TX 400 develop in KODAK TECHNIDOL

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JERZY
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Post by JERZY »

Always when I used D76 kodak developer and I want develop films like FP4+, Delta 100, Acros 100 or Pan F I used dillution 1+3 or 1+5. Final negative is better than 1+1. I check this kind of developing process with 35mm materials. Of course 6x7 format give me better quallity but I do not understend why I should used 1+1 dillution? Because negative format is largest?? Bigger dillution give me sharpen edge and more delicate grain. I asked about yours expirience.
best regards JW

Ornello
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Joined: Thu Jan 19, 2006 9:49 am

Post by Ornello »

JERZY wrote:Always when I used D76 kodak developer and I want develop films like FP4+, Delta 100, Acros 100 or Pan F I used dillution 1+3 or 1+5. Final negative is better than 1+1. I check this kind of developing process with 35mm materials. Of course 6x7 format give me better quallity but I do not understend why I should used 1+1 dillution? Because negative format is largest?? Bigger dillution give me sharpen edge and more delicate grain. I asked about yours expirience.
best regards JW
Diluting D-76 beyond 1:1 is not recommended for several reasons:

(1) D-76 was intended as a fine-grain developer. Diluting it reduces its fine-grain properties. Many find that dilution to 1:1 does not noticeably increase graininess, but allows longer development times and thus better consistency than re-using D-76 undiluted.

(2) The weaker a developer, the greater the possibility of the effects of contamination. If your water is slightly off neutral (water quality varies) the effects will be greater with greater dilutions. D-76 has buffers that help to control the ph of the solution. When you use the developer in a highly dilute form, these buffers are less effective. The results you get may therefore be less consistent.

(3) Kodak does not recommend dilutions greater than 1:1 for D-76, though it does recommend them for Microdol-X. Kodak knows best about the properties of its products, so I would generally stick to their recommendations (except for developing times, which even they admit should be adjusted to suit personal preferences).

(4) There are several developers intended for use at dilutions of 1:5 and greater. Paterson developers are used at 1+9 up to 1+19. Rodinal is used at dilutions of 1+25 to 1+100. There are others (Ilfosol-S, Ethol TEC, ACU-1).

D-76 should be diluted no more than 1:1 for best results.

JERZY
Posts: 10
Joined: Wed Feb 28, 2007 1:01 pm
Location: POLAND/ currently Sultanate of Oman
Contact:

Post by JERZY »

Ornello
thank you for your response.
Generally it makes sense.

BUT

(1) I developed my films with D76 in 1+0 1+1 1+3 1+5 dillution. My observation was that diffrence between dillution 1+1 and 1+3 is noticeable. Final negative after 1+3 developing is more delicate with very fine and regular grain.Then it is easier to make good prints. In dillution 1+0 and 1+1 high lights were too strong, but deep shadows were
not sufficient.

(2) you said that

" Kodak does not recommend dilutions greater than 1:1 for D-76, though it does recommend them for Microdol-X. Kodak knows best about the properties of its products"

Yes this is obvious. Kodak Company wants to sell this product and never knows who buys this item, and what is the users expierience. In standard receipe final negative will be acceptable not more. Creative darkroom technician should change not only developing time. Everything depends on lighting conditions.

Rodinal in standard dillution is 1+25, this is something like D76 in 1+0. Nobody used Rodinal in 1+0 but D76 is possible. Some photographers used Rodinal in 1+200 (!!) dillution and develop 2h. After 50% developing time have to change developer on fresh. Final efect is interesting. Negative is very rich tonally but contrast is low. Later you can control contrast under enlarger If you use variable contrast paper.

Last, I bought HC 110 in very thick concentrate. Standard dillution B was 1+31. I dilluted this developer 1+100, Neopan 400 and 1600 and also TX 400. Result was great.

Best Regards JW

Ornello
Posts: 882
Joined: Thu Jan 19, 2006 9:49 am

Post by Ornello »

JERZY wrote:Ornello
thank you for your response.
Generally it makes sense.

BUT

(1) I developed my films with D76 in 1+0 1+1 1+3 1+5 dillution. My observation was that diffrence between dillution 1+1 and 1+3 is noticeable. Final negative after 1+3 developing is more delicate with very fine and regular grain.Then it is easier to make good prints. In dillution 1+0 and 1+1 high lights were too strong, but deep shadows were
not sufficient.

(2) you said that

" Kodak does not recommend dilutions greater than 1:1 for D-76, though it does recommend them for Microdol-X. Kodak knows best about the properties of its products"

Yes this is obvious. Kodak Company wants to sell this product and never knows who buys this item, and what is the users expierience. In standard receipe final negative will be acceptable not more. Creative darkroom technician should change not only developing time. Everything depends on lighting conditions.

Rodinal in standard dillution is 1+25, this is something like D76 in 1+0. Nobody used Rodinal in 1+0 but D76 is possible. Some photographers used Rodinal in 1+200 (!!) dillution and develop 2h. After 50% developing time have to change developer on fresh. Final efect is interesting. Negative is very rich tonally but contrast is low. Later you can control contrast under enlarger If you use variable contrast paper.

Last, I bought HC 110 in very thick concentrate. Standard dillution B was 1+31. I dilluted this developer 1+100, Neopan 400 and 1600 and also TX 400. Result was great.

Best Regards JW
If your contrast is too high, the developing time is too long. Remember that I said to use about 2/3 of the recommended time to start with. Instead of 9 minutes, use 6-7. If you use D-76 diluted at 1+3 or higher, the results may be less consistent and you will no longer have a fine-grain developer. D-76 is intended to be used as a fine-grain developer. If you want a different developer characteristic profile, use a different developer altogether; there are plenty of them. Don't dilute D-76 more than 1:1.

I have the original Kodak publication from around 1929(!) that details some of the research of D-76. It presents a table of all kinds of variations in D-76, adding or subtracting various components of the product. The best results were obtained at the ratios of the product as sold, or with a variation known as D-76d*, believed to be the actual product delivered commercially by Kodak today. Diluting it 1:1 is within acceptable limits, and because films today are generally much finer-grained than they were in 1929, there is no significant increase in graininess.

* http://silvergrain.org/Photo-Tech/d-76.html#t008

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