grade both sound good too me. We have our local American Scientific that I can check. Definitely do have an automatic stirer.

Interesting on mixing order. I was thinking of making my own bags to be used later??? Maybe better to compound developer only as needed.

Also have a hepafilter grade, full facemask that I always use when mixing powdered chemistry.

Reassuring on D72. Will give it a try. Will be interesting to compare it with Steve's Dektol like recipe.

Again, thanks on all the replies.

With mixing order, mainly that the metol will not dissolve with large quantities of sodium sulfite present, so that is dissolved first (with a pinch of sulfite to prevent oxidation)... Easy enough to follow the "recipe"...

The difference with Dektol vs D72 is Dektol contains a sequestering agent (probably EDTA) that holds all ingredients in separate suspension during the mixing process until they are dissolved...

Pre measuring amounts of dry chem for future use does not allow for the correct stirring sequence, where some chems will not mix completely or fall out of solution... But you can mix a larger amount of liquid stock solutions and bottle it until when needed... But no big deal to mix needed solutions a day or few before darkroom sessions... It is cheap and easy, and satisfying to play mad scientist when you do... But most solutions have a longer shelf life when mixed and stored properly than the commercial products...

Here is that published Agfa 100 formula (similar to the old Neural commercial formula);

Water. 1ltr

Metol 1gm

Sodium Sulfite. 13gm

Hydroquinone. 3gm

Sodium Carbonate (Mono) 30gm

Potassium Bromide. 1gm

Use full strength for 1-2 minutes...

Have fun!!!

Steve K

[Edward Pierce]

Ohaus digital scale and plastic Dixie cups make weighing quick and accurate. Mixing your own is less expensive and more dependable. Artcraft is great and they have everything I need except Glycin, which I get from the Formulary.

Mixing your own can also be very useful. For example, with my VC enlarger (Zone VI), I can’t produce a print softer than grade 3 on Ilford Cooltone or Classic in a standard developer like Dektol or D72. So I have formulated a developer which is essentially 50% Ansco 130 and %50 Ansco 120. This brings these papers into the middle of my enlarger’s contrast range.

I used D23 with TXP and TMX for a while, but found that it didn’t work so well if I needed a big contrast boost, say N+2. The developing times were excessively long. D76H works great.

[jnantz]

im a fan of the table /teaspoon caffenol recipe, works as well if not better than the scaled versions, there's a teaspoon / tablespoon recipe that someone worked out for dektol ( https://www.afterness.com/kod_d72.html ), I haven't tried it yet but it is supposed to work great you just need to be consistent in the size of your spoons and if it ends up as ansco/agfa 124 instead of D72 . it ends up being 6 of one a dozen of the other .. that said I have a amazon purchased scale (under 15 dollars shipped ) I use to make emulsions and cyanotypes, inexpensive and seems to work great too.
have fun with your mixology !

[neil poulsen]

Based on comments, I will adhere to proper mixing order, versus attempting to prepackage the dry powders. So, I appreciate members comments in that regards.

[neil poulsen]

I second Paul's recommendation of ArtCraft Chemicals...reasonable prices and great service. If you decide to buy a scale, I'd recommend reviewing the recipes you plan to mix to ensure that you won't max out the upper weight limit of the scale. For example, I have two electronic scales--one that goes up to only 100g, while the other goes up to 1Kg. I can't mix fixer, for instance, using the "lightweight" scale.

I have a triple beam balance for larger quantities. But, I'd like something less time consuming for sub-100g quantities. Someone mentioned Ohaus, so that's a good place to start.

[Jim Andrada]

I use little plastic salsa cups https://www.webstaurantstore.com/choice-2-oz-clear-plastic-souffle-cup-portion-cup-pack/999P2C.html that I got from a local El Pollo Loco for measuring out small mass of chemistry. For larger mass I use the measuring tub that came with my Ohaus digital scale. The salsa cups are tough and rinse easily. I've been using the 10 or so that I have for about 15 years now.

Lately I use the little plastic cups they use to for your pills when you're in the hospital. Being on 19 meds and having spent 10 months in hospitals recently, I have quite a stack of them.

[Mal Paso]

With mixing order, mainly that the metol will not dissolve with large quantities of sodium sulfite present, so that is dissolved first (with a pinch of sulfite to prevent oxidation)... Easy enough to follow the "recipe"...


Thank You! That explains the brown cast and a solution for it.

I'm back into mixing my own as prepackaged is $10/liter VS $1.91 from scratch. I ordered from B&H and Formulary, will check out Artcraft.

Just Bookmarked Artcraft, their price on Sodium Thiosulfate may have me mixing my own fixer again.