D76 variant (un-named

Buffered Borax Developer

This is a variant of D76 I'd not seen before, it came from the Kodak Research Laboratories and was published in 1934 in Camera, Philadelphia and the BJP 26th Oct 1934 page 638-9 (and the BJP Almanac 1935).

Metol 2 gm
Hydroquinone 5 gm
Sodium Sulphite (anhyd) 100 gm
Borax 2 gm
Boric Acid 14 gm
Water to 1 litre

(The formula was published to make 500ml, figures doubled to make 1 litre for comparative purposes)

Ruyuki Suzuki, Sliver Garin.orb lists a D76x variant which is quite similar, but contains 0.125 gm Potassium Bromide & 15 gm Boric Acid.

Ian

I have seen this published before, but the only name I have seen for this formula is "Buffered Borax".
I like the original D-76 (ID-11) formula, DK-76, Adox M.Q-Borax and an M.Q developer that I recently designed for one-shot use which is diluted 1+4 from stock and uses carbonate + bicarbonate instead of borates.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Keith Tapscott.

I have seen this published before, but the only name I have seen for this formula is "Buffered Borax".
I like the original D-76 (ID-11) formula, DK-76, Adox M.Q-Borax and an M.Q developer that I recently designed for one-shot use which is diluted 1+4 from stock and uses carbonate + bicarbonate instead of borates.

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It was in the BJP Almanac I lent you in Cornwall :D

My preference out of all the variants is Adox Borax MQ which I used commercially for a number of years and also used to supply to 2 coomercial studio's.

Crawley adds Carbonate & Metabisulphite in some of his formulae, this forms a Carbonate/Bicarbonate buffer according to Henn.

Ian

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Ian Grant

It was in the BJP Almanac I lent you in Cornwall :D

My preference out of all the variants is Adox Borax MQ which I used commercially for a number of years and also used to supply to 2 coomercial studio's.

Crawley adds Carbonate & Metabisulphite in some of his formulae, this forms a Carbonate/Bicarbonate buffer according to Henn.

Ian

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Yes, which is why I included it in my M.Q one-shot developer for consistency.
I prefer using developers one-shot. It is similar to D-76/ID-11 diluted 1+1, but with a bit more `bite`.:)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Keith Tapscott.

I have seen this published before, but the only name I have seen for this formula is "Buffered Borax".
I like the original D-76 (ID-11) formula, DK-76, Adox M.Q-Borax and an M.Q developer that I recently designed for one-shot use which is diluted 1+4 from stock and uses carbonate + bicarbonate instead of borates.

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I use the carbonate / bicarbonate version as my standard developer. It gives similar tonality to standard ID11/D76 but a bit more sharpness that accentuates grain a little, which I like.

Try it with HP5+ (if you haven't already!)

What would be the 'real life' benefits of the boric acid buffered version?

Rob

The Buffered Borax version will gives better stability, Kodak published a number of variations. The commercial version of D76 is thought to be D76d which uses 8g Borax + 8g Boric acid as the buffer. A higher level of buffering will help maintain the pH particularly in replenished developer and also when used at 1+1 & 1+3.
,.
Ian

Ian, is there any evidence that the Borax-Boric acid buffering in D-76d has an effect on shelf life or maintaining a more stable level of activity with respect to storage duration?

I doubt it Brad :D but that doesn't mean it might not help.

D76 & D76d were designed for heavy use initially as cine developers. the buffering will make it more stable in any use., but will have little effect on it's shelf life.

Ian

Thanks Ian. I've always kinda wondered about that...but, not enough to actually devise and conduct an experiment.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Rob Archer

I use the carbonate / bicarbonate version as my standard developer. It gives similar tonality to standard ID11/D76 but a bit more sharpness that accentuates grain a little, which I like.

Try it with HP5+ (if you haven't already!)

What would be the 'real life' benefits of the boric acid buffered version?

Rob

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I`m glad that you`re getting getting good results with it Rob.
I am finding that it works well with all the B&W films I have used so far, from ISO 50 up to the ISO 400 speed group. I haven`t tried it yet with any films faster than ISO 400.
The development times as a guide are those for D-76/ID-11 when they are diluted 1+1, then adjust the times for the desired contrast if necessary. I see that you are getting results that you like with the development times extended around 10% longer than Ilford provide for ID-11 diluted 1+1.
The developer is already buffered and stores well. :D