jnanian

EXACTLY !

WoW I only use Ansco 130 for paper and it is outstanding. the blacker it gets the better tones. I will replenish it with new 130 not replenisher. but trying to develop film. Not sure about that.

hi michael
i have been processing film in 130 since 2000, and a variant of 130 called gaf universal developer before that.
it is a wonderful film developer. when using 130, without the coffee i dilute it 1:6 or 1:8 or so, process at 70-72ºF
sheet film i shuffle for 8.5 mins and 1 last shuffle through the pile, water + fix.
roll film is a little trickier, i usually dilute it a little more, and agitate like any other film in a hand tank, still 8.5mins, full agitation 1st minute, 10sec/60 every minute after that.

for a while i would use it to stand develop all my film, rolls that is, but when whiteymorange gave me the recipe for caffenolc
i first did that without 130, and eventually added a splash in ... it really takes the edge off the grit coffee can leave,
fills in the gaps, adds a bit of contrast and is like the best of both worlds.
i don't agitate roll films when using caffenol 130, and i just started to stand develop sheet film in FR tanks about a year ago with OK results...
i usually shuffle/shuffled sheets for about 20mins in a tray and got nice beefy film.

if you like what 130 does for your prints, you will be amazed at what it will do to your film,
but be aware my stock is anywhere between 6months
and 8months old, and my methods while well documented might not
be the same as yours, so your film may turnout not as expected ...

many years ago i was going to write a long article about using 130 with sheet film for VC magazine ...,
... it was to be coupled with research and documentary work by jerry katz who was the scientist who worked with the photo lab index
i figured, most people use this developer for paper they have no idea how to use it with film ...
unfortunately at that time, vc magazine had a problem of some sort with photographer's formulary
and the publisher wouldn't allow me to mention the formulary by name or even allude to them
... seeing that you could get glycin and the rest of the ingredients there and no one else on the planet was making glycin
or seeing kits for 130 &c, it was a waste of my time, so i didn't bother ...

... next to caf130/sumatranol130 , dilute ansco 130 is the best film developer i have ever used ...

have fun !
john

I tried using 130 as film developer for Ilford Delta 100 sheets in 4x5, and the results were really beautiful. I'm not using 130 as paper developer anymore, and won't get it just to develop film, but there was certainly a time where many developers for paper were also used for film, and vice versa. I know folks who has consistently developed prints in Rodinal 1+8. Not very economical, but it makes a beautiful print. There is a lot to be had by not subscribing to regular convention of what's acceptable and what's not, and John, you are one of my heroes in this regard. Always outside the box.

Your test above is interesting. When you use Caffenol, and you add the 10ml of 130, what difference do you see in your negs? The reason I'm asking is that I used to use a developer containing Glycin. Low activity, and usually there's a loss of film speed when using Glycin; that is until you find something that boosts its activity. Enter PPD (paraphenylenediamine). Nasty chemical, also used in women's hair dye, alters the pH of the solution to make the Glycin more active, and voila, you have an almost full speed, fine grain, amazing film developer that is entirely different to its cousin without PPD.
I'm thinking that perhaps something similar might happen to your 130, which also contains Glycin.

hi thomas

thanks for the kind words ..

to answer your questions about caffenol with and without the 130 ...
it is really hard to describe, but the 130 really ties everything together.
i can't speak about film speeds, because i don't particularly even think about that,
i shoot all my film etiher at 1/15thS wide open ( varies depending on the lens ) ..
or i use in a box camera and maybe use I or sometimes just leave the shutter open for 10seconds ...
i process it all the same stand developed in the developer, or if it is a sheet of film
sometimes i shuffle for a while after stand developing, or i just shuffle for 20 mins ...
what i do notice is that the rough edge of the caffenol is smoothed out. sometimes it can be rough
and jagged, kind using a bow saw to trim vinyl siding, rough edge, rather than something with a bizillion teeth
where the edge is smooth. maybe less of a "grit" ?
i also notice there is a little more fog and stain and a little more contrast with the caffenol.
i have used the 130 alone,as described above for years, just beautiful stuff, stand developed, the same dilution, maybe for 30mins just stained and crazy .. an image, but not the same punch even as caffenol stand developed for the same time. ...

together, well, i kind of think it is a match made in heaven, but as we see in the news even matches made in heaven last 72 hours, are called a sham, and will take 2 years to settle in divorce court

I don't do stand developing, so I am kind of out of my league, but is this GOOD for stand? the blank top sheet seems fogged, and the bottom image has light leak and is a strange image so it's hard to tell what you're trying to prove here, I'm also relatively new at film developing (about a year at this point) so there's a lot I don't know. Can you elaborate on this one?

hi stone

there is a long and painful backstory, but for years there was someone here on apug who insisted i was a fraud
he claimed i lied and led people on, told them to buy and use the wrong ingredients &c ...
( yadda yadda yadda ) ... none of it is true ...

anyways, i diluted 10cc of the developer into 1L of water to show the film wouldn't develop with such a small amount
of the developer ( which had been saying for years ) ... and it didn't ..

don't pay attention to the lightleak, its a box camera and i lifted the corner by mistake when i removed the dark slide

whether or not my strange brew is good for stand development i don't know ... i'm not a chemist
i don't do much high tech stuff, don't have a densitometer, or macbeth charts or much of anything

i have been doing stand development in this stuff for a few years ( 2+ with beans not instant )
and with instant before that for a handful of years ( 5? ) and i find it to work pretty well.
the coffee and ansco 130 give a nice stain they give a nice grain, the ansco smooths out the rough edge
and mellows out the coffee you might say ...

i mainly do it because the developer smells funny, and i would rather leave the room, than
smell it for 10-15mins ...

like with everything, YMMV

there you go, not sure if any of this was helpful or made sense or made you throw your hands in the air wondering what was talking about


have a snowy day
john