For those of us that dabble in alchemy and make our own developers, a selection of formulas.
I have replaced my 50 year old apothecary's balance scale with an electronic one from My Weigh. It is the Pointscale 5.0 and does not cost a fortune.
Jump to: Single Bath Developers or Two Bath Developers
Concentrated acutance developer. Produces full film speed and fine grain.
| Developer | Add chemicals in
order shown. Add the dry chemicals to the 75ml of TEA at room temp, then heat to 65°C, stirring continuously until the chemicals have dissolved, then top up with TEA to to make 100ml. Dilution for use is: 1+100 - 1:500 Starting times for development in the range of: 5-7 mins |
|
| TEA (Triethanolamine) | 75 ml | |
| Ascorbic Acid | 5 grams | |
| Pyrogallol | 10 grams | |
| Phenidone | 0.25 grams | |
| TEA (Triethanolamine) to make | 100 ml |
This is similar to D-76 with slightly better sharpness, but development times must be increased by 10 - 20 %. This developer formula was used for testing the DIN speed of films. It gives full film speed, excellent tonality and improved sharpness compared to D-76. Replenisher is used at rate of 20ml per roll.
| Developer | Replenisher | |
| Metol | 2 grams | 3 grams |
| Sodium Sulphite (anhydrous) | 80 grams | 80 grams |
| Hydroquinone | 4 grams | 5 grams |
| Borax | 4 grams | 18 grams |
| Potassium Bromide | 0.5 grams | ___ |
| Water to make 1.0 liter |
50-60 percent speed increase over D-76. Roughly equivilent to Microphen. Allows the shadows to increase more in contrast. The presence of Metol also allows discrimination in the highlights.
About 9 min at 20C as a start.
| Metol | 1.5 grams |
| Sodium Sulphite | 100 grams |
| Phenidone | 0.25 grams |
| Hydroquinone | 5 grams |
| Borax | 2.5 grams |
| Potassium Bromide | 0.5 grams |
| Water to make 1.0 liter |
Roughly equivilent to Microdol-X. You lose a stop in speed. Develop undiluted 10-15 minutes.
| Water at 52C | 750 ml |
| Metol | 5 grams |
| Sodium Sulphite | 125 grams |
| Borax | 3 grams |
| Boric Acid | 1.5 grams |
| Potassium Bromide | 0.5 grams |
| Water to make 1.0 liter |
The difference between this and Kodak's packaged D-76 is slightly less base fog, due to the bromide. The formula is re-jiggered to compensate for the bromide, and HQ is unnecessary, so left out.
Use the same times and dilutions as packaged D-76 or D-96.
| Metol | 3 grams |
| Sodium Sulphite (anhydrous) | 100 grams |
| Borax | 5 grams |
| Potassium Bromide | 0.5 grams |
| Water to make 1 Litre |
Excellent, fine-grain developer that gives full emulsion speed, a full contrast range and sharpness.
| Metol | 6 grams |
| Sodium Sulphite (anhydrous) | 90 grams |
| p-Phenylenediamine | 10 grams |
| Glycin | 5 grams |
| Water to make 1.0 liter |
(from Kodak Publication H-24 Module 15). Replenisher is used at rate of 20ml per roll.
| Developer | Replenisher | |
| Metol | 1.5 grams | 2.0 grams |
| Sodium Sulphite (anhydrous) | 75 grams | 80 grams |
| Hydroquinone | 1.5 grams | 2.0 grams |
| Sodium Tetraborate (Borax) | 4.5 grams | 5.0 grams |
| Potassium Bromide | 0.4 grams | ___ |
| Water to make 1 Litre |
Working Solution: 2000 ml Water, 20 ml Solution A, 40 ml Solution B.
The "Plus" in Pyro-Plus is AMIDOL. Add a "pinch" when you have mixed the stock solution, right before use. Use a flat toothpick to decide what is a "pinch". Amidol adds 1/3 to 1/2 stop honest speed to the developer mix.
| Solution A | Solution B | ||
| Distilled Water | 400 ml | Distilled Water | 700 ml |
| Metol | 5 grams | Sodium Metaborate (Kodalk) | 300 grams |
| Sodium Sulfite | 10 grams | Water to make 1 Litre | |
| Pyrogallol | 50 grams | ||
| Water to make 500 ml |
Start at 4 minutes in each at 21°C.
| SOLUTION A | SOLUTION B | ||
| Metol | 5 grams | Sodium Tetraborate (Borax) | 10 grams |
| Sodium Sulphite (anhydrous) | 100 grams | Water to make 1 Litre | |
| Water to make 1 Litre |
3 minutes in each at 21°C
| SOLUTION A | SOLUTION B | ||
| Metol | 7.5 grams | Sodium Metaborate (Kodalk) | 10 grams |
| Sodium Sulphite | 100 grams | Water to 1 litre | |
| Water to 1 litre |
A variation of Stoëckler.
| SOLUTION A | SOLUTION B | ||
| Metol | 5 grams | Sodium Sulfite | 6 grams |
| Sodium Sulphite (anhydrous) | 100 grams | Sodium Carbonate | 15 grams |
| Water to make 1 Litre | Water to make 1 Litre |
Try 3-4 minutes in each at 20°C
| SOLUTION A | SOLUTION B | ||
| Metol | 5 grams | Sodium Tetraborate (Borax) | 2 grams |
| Sodium Sulfite (anhydrous) | 100 grams | Sodium Metaborate (Kodalk) | 5 grams |
| Water to make 1 Litre | Sodium Sulphite (anhydrous) | 6 grams | |
| Sodium Sulfate | 40 grams | ||
| Water to make 1 Litre |
Start at 4 minutes in each at 21°C
| SOLUTION A | SOLUTION B | ||
| Metol | 6.5 grams | Sodium Metaborate (Kodalk) | 12 grams |
| Sodium Sulphite | 85 grams | Water to 1 litre | |
| Water to 1 litre |