Finding the edges of Eukobrom AC will hurt your pocket.

One open ,One untouched.

I have some good and bad news concerning Tetenal's Eukobrom AC. I have been pushing the developer to find it's limits. Without knowing where the edges are you cannot be sure that you are getting the optimum usage.

The good news is that two litres of diluted developer at 1 to 9 stored in a slot processor will remain usable for up to six weeks. Obviously this will vary depending on your circumstances. Also as the developer gets older the solution becomes more brown. Along with this it imparts some of this colour to the photograph by producing a subtle chocolate brown warmth in this case with Kentmere select RC gloss. A paper I have been using alot.

Used and depleted

The bad news is, while I have been involved in seeing how long a working solution will last, I forgot to mark the stock bottle with an 'opened on date'!. As a result 800 mls of unused developer has been thrown away. The first time I have had to do this ever! 

    

 I discovered this 'error' at the start of a printing   session. The existing developer was tested for   usability and found to be no longer viable. So I   made up a new batch to find that this was also   depleted. I was suspicious that the open bottle   was off by the colour but made up a new batch   anyway. In the past with other traditional   developers the colour does not always indicate   that it is exhausted. It took time to find out for   sure as the new developer was producing a very   soft test image without any contrast. I was using Kentmere paper, not known for being on the soft side and very quick to produce an image when placed in the developer, seconds in fact. In this case it still was not right after two minutes. After several attempts it was dumped. Not impressed to say the least.

Continence from open
bottle

Test Prints from open bottle of Eukobrom AC 

Not to worry I had a new unopened bottle. However on pouring the new bottle into the measuring jug this was brown in colour as well. Not the slight orange colour I was expecting. Now I was angry. I made up a batch anyway and to my surprise I was met with a well developed test image. Fully toned, great!

It took over an hour to get to this point what with one thing and another. My temper mellowed as each successive photograph left the developer fully toned.

Developer from fresh
bottle

Developer from
fresh bottle.

Test print in fresh developer..

Will I use the developer again? I still have the best part of a litre left from a dodgy opened bottle that has an 'opened on date'. As long as the contents are viable I will use it again. As to re stocking it? Not sure? It is just as well I keep some of my old friends in stock.

I did email Tetenal a long time ago to find out if they had any suggestions as to why this should be the case but have had no answer, I can share with you at the point of writing there is still no answer on posting.  

Printed on Kentmere RC gloss paper developed in Tetenal Eukobrom AC

This post was first published in 2017 there has not been any response from Tetenal on my concerns to this date.

Picture Post Eukobrom AC Developed photographs

Paper Kentmere RC gloss.

The images that appear in this gallery have been processed using Tetenals Eukobrom AC developer on a number of different papers.

I would like to thank Tetenal for there interest in and re-blogging of the first look post. It was a big surprise when they got intouch.

There is a new post on Eukobrom to be published not all good news.

Paper Fomatone  Chamois 542-11 matt

Paper Ilford FB gloss

Paper Fotospeed RC gloss

Paper Kentmere RC gloss

Paper Fomatone Chamois 542-11 matt

Technical Data:

Camera Bronica SQAi, lens 80mm, Film ilford FP4+ iso 125, Fomapan 100 iso 100, Negative size 120 6x6, Developed in Studional.

Scanned from paper size 9.5 x 12, paper used listed with each image.

Living with Tetenal Eukobrom AC

Developer

Tetenal new Eukobrom AC is proving to be a delight to work with. I did not realize how much of a irritant the smell of the developer was until it had been removed from the equation. I no longer have developers nose where the smell lingers long after I have left the darkroom. 

In an early article on this developer I had a couple of questions: Personally the main questions yet to be resolved are its keeping qualities and whether or not the image will be warm when the developer starts to deplete. One of these has now been answered, that is it's keeping qualities. I have been using it in my slot processor, at the end of each print session I leave the developer in the slot and cover it with the lid. The amount of time between each print session varies a lot from days to weeks sometimes months.

Slot processor

 Two things have come to light. If you leave the developer in the slot you should give it a stir before you start using it again. The active ingredient can separate out dropping to the bottom. I was caught out thinking that the developer had come to the end of it's working life because it had been left for two weeks. Something I did regularly with Ilfords multigrade without loss of usability.

Something else I have not experienced before was a black and white crystalline substance on top of the stop bath. It was a very heavy build up making it difficult to remove the top off the stop. The stop it's self was clear and still at the level it had been left at, turning out to still be working even so I changed it. This maybe an interaction with the vitamin C - something to keep an eye on.

The other question about the warming of the prints as the developer depletes still remains unanswered. This due to the fact I have not processed enough prints with the fresh developer. Once I notice I'll let you know.

 

Finally I have used this developer with a number of makes of paper now - RC and FB, natural, warm, cool tone and tinted papers - With great results, so if you have not tried it yet, do so! you can get it in 250 ml shots which is More than enough to get a feel for the way it works and looks.

Technical Data:

Developer Tetenal Eukobrom AC, paper Kentmere RC gloss. 

Other Posts:
Eukobrom first look
FB papers in Eukobrom

Picture Post Fisheye.

I am very pleased to be able to share these images with you. From time to time I'm asked to process and print for an artist friend. This is my first exclusive you will not find any photographs by this artist anywhere else on the net.

Technical Data:

Camera lomograph Fisheye 2, hand held, Film Fomapan 400, box speed, developed in RO9, Printed on Kentmere VC RC gloss 9x12, developed in Tentenal Eukobrom AC.

All the images I print are chosen by the artist from a contact print of the whole film. I'm instructed not to dodge or burn  unless it is really necessary. 

Studional first use.

Negatives developed
in Studional.

The darkroom is beckoning again, with the death of my father the will or the inclination to do anything connected with film photography has been at a stand still. It is as though my creative energy has been knocked out of me. It was the childhood wonder I had in his fold out camera that peaked my interest in photography in the first place. Spurred on with the little camera he then gave me. Which was later given away.

The darkroom has suffered with my long absence. It is a dusty dirty hole in need of some maintenance. I have also neglected to replace used up materials: film developers, photo papers etc. etc. It has taken time getting things back into shape, for now I will have to make do with what I've got materials wise. Which just happens to be a fresh bottle of Studional.

This is A&Os formulation of the once dead developer. It is advertised as a fine grain, clean working general developer - that can be used in deep tanks?? - or single use. I have interpreted deep tank to mean batch development where a number of film can be processed from a single batch of diluted developer. It suggests dilutions of 1+15 to 1+30 for one shot use. So I am assuming the same for batch production.

Grain pattern produced by Studional on FP4+.
The colour cast represents printing grade three.

I have been told that this developer is akin to RO9s and can be treated in the same way. This is the first time I have used it so I will do as suggested - which is not my usual way of working - I tend to do what my instincts tell me; I must still be out of sorts!!

I have a number of rolls of 120 FP4+ and 35mm Fomapan 400 to process. Checking through the dilution chart it suggests a dilution for the above films as being 1+15 with a developing times of 3.5 and 6 minutes for the Foma. (Digital truths dev chart is a good place to go for dilutions and times.)

I have made up a litre of the developer at 1+15 and intend to use it as though it was RO9s that means on the day of dilution you can process 12 film of mixed formats in a litre with no time compensation. The developer is good for three months with compensation factors for how long the developer has been stored diluted. (Adjustments: 1-3 days 5%, 4-8 days 10%, 1-2 weeks 15%, 2 weeks to 3 months 20%.) I know it sounds a bit flaky but true, I have already tested this with RO9s so I know it works, with no degradation in the quality of the negatives. Like RO9s you will need to protect you hands when using it. It has a caustic bite, this is the second developer that I have experienced this with.

On the day of dilution I processed four films: Two FP4+ and two Fomapan 400 both were exposed at box speed. I developed the Foma for the suggested time and the FP4+ at 4 minutes. Using my standard agitation method: 12 inversion in the first min and then 4 each min after that. Short developing times like that of FP4+ always makes me feel there is something missing. I think it is because I'm used to using longer times. The results are clean and crisp with a good tonal separation. They also look to have more contrast than what I'm used to.

I didn't know at the time of making up the developer that it would take a month till I would use it again. This time with a couple of rolls of 120 FP4+ and Foma 100. In this case I added the 20% compensation. After the first set of neg's had been processed I checked them. No change in the tone or quality which was good news for those that followed. In all, the developer produced ten good sets of negatives before the three month suggested time period was up, without any noticeable changes to contrast etc.

I have contact printed all of the film processed in the Studional. Out of the hundred and seventy negatives only a couple show signs of air bells (bubble marks) which is not bad, I have experienced a lot worse. The contact prints were made on Ilford multigrade RC gloss, developed in Tetanal new Eukobrom AC.

Having printed some of the individual negatives I can confirm that there is an increase in contrast and that it has a fine grain structure. It has helped to produce some finely toned photographs. It has also helped me regain some of my creative spark that has been missing over the months. I cannot say the same for writing these articles I am still finding it difficult to get started.

 

Technical Data:

Bronica SQAi Hand held, Film FP4+ @ 125 ISO. Box speed, 120 format 6x6 negative, Printed on Ilford Multigrade gloss RC 10 x 8 @ grade 2 developed in Tetanal Eukobrom AC.