any proxy for Cibachrome P-30 chemicals

[alanljm]

hi，

i still have some old new stock of cibachrome paper, anyone knows there are any proxy from vendors for P-30 developer, bleach, and fixer please. or what's the formula for those, especially the bleach. much appreciated

alan

[Tin Can]

The Wizard would know

[Drew Wiley]

You could probably home-brew the developer. The fixer is ordinary. But making your own bleach is unrealistic. The greater question would be, is the paper itself still any good and worth the effort? I've still got an unopened box of 20X24 paper and all the necessary P3 liquid pro chemistry, but have no interest in shipping it due to the hazmat hassle (P3 uses con sulfuric acid rather than sulfamic powder). But even frozen, there's no guarantee the paper is still cooperative.

[Marco Annaratone]

The last ilfochrome I developed was three years ago. The paper - always kept refrigerated - was about eight years old. The chemistry was five years old. The result was pleasing, no significant color shift, but there was no “cibachrome punch” whatsoever, only honest pastel colors.

Whether it is the paper, the chemistry or both I have no idea. I still have about 50 ilfochrome 12x16 papers and the chemistry to develop them. But given the results from my last attempt I have lost any motivation: sooner or later I will throw them away.

[Drew Wiley]

Ciba base itself is a very high quality polyester sheeting useful for various darkroom applications, like cutout masks, templates, and shims. I wouldn't throw it away, even if it goes bad for its original purpose. It might also be useful to
someone as a coating substrate for some alt process.