Mature paper developer

Mature multigrade developer with FB paper.
Notice that it has a very subtle warmth to it.

I happened to mention to a group of dark artists that I use mature developer when printing my photographs. I was a little taken aback in that they did not understand what I was saying and possibly a number of you reading this will not either. Basically it means that I cut fresh developer with old and exhausted developer from other printing sessions. Not always from the same manufacturer. It is something I have done for years and have not given a second thought to.

The technical bit:

Starting with the papers light sensitive coating, they can be made from three materials Silver bromide, silver chloride and silver iodide. These are combined to make three types of coating chloride,bromide and chlorobromide. A number of other chemicals are also added to help things along. The way in which these chemicals are mixed together affects how the final print looks. Chloride rich papers are slower and warmer in tone. Where bromide predominates it leads to faster acting and colder toned papers. As a common rule the material named first has the most influence on the way the paper reacts. Bromide papers are the most light sensitive producing neutral or cold blue black tones.

Fresh multigrade developer with FB paper.
Although the picture is of a cold subject the tone
of the scene is cold as well.

The most commonly mixed materials found today are chlorobromide papers. They are a compromise between speed and colour. By adjusting the percentages of these chemicals the manufacturer can alter the tone from warm to cold and vary how sensitive to light they are. I have found that the new Kentmere RC papers to be very sensitive to light producing a cold look to the print. It's quick reaction to the developer means that full development of the picture can be achieved in less than thirty seconds when developed with fresh Ilford multigrade. Chlorobromide papers tend to tone better than Bromide. If you are going to use gold toner then a chloride rich paper is the better than bromide rich paper as it hardly responds.

This is was printed on Kentmere RC paper with
 fresh developer. It was fully developed in less than
thirty seconds.

Although the tone and tint of black and white papers are subtle it has a great affect on the viewers response. Neutral and cold tones tend to create a distance emotionally, a sense of looking in from the outside. While warm looking images draw the viewer in engaging them emotionally. There is a tendency to use these different tones for certain subjects, cold and neutral tones with landscapes, abstracts and modern architecture. With warm tones being used with subjects like portraits, still life and nostalgic pictures like churches and old barns. We maybe used to seeing them used in this way but there are no rules but those you make for yourself and even then they should not be set in stone. By learning to manipulate and control the tone of the paper you are printing with, opens up new ways of engaging the viewer in your vision of the world.

Printed on warmtone  FB paper using
a sepia tone developer. Again the warmth is
very subtle. when compared to the picture
above.

When talking about tone and colour of monochrome papers it is important to understand there is a difference between tone and tint. The tone of a paper is influenced by how much chloride or bromide there is in the coating of the paper. More chloride means slower warmer pictures.

Paper bases come in different colours/ tints such as off white, cream and variations on the theme. At one time warm tone papers could be made on a brilliant white base but these days the base paper has a tint to it, this allows the manufacturer to reduce the amount of chloride in the mix increasing the speed of the paper and still call it warmtone even though it is the tint we see. Tints are most noticeable in the high lights and tones in the shadows. Because the colour shifts are so subtle an untrained eye may not notice the difference until it is pointed out to them.

This is the most important bit when it comes to manipulating the tone of a paper. The main thing film and paper have in common is grain it maybe invisible to the eye but the bigger it is the blacker it appears. When the paper is placed in the developer the grain increases in size as it grows so it changes in colour. From a yellow to begin with it turns reddish, then brown and finally black which is the point of full development.

Printed on  Ilford multigrade FB paper.
 It has been developed in an almost exhausted developer
giving it a pinkish look.

This is valuable knowledge when it comes to changing the tone of a print for example: If you over expose your print more than the exposure your test strip suggests and then under develop the print by say a quarter of your usual development time this will help to increase the warmth of your picture. If you combine a warmtone developer and paper it will greatly increase the effect.

Now to the technical bit behind the mature developer. What happens; as the developer starts to exhaust, so it has trouble fully reducing the silver halides in the emulsion. This means the developer cannot turn the silver completely black therefore it leaves it in the warmer less processed state. You can induce this state by adding fresh developer to an old/ exhausted one which will leave your prints with a wonderful but subtle warmth. The old, new combination should only be used up to a dilution of one to one. Beyond this can lead to sudden exhaustion of the developer.

The masking frame

Also called an easel they come in different sizes. It is a good idea to pick one that is larger than your current needs therefore not limiting the proportions of your enlargements. The main reasons for using a masking frame are to hold the paper flat, to reconfigure the composition, allow the margins to be adjusted to the various format sizes you wish to use and to crop out some of those bits that creep in at edges, that you didn't see before you pressed the shutter. 

The frames come with two or four independently adjustable blades on a yellow or white base. I have noticed that some blades are not set at right angles to each other so it is a good idea to check them at various settings with a set square to make sure they are true. Also make sure that the edges of the blades are not bevelled under. This will reflect the light and produce a thin black line around the edge of the picture. It can be a nice affect but one you should have control over. The light colour of the baseboard is so you can see the projected negative, enabling you to frame the image before you put the photo paper in place.

When using single weight papers on a white baseboard, it is possible for the light to pass through the paper and be reflected back, changing the value of the exposure. You can stop this by laying a dark coloured card on the baseboard with the light sensitive paper on top.

The most versatile of the masking frames is the four blade, it allows you to mask the image by only having to move the blades of the frame without having to re-a line the whole easel each time. It also gives better control over how big or small you make the margins and in some cases gives you the ability to produce borderless prints. The versatility of these frames makes them quite expensive to purchase.

Making up PMK Pyro from Raw.

This is the first time I've mixed a developer from scratch. I find when  preparing for something that is new, it seems to take an inordinately long time to set up. This has been no different and I can understand why more people do not mix for themselves.

Before you start.

If you have just purchased new scales it is a good idea to check how accurate they are. First thing to do is place the scales where you plan to make up the mix and zero them.The table that follows is a simple and affective way of checking the accuracy.

These weights came from the royal mint:

Coin test

        ●         1p – 3.56 grams.

●         2p – 7.12 grams.

●         5p – 3.25 grams.

●         10p – 6.5 grams.

●         20p – 3.0 grams.

●         50p – 8.0 grams.

●         £1 – 9.5 grams.

●         £2 – 12 grams.

An alternative to using scales is the Twenty P mix. This is where twenty p coins are used as a counter balance to weighing out the powders. While talking about alternative ways of measuring out you can use measuring spoons. This could be a more reliable way of ensuring that each mix is consistent. If you measure out the chemicals with number of spoons it will not matter that the powders have changed in volume by absorbing moisture or drying out.

With the checks out of the way what next? How much are you going to make up as stock solution? I know from previous use that it will keep for a very long time, even years. I personally prefer only to have small amounts of developer on the shelf ready for use. This is partly because I use several different film and paper developers.  Anchells Darkroom Cookbook  suggests that you make up part A at 750 mls and part B at 1400 mls; well that is a large amount for a first mix not only that what happens if you get it wrong  or heaven forbid it does not work. Luckily Trevor Crone has published the weights for a smaller amount:

Solution A to make 250mls:

●         Metol 2.5 grams

●         Sodium metabisulphite 5.0 grams.

●         Pyrogallol 25.0 grams.

Solution B to make 500mls

●         Sodium Metaborate 125 grams.

Stock solution should be made up with distilled/de ionised water. EDTA-disodium is an optional ingredient It adds gold tone to the silver of the film.

Trevor suggests a reduction of 10 grams for solution B to help combat separation when mixed. He has also said that to his knowledge it has not affected the quality of his negatives.  I can confirm the drop out is reduced but I think this is mainly due to the reduction of powder. Although these quantities are more reasonable  I made my batch up at half these weights.

Other bits

Paper cup cake holders are a good idea for pouring the powders into when it comes to measuring out but they will only cope safely with small weights. You can get plastic cups to do the job which maybe a better route to take if you plan to mix all your own chemicals.

Common sense should prevail when it comes to measuring out these powders. Gloves and a breathing mask should be the minimum safety precautions taken. If the powder gets air born it will irritate the lining of your nose. Also if you get it on your hands it  will irritate or burn your skin. So please be sensible.  

Adox CHS 100 Pet ISO 100 35mm flim.
Developed in PMK Pyro,
Printed on silverproof paper,
Developed in Ilford warm tone.

Having purchased all the ingredients to mix it myself, is it more cost affective? The over the counter premixed price of PMK is about £9 for 10 litres. The cost of all the ingredients is around £39. The batch that I made up  was equivalent to ten litres and saved about 50p. Taking every thing into account scales, time, safety etc. etc., it may not be worth all the trouble and money as a one off. There are advantages to this method such as the flexibility of making up the quantities of developer, stop and fix you require and being able to try out other developers you would not normal be able to get from the mainstream. The main purpose for me was to ensure a ready supply of PMK Pyro. Now that I have started down this road as my stop,fix and other developers run out they will probably be replaced with powdered formulas.

Acknowledgements and Thanks to the following:

Paul C, for the royal mint weights. 

Mr S. Nichols for the 20 P mix.

Trevor Crone for the reduced PMK Pyro mix.

Pyro PMK Raw what is needed

I have been purchasing PMK Pyro as a set of pre-mixed powders just like ID11 and D76. Two of the most popular mass produced powdered film developers; just add water and away you go. Recently I have needed to replace my stock of PMK developer so went to Silverprint my regular supplier to replenish the stock, only to be told that they no longer did mixed batches for sale over the counter. They advised me they stock all the ingredients for self mixing. This took me aback, several expletives entered my head (which were not expressed) what was I going to do! I have a number of tests planned for developing other makes of film let alone the projects on going.

Raw chemicals to make up PMK Pyro

I raised the question on the film and darkroom forum and after the responses  came back (thank you all) I decided to buy the individual ingredients; it is quite expensive to set up, partly due to the way the powders are sold but should make it cheaper over time. This raised the thought of making up all the chemicals I used in the darkroom from powder, meaning they will be as fresh as possible at the point of use. 

What will you need? To start with a set of scales, they do not have to be that expensive but should be able to read very small amounts. The relevant powdered chemicals which are, Metol, Sodium Bisulphite (Sodium metabisulphite), Pyrogallol, EDTA di-Sodium (optional) and Sodium Metaborate (Kodalk).

Light striped prints

Another printing fault is light pollution known as fog. This is assuming it hasn't happened in the camera.

The dark line you see running up this picture
 it the result of light
getting to the light sensitive material. Fogging .

●         It Could be where stray light from a darkroom not properly blacked out has found its way to the light sensitive side of the the paper you're using.

●         Your safe light is too close to the enlarger and or the wrong colour.

●         It can also happen if your enlarger leaks light when being used.

●         Badly stored and out of date paper can also be fogged.

The causes of these faults, also point to ways of curing them. This post suggests a way of detecting light induced fog.

Processed print faults

Exhausted Developer

With all the processes that need to go well when producing a print in the darkroom it is surprising that faults are not more common. Even so the odd  one comes along to de-rail a good printing session. It does not matter how experienced you are sods law trips us all up!

Exhausred stop

Here are some of the most common faults: 

●         Chemical fingers - this where odd irregular marks appear on the finished print usually at the edges. Make sure your hands are free from chemical contamination and dry before you handle photographic paper.

●         Exhausted developer - fails to produced a full image once it has reached its completion time.

Exhausted Fix

●         Wrongly diluted developer - produces faint grainy image. A bit like the above.

●         Exhausted stop - leads to a purple tone to the white areas of the print.

●         Exhausted fix - the slow brownish toning of the finished print in day light.

Related Posts:

Prints to hard or to soft.

High contrast

What are the signs that a print has been printed to hard? The shadow areas are jet black with no detail and the highlights are blank  (the contrast is to great). Assuming that the negative being printed shows none of these traits then it can be corrected by the following:

●         Use a softer grade of paper.

●         Make sure that the exposure time is correct.

●         The paper is in the developer for the right amount of time.

●         Don't use a high contrast developer.

Low contrast

What signs make a soft print? It looks grey and foggy with little punch. No contrast. In this case it is almost the opposite to the above.

●         Use a harder grade of paper.

●         Increase the developing time. If the development time is to short it may cause cloudy spots.

●         Make sure the developer is not too diluted.

●         Also check that it is not exhausted. 

There are other possibilities:

●         Your darkroom may not be light tight fogging the paper creating an overall grey cast.

●         The paper maybe to old or has not been stored properly. 

Once you establish what the problem is, the cure will speak for it's self.

Related posts:

Evaluating your test strips
Darkroom fog.

A favorite photograph.

Taken at the grand Prix de I'A.C.F.

Like a lot of people I enjoy watching the Grand Prix. By coincidence one of my favorite pictures is by the turn of the century french photographer Jacques-henri Lartigue.

He took this picture while he was still quite young. It is one in a series of a 169 shots taken at the Grand Prix de I'A.C.F. using the comparatively large Ica reflex camera with Zeiss 1:4.5 150mm lens onto a 3 1/2" x 4 1/4" glass negative it had a top mounted focusing screen and a focal plan shutter, it is this set up that accounts for the elliptical shape of the wheel. For me it is the feature that conveys the excessive speed the car is travelling more than his panning of this heavy camera to emphasize the rate of progress.. Originally he thought this picture was a failure because he had not been able to capture the whole car in the frame. This is the other part of the composition that adds to the sense of great speed. It is one picture I do not get tired of looking at, I always wonder what it would have been like to stand there as these early cars thundered by.

Tilting the easel

Is mainly used for correcting those converging verticals in pictures of buildings. The reason you get sloping upright lines is because the camera has not been held vertical to the view.  View cameras (large format) are the only cameras that can keep the film plane vertical and look slightly upwards at the same time with out this distortion. You can buy a shift lens which has the same ability or do it in Photoshop.

When enlarging you negative you can correct this by using a tiling easel.  Simply lift the easel by the appropriate amount and rest it on a block. Remember that you need to lift the easel on the side that has the converging lines. When doing this you should set the smallest possible aperture providing the greatest depth of field. When making the enlargement, part of the picture may be lost, it is just a case of cropping the picture to make it square. After processing the exposure may be different between the top and bottom this can be corrected by dodging to even up the overall exposure.

Related posts:

Scheimpflug's rule.

Dodging and burning.

A selection of dodgers 

They are darkroom tools to help bring out all the detail from your negatives when printing. 



Holding back

No matter how well you expose and develop your negatives, when it comes to making a positive you will need to equalize the exposure by holding back and burning in to keep the detail in the highlights and shadow areas. In a lot of cases it is not possible to alter the overall exposure time to take these deficiency's in to account. In these cases dodgers as the name implies will help you get round this problem. You can use your hands, fingers, pieces of card, a length of wire with a cut out of  card stuck to it and cards with holes in them. 

Burnning in

Dodgers work by casting a shadow over the area that needs less exposure than the rest of the picture. Likewise dodgers with holes in them are used for burning in areas that require more light than the rest of the photograph. This is also a type of holding back as it stops the correctly exposed picture from becoming over exposed. When using a dodger you must keep it moving otherwise it will produce a hard outline to the area you are trying to correct. It can be moved from side to side or up and down to stop this happening. The amount of time you use your dodger for will depend on what your test strip shows.  If you have not got a test strip then it will be trial and error taking a number of prints before you get it right. With experience the amount of error will diminish. 

Dodgers are not just for correcting problems, they are there also for creative purposes for example to bring out some extra drama in the scene, add a shaft of light where there was none or to bring two pictures together where one maybe lacking any sky detail.

Photograph or print

I do find the photography press a pain when it comes to describing the difference between digital and traditionally produced black and white pictures! They can no longer call a photograph a photograph, it has to be a silver print or gelatin print, why? I think they need to get over themselves as the English language describes both types quite well without having to preface the word print. A photograph is a picture produced using light and chemicals. A print is a picture produced using ink. What could be simpler.

Evaluating your print test strip.

low contrast

High contrast

correct contrast

Now that you have your test strip what are you looking for? You are looking to see which of the timed sections gives you blacks that are really black without making the whites look grey, with a good separation of the greys in-between. If the picture looks grey overall with no defined blacks then the paper grade is too soft, meaning lack of contrast. On the other hand if the blacks dominate the picture then the grade of paper is to hard - too much contrast! If you need to change the grade of paper you will need to make another test strip. It should be noted that test strip evaluation is best carried out when they are dry as wet ones tend to hold back some of the more subtle grey tones which may encourage you to pull or push the expose time needed. While checking this you should also be ensuring that the focus is accurate.

When your test strip is pin sharp with good clear highlights, defined shadows and the right amount of contrast, you are ready to make a print.