| Photography Forum: Darkroom Techniques Forum: |
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Q. LIfe Expectancy of Liquid Paper developer
Asked by Jon O'Brien
(K=11321) on 12/17/2004
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I just bought a 2.25 litre container of Ilford Multigrade Paper Developer. Does the un-diluted product have a life expectancy? Also (and I apologize in advance if this is a Dumb Question) When I make up a small batch to use for doing some printing, can I pour it into a container and store it for re-use, or does 2-3 hours exposure to the air make it strictly a one-shot thing?
Thanks, eh,
Jon
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Raoul Endres
(K=2676) - Comment Date 12/17/2004
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Not sure on the undiluted life expectancy - probably a few months at least once exposed to air by being opened...
You can definately store them after use - in a squeezable container with no air, it should last a while.
Change the developer once it starts taking longer for a picture to start forming (say, more than 20-30 seconds).
I have mine in trays for up to 6 hours at a time and then still rebottle/reuse it.
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ann clancy
(K=2014) - Comment Date 12/17/2004
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place a piece of Saran wrap under the cap, and it needs to be that brand.(who knows why, but it does)it will help , however, 6 months is about the life of an open container.
you can also put marbles in the container to raise the liquid so that oxygen is not present which will increase the life of of the developer.
in tray form, place saran wrap over the tray, see that the plastic lies on the liquid.
it is going to depend on the developer what it's tray life will be.
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Phillip Cohen
(K=10561) - Comment Date 12/18/2004
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Jon,
I think it is a false economy to save developer once it has been used in the tray. From the moment it is poured in the tray it is starting to oxidize. Each print that you run through it causes it to further deplete its active components. You will not notice the change over the period of several prints because the change is very slow and subtle, but if you compare your first print with your 10th or 15th if you use it for that many prints, you will see a lack of contrast, muddy shadows and a less dense maximum black.
Print developer is the cheapest part of printing your own images so why bother with stuff that will in all likelihood just cause you to waste time and paper. You will have no way of judging its potency so your exposure and development timing will be inconsistent.
Now that being said, if you want soft, warmtone, low contrast prints, leave the developer out over night and then use it with the warm tone papers, like Forte or Ilford, it gives an interesting look.
Phil
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ann clancy
(K=2014) - Comment Date 12/18/2004
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i would agree with Philp unless you are using ANsco 130 which has an amazing tray life, however, i would pour it into another container and cap before the next use, do not pour back into the stock solution.
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