A substitute for Ilford Bromophen.

Thread view:

Enable EMail Alerts

Start New Thread

Thread rating:

Keith Tapscott - 21 Apr 2005 19:48 GMT

I have heard that Ilford are to discontinue their print developer Bromophen,
which is sold in powder form.
There are many print developers available, but which one is closest to
Bromophen?

Reply to this Message

UC - 21 Apr 2005 20:32 GMT

The differences among paper developers are subtle to nonexistent. Try
Ethol LPD.

> I have heard that Ilford are to discontinue their print developer Bromophen,
> which is sold in powder form.
> There are many print developers available, but which one is closest to
> Bromophen?

Reply to this Message

Keith Tapscott - 22 Apr 2005 20:34 GMT

You are probably right, I spoke to a member of the Kodak technical
department in the UK about this despite Bromophen being an Ilford product,
and I was told that the choice of print developers was far less important
than choosing a film developer and that provided that I used a print
developer made by a reputable company, then a high quality yield would be
virtually assured. They suggested that I try their Dektol soup. I can not
find any retailer in the UK who knows anything about the Ethol brand though,
perhaps it is only sold in the USA.
Thanks.

> The differences among paper developers are subtle to nonexistent. Try
> Ethol LPD.
[quoted text clipped - 5 lines]
> to
>> Bromophen?

Reply to this Message

UC - 22 Apr 2005 20:32 GMT

Both Bromophen and LPD are phenidone-based developers.

The Kodak and Ilford liquids are also worth considering.

> You are probably right, I spoke to a member of the Kodak technical
> department in the UK about this despite Bromophen being an Ilford product,
[quoted text clipped - 15 lines]
> > to
> >> Bromophen?

Reply to this Message

Mike King - 24 Apr 2005 22:00 GMT

Ilford ID-62 has a similar formula to Bromophen in the same way that D-72 is
similar to Dektol. Ryuji Suzuki has published a side-by-side comparison of
D-72 and ID-62 at http://silvergrain.org/Photo-Tech/print-dev-recommend.html
they are practically identical except for the substitution of Phenidone for
Metol and the addition of benzotriazole
to the Kodak developer formula (potassium bromide alone is not a very
effective anti-foggant in phenidone formulations but is still needed for
other reasons). If you're concerned about Metol use ID-68, if you want
colder blacks (with some papers) use ID-68 for other uses just stick with
Dektol.

Vestal also published something he called P-72 a "straight conversion" of
D-72 to a phenidone based developer, again not very different from ID-62.
You can find the formula in the Art of Black and White Enlarging.

For something available "out of the can" Ethol LPD might fill the bill.

Signature

darkroommike

----------

> I have heard that Ilford are to discontinue their print developer Bromophen,
> which is sold in powder form.
> There are many print developers available, but which one is closest to
> Bromophen?

Reply to this Message

Keith Tapscott - 25 Apr 2005 13:21 GMT

> Ilford ID-62 has a similar formula to Bromophen in the same way that D-72
> is
[quoted text clipped - 21 lines]
>> There are many print developers available, but which one is closest to
>> Bromophen?

Thank you for the Silvergrain link Mike, I buy the ready compounded
chemicals as manufactured by Ilford and Kodak e.t.c, however, making up a
developer from scratch is very tempting. I have checked out the MSDS for
Bromophen for those who may be interested on this newsgroup, I hope nobody
minds.
The components on the MSDS are as follows:( CAS registry numbers in
brackets).

Sodium Tripolyphosphate (7758-29-4)
Sodium Bicarbonate (144-55-8)
Sodium Carbonate (497-19-8)
Sodium Sulphite (7757-83-7)
Potassium Bromide (7758-02-3)
Hydroquinone (123--31-9)
Benzotriazole (95-14-7)
1-Phenyl-3-Pyrazolidone (92-43-3)

The pH of the stock solution is 10.30-10.50 and the specific gravity is
1.106. It is described by Ilford as yielding prints on the warm side of
neutral.
I will either switch to Kodak Dektol Powder or one of the liquid Ilford
developers like Multigrade developer or PQ Universal. It is a pity that
Bromophen is to go, it is/was an excellent print developer.
Thanks.

Reply to this Message

Keith Tapscott - 25 Apr 2005 13:46 GMT

> Ilford ID-62 has a similar formula to Bromophen in the same way that D-72
> is
[quoted text clipped - 10 lines]
> colder blacks (with some papers) use ID-68 for other uses just stick with
> Dektol.

Mike, ID-68 is a fine grain B&W film developer not a print developer, it is
described in Ilford publication D21.2 and is a formula designed to be made
from the basic components from scratch for those who like to make their own
developers at home. The publication gives the formula for both the developer
and the developer replenisher.

> Vestal also published something he called P-72 a "straight conversion" of
> D-72 to a phenidone based developer, again not very different from ID-62.
[quoted text clipped - 6 lines]
>> There are many print developers available, but which one is closest to
>> Bromophen?

Reply to this Message

Mike King - 26 Apr 2005 15:12 GMT

I made a boo-boo and really meant ID-62, some days the short circuit between
my chair and the keyboard is much worse than others.

Signature

darkroommike

----------

>
> > Ilford ID-62 has a similar formula to Bromophen in the same way that D-72
[quoted text clipped - 28 lines]
> >> There are many print developers available, but which one is closest to
> >> Bromophen?

Reply to this Message

Richard Knoppow - 26 Apr 2005 14:15 GMT

Ilford is supposed to have contracted with someone to continue
making Ilford chemistry for them.
Another developer worth considering is Agfa Neutol Plus which is a
Phenidone and Ascorbic acid paper developer, AFAIK the only one on the
market. I've been using it recently and its good stuff.
Bromophen is probably identical to the published formula Ilford
ID-62, which I have posted to this group in the past. A Google search
should find it.

--
Richard Knoppow
dickburk@ix.netcom.com

Reply to this Message

Keith Tapscott - 26 Apr 2005 16:16 GMT

I will most likely use a liquid concentrate in future for convenience, most
likely either Ilford Multigrade or PQ Universal for prints.
I may switch from D-76 to a liquid soup for films too, either Ilford DD-X or
one of the Paterson soups.
I am not sure of the shelf life of these once opened though.

> Ilford is supposed to have contracted with someone to continue
> making Ilford chemistry for them.
[quoted text clipped - 8 lines]
> Richard Knoppow
> dickburk@ix.netcom.com

Reply to this Message

Andrew Price - 26 Apr 2005 19:14 GMT

[---]

>I may switch from D-76 to a liquid soup for films too, either Ilford DD-X or
>one of the Paterson soups.
>I am not sure of the shelf life of these once opened though.

I've kept DD-X for at least six months after opening. You could
probably extend that by using lighter gas or a proprietary product
like Protectan

Reply to this Message