I note that Ilford say that working-strength multigrade paper dev should only be kept for "up to two consecutive developing sessions". I wonder if anyone can add some detail to that rather vague statement.

I tend only to get time to make prints on weekends---is working strength (1+9 or 1+14) paper developer going to keep for any length of time in glass bottles, or should I ditch it after one session?

Should I be using a different paper developer given my infrequent use? (For film I use Ilfotec LC-29 diluted from concentrate and used as a one-shot.)

-- Christopher Biggs (chris@stallion.oz.au), October 18, 1999

Answers

They mean the developer can be used about 24 hours after you first mix it. I find the characteristics have changed so much that this isn't worth doing, so I chuck it after each session. The developer costs so little, about the same as a single sheet of paper, that it isn't worth the hassle.

[I process in trays. The situation would probably be different if I used slot processors.]

-- Alan Gibson (Alan.Gibson@technologist.com), October 18, 1999.

For the heck of it, I saved some Ilford developer in a full glass bottle for about 10 days. It still worked at producing an image but the tonality was different. Blacks weren't quite as deep and I think it got a bit warmer as well. If I'm doing any permanent work I use fresh chemicals but if I'm just goofing around I tend to stretch things a bit by using them 2-3 days. If I understand Ilford's documentation, they imply that the stuff should work well for at least 24 hours (or so many prints).

Agfa Neutol in the higher concentration promises (?) greater unmixed and mixed life plus some say it gives richer blacks. The Agfa and http://www.heylloyd.com/ websites discuss this somewhere. I found that Neutol did seem to have a bit better mixed life, but did not actively test it.

I finished up a box of MG-IV using Neutol before going to Agfa paper and felt there was little difference in the developers; certainly it was no worse and perhaps the blacks were a bit richer.

Cheers,

-- Duane K (dkucheran@creo.com), October 19, 1999.

Duane, I run a small custom b&w printing business from my home. I use Ilford's Multigrade paper developer and try to make it last as long as possible. What I mean by this is a fresh batch is used during my initial session and then placed in an air-tight plastic container until the next time (probably no more than two days) I'll use it again for another printing session and by the end of that one, I can usually tell if I'll keep it for a third. With RC paper the image should start to appear within the first 10-15 seconds of the print being in the developer. FB within the first 30 seconds depending on the brand of paper. I can sometimes get through a third session, but if I find that the print looks too flat, that means it's time to make up a new batch. The best indicator is the tones begin to look flat and that means the developer is exhausted. I take pride in my work and would never give my customers a sub-standard print but it is also expensive for me to keep changing to fresh developer when the developer that I'm using is just fine. Use your own judgement, the more you print, the more you'll get a feel for how long your developer is usable.

-- Debbie Hilaire (dhilaire@serix.com), October 25, 1999.