Can one make Ilfochrome P3 chemistry?
Eam 77 ck
developer and fixer. Does anyone know if this is possible or practicle and
how?
EM
Wayne
eam...@aol.com (Eam 77 ck) wrote:
> I seen mentioned a few times in this news group that it is possible to
make P3
> developer and fixer.
You can make fixer. Just take Ilford Rapid Fix and add sodium carbonate
to bring the pH to 6.7 or so. I dont know if this saves any money over
just buying the P3 fix. I rather doubt it, but I've never made the
comparison.
Does anyone know if this is possible or
practicle and
> how?
As far as I know there is no published formula for the bleach, and it
probably wouldnt be easy or fun to make even if there was-unless you are
a real chemist as opposed to a darkroom hack like me. :-)
>
Wayne
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Jess4203
I thought I had those formulas around here somewhere in an article, but I can't
find any -- maybe I imagined it. I would check with Phtotographer's Formulary
and in the Patrick Dignan books. Unless you are doing a lot of printing, it
might be more trouble than it was worth, as the formulas probably require
several out of the way chemicals and there would be a lot of mixing and
calibrating.
There is a post on this newsgroup re: P3 vs P30, and that might be helpful.
There are some articles with formulas for color negative printing by other
processes, but, of course, if you have printed Ilfochrome, you may not want to
use another process.
If I find anything, I will post it.
Good Luck,
Roy
Mike Sullivan
I have mixed these chemicals myself. The formulas I used came from a
special issue of Darkroom Techniques magazine (now Photo Techniques). I
have the formula for a two solution developer and a fixer to go with it
as well as information on how to modify Kodak Rapid fixer to work with
P3 bleach. You still have to use the P3 bleach since there is no
alternative available. I used the P3 fixer with the P3 bleach and the
home made developer. The main reason for using this developer is not so
much to save money, rather it provides a way to lower Ilfochrome's high
contrast. I did not use too much of it, but my first few prints looked
pretty good with regards to color and contrast. You would probably be
better off just using the P3 fixer if you can get it, since P3 fixer is
fairly cheap. The 2 solution developer is worth mixing though, as it
may actually be better than the official P3 developer.
I have the formulas at my darkroom, but I live 40 miles from the
darkroom, so I'll have to wait a couple of days to be able to get the
info. I might have the formulas stored in my old computer, and I need
to transfer a few things over to the new computer anyway, so I'll hook
the old computer up tonight and see if it is still there. If I have it,
I can email it to you as an attached Microsoft Word document.
Mike Sullivan
In article 20001223111324...@ng-co1.aol.com>,
eam...@aol.com (Eam 77 ck) wrote:
Wayne
>
> Hi EM
>
> I have mixed these chemicals myself. The formulas I used came from a
> special issue of Darkroom Techniques magazine (now Photo Techniques). I
> have the formula for a two solution developer and a fixer to go with it
> as well as information on how to modify Kodak Rapid fixer to work with
> P3 bleach. You still have to use the P3 bleach since there is no
> alternative available. I used the P3 fixer with the P3 bleach and the
> home made developer. The main reason for using this developer is not so
> much to save money, rather it provides a way to lower Ilfochrome's high
> contrast. I did not use too much of it, but my first few prints looked
> pretty good with regards to color and contrast. You would probably be
> better off just using the P3 fixer if you can get it, since P3 fixer is
> fairly cheap. The 2 solution developer is worth mixing though, as it
> may actually be better than the official P3 developer.
>
> I have the formulas at my darkroom, but I live 40 miles from the
> darkroom, so I'll have to wait a couple of days to be able to get the
> info. I might have the formulas stored in my old computer, and I need
> to transfer a few things over to the new computer anyway, so I'll hook
> the old computer up tonight and see if it is still there. If I have it,
> I can email it to you as an attached Microsoft Word document.
I think I misunderstood the original question when I answered before,
but the answer remains the same. Just about any metol-HQ or
phenidone-HQ B$W developer will work, as long as you add a couple grams
of sodium thiosulfate per liter of working solution-the amount is not
critical. Fix can be made by adding alkali to rapid fix until pH is
about 6.7. Rapid fix is about $15 for 5 liters. P3 fix is something
like $45. carbonate is several dollars for several pounds. Do the math.
;-)
The DT article you refer to is probably the one by Stringer. He has
unnecessary things in his formulas, like K Ferricyanide and salt. I've
tried similar formulas with and without ferricyanide and didnt see any
difference. I've never used it since. For that matter, I didnt notice
much difference in contrast either, on the low or medium contrast paper.
I still havent tried them on the high contrast paper. I'd be interested
to know if you have, because the emulsion has changed since the article
was published and it might not have the same effect as before. I'd like
to hear that that is not the case.
Robert Stringer's formula:
Solution A
Water 700 ml (125 degrees)
Sodium sulfite 68 grams
Hydroquinone 18 g
Phenidone 0.7g or 100ml of 0.7% solution
Benzotriazole 0.1g or 100ml of 0.1% solution
Sodium chloride 6g
Water to make 1 liter
Solution B
Water 800 ml
Sodium Carbonate 55g (Arm & Hammer Washing Soda
or Swimming pool PHPlus work just fine)
Sodium Thiosulfate 7.2g
Sodium bisulfite 13g
Water to make 1 liter
Somebody else posted this fix formula, which I wont vouch for. I've
talked to Ilford and they say you just need to neutralize it.
>Fixer:
>250 ml Rapid fix
>450ml water
>+approx 70ml soln B to get pH of 6.8 to 6.0
Simpler to just add carbonate. No need to mix solution B just to put in
the fix, and you certainly dont need more thiosulfate with your
thiosulfate. ;-) and bisulfite will not help neutralize it!
Wayne