I cannot find much info about "Agfa Neutol Plus". I believe it is less toxic and has a longer storage life than some other developers but I haven't read anything about it's printing qualities. Any info would be appreciated. Thanks Steve

-- Stephen Mitchell (mitmad@telus.net), January 15, 2001

Answers

Dear Mr. Mitchell,

NEUTOL plus is a b&w paper developer. It contains instead hydroquinone iso ascorbic acid as developing agent which is a derivate of vitamin C. Therefore, it is less toxic and gives no allergic reactions since no hydroquinone. The storage live is comparable with other developers. The capacity is approx. 5 sqm per litre solution. Due to its composition it cannot build silver sludge. That means the trays or the processing machine will be clean after processing. I hope this information help you. If you have further questions please do not hesitate to contact me.

Kind regards Wolfgang Holz Product Manager Marketing Chemicals Agfa-Gevaert AG

-- Wolfgang Holz (Wolfgang.Holz.WH@germany.agfa.com), January 16, 2001.

I bought a couple of liters recently to try it out. I switched from Dektol 1:2.

Neutol Plus (1:4) isn't quite as fast as Dektol and not as "hard" a developer. It's tone is not quite as cold as Dektol on Ilford Multigrade FB. In real terms I don't change my printing grade, but develop longer (instead of 2-3 minutes I'm at 3-4 now, which is bearable) and tone more aggressively in selenium. It also fatigues rather abruptly at 1:4.

I'm not sure about the toxicity of the stuff. It was shipped to me as loose 500ml bottles from B&H, but the smell and consistency made me read the ingredients and it seems to contain a lot of diethylene glycol, which I was accustomed to handling only with gloves as a textile chemist. I didn't put my hands diretly in Dektol, and certainly won't immerse my skin in Neutol Plus.

-- John O'Connell (boywonderiloveyou@hotmail.com), January 16, 2001.

My experience with Neutol Plus is positive. It seems a very active developer, which means the emergence time is relatively short when compared to my former developers. The image tone is neutral to cool, I would say.

As to its toxicity: I would not recommend to put your hands in any darkroom chemistry, but Neutol Plus is definitely less of a hazard than hydroquinone developers. I don't think the diethylene glycol is even half as irritant as the stuff in conventional developers.

If there is one aspect to be mentioned, it's the colour. The concentrate and working solution are somewhat orange even when fresh, a bit like the tone one is used to from Old Brown. But as developing by inspection is not usually considered good printing practice, this is not a disadvantage. I mention it only so that you don't dump the stuff right away because you think it's oxidised.

-- Thomas Wollstein (thomas_wollstein@web.de), January 16, 2001.

Thanks for your replies to my questions. I think I'll give Neutol Plus a try which is the only way to judge it's scale and contrast. All I have to do now is try to find some in Vancouver BC

-- Stephen Mitchell (mitmad@telus.net), January 17, 2001.

Try Beau Photo on 6th just off Granville. That's where I buy my Agfa stuff. Lens & shutter can probably bring it in - they've been very fast on the MC filters I had them order.

Cheers,

Duane (in Burnaby)

-- Duane K (dkucheran@creo.com), January 17, 2001.

Thanks Duane but Neutol Plus is very scarce here and in Canada at the moment

-- Stephen Mitchell (mitmad@telus.net), January 17, 2001.