Can anyone recommend a good, general purpose paper developer that I can mix as needed from liquid concentrate? I've been a Dektol user for a long time, but the trouble is, as an infrequent printer, I'll mix up a gallon from the powder, do a darkroom session and then I might not be in the darkroom again for another six months or so. In the meantime, the Dektol has gone bad. I need a paper dev. concentrate with good shelf life that I can just mix as needed.
Try saving up 8 16 oz plastic bottles. Mix a gallon of Dektol and fill the bottles equally, then top them off with water to take out any air. Cap them tight, and they'll last a long, long time. I use 16 oz bottles so that when diluted 2 parts water to 1 Dektol I have a comfortable amount for an 8x10 tray. Use whatever size works for you.
I've kept small bottles of Dektol for over a year with no oxidation.
Bruce Barlow
author of "Finely Focused" and "Exercises in Photographic Composition"
www.brucewbarlow.com
Ilford PQ works well for me. The original gallon lasts well over a year as I use it. Mix lasts over a month in dark filled to top capped bottle. I have not yet found it's shelf life.
Tin Can
Better yet, get a copy of the Darkroom Cookbook and mix your own from scratch as needed. The bulk chemistry is readily available from suppliers such as Bostick & Sullivan and Photographer's Formulary and has long shelf life.
Thomas
I found out the hard way that most plastics are air permeable, so get the right stuff and be as happy as Bruce is.Originally Posted by Bruce Barlow
Dark Glass bottles work too.
I prefer topping the bottles off by filling them with glass marbles rather than with water.
That way I know that I haven't messed up the dilution.
I have a small scale and weigh out the proper amount for mixing one pint or one quart at a time.
I've done that in the past without a problem too photonsoup,
However some people say that the powder itself can oxidize once it's opened.
I imagine that vacuum sealing it would help.
I usually use up my chemistry too quickly to have an issue, so I am just going by what I have read or heard.
It is very easy to mix D-72, which is the equivalent of Dektol. I have the chemicals on hand, and when I want to print I mix up just 500ml or a liter at a time. Sometimes I go a few months without printing, and what's left in the bottle might have gone bad, but its a small enough amount I don't worry and just mix up some more.
You can also use Rodinal to develop prints, which I do very occasionally if I just want a contact for some reason and don't want to mix a whole batch of D-72. But I don't really like it for either prints or negatives (I use D-23, which I also mix as needed).
I completely agree with Thomas (above) that mixing your own is the way to go... It seems silly (to me) if someone is doing a sizable amount of lab work, not to... (So much cheaper, always fresh (as you make what you need), mixes clear without oxidation, better shelf life, etc...) And this is when using old dry chems... (And gives you the Mad Scientist groove!!!)
Something you can do to help to make commercial developers have better shelf/tray life is to add a pinch of sodium sulfite, and mixing it in the H20 before adding the concentrate... This will scavenge the oxygen, will mix clearer, and will make it last much longer...
I've had good storage use with using carbonated soft drink polyester/PET bottles (these are thicker/stronger than water bottles, with better sealing caps) for 6 month+++ storage, and blow a little of your (CO2) breath (with a drinking straw) into the air space in the bottle before capping, as this will reduce oxidation as the solution is stored... (Use several smaller topped off bottles for storage, instead of one big, half empty one, and use them as-you-go...) Store them in a dark, cool place...
The Clayton liquid stock developers are cheaper and pretty good...
Steve K
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