Instant MYTOL

[craigclu]

I've been picking away at odds and ends, searching for a decent full-emulsion speed developer that I can settle on. I thought I'd give the Instant MYTOL a try and had nice initial results. I took some shots on HP5+ (@400) in 35mm and developed for 8 minutes. It's likely a bit long but I got pretty much full speed and the negatives printed relatively easily and on lower contrast paper than I've been using lately. I'll spend a little time tweaking and post curves, etc when I get to it.

Has anyone else been experimenting with this? Are you getting XTOL-type results? Is the PG version performing the same as the water-based version? I had been leaning toward FX-37 for this duty but I think the Instant Mytol grain is more pleasing so far (1 roll!). I assume that this thread is a good place to accumulate information?

[Jordan]

Hi Craig -- either this thread, or e-mail me directly and I'll integrate your feedback into the article on my site.

I'm not sure what the recommended time for HP5 Plus in XTOL is, but you should be able to get good results with Instant MYTOL using the same time and temperature.

I haven't had much chance to shoot lately, but the film I have recently developed in Instant MYTOL has worked very well. The PG version should be identical in performance to the water version.

[matti]

I mixed up a liter of Instant Mytol a couple of days ago. I havn't used XTOL before, but tried out some Tri-X in it and it seemed to work great, just looking at the negs. I plan to do some real testing when I have a bit more time.

What kind of shelf life can I expect from the 750 ml that I didn't use up? If someone doesn't tell me to dump it right now, I will try to use it up in a couple of weeks.

/matti

Originally Posted by Jordan

Right James, I remember that thread now. I guess I did go and do what I said I would Give this "Instant MYTOL" a try and let me know how it works for you. Once mixed, I don't think it'll have a fabulous shelf life, but it should at least be easy to mix one-shot.

[Jordan]

Matti -- The shelf life should be the same as regular MYTOL. I would try to use it up within a month or two. Make sure the working solution blackens an exposed clip of film leader before you commit anything to it.

I'm now using the organic solution version (made up in triethanolamine / propylene glycol) with great success. My solution is about six months old and there has been no detectable change in activity.

[matti]

Thanks Jordan. That was about what I expected. I'll try to get my hands on some pure propylene glycol. Seems to be great stuff!

/matti

[Alessandro Serrao]

Originally Posted by Jordan

Here's a formula that gives a developer with the same ascorbate and phenidone concentrations as MYTOL, has a similar sulfite concentration, and matches the pH of MYTOL's stock solution.

It should be simpler to mix in that it doesn't use sodium metabisulfite and replaces sodium ascorbate with the more readily obtainable ascorbic acid. You should be able to use it as you would use MYTOL or XTOL.

Start with 750 ml water
60 g sodium sulfite (anhydrous)
11.5 g ascorbic acid
0.15 g phenidone (easier to handle as a stock solution in alcohol or glycol)
13.4 ml triethanolamine OR 7 g sodium metaborate
Water to 1 L

Target pH of the stock solution is 8.2. Triethanolamine is a better buffer at this pH than borate, so the triethanolamine version is preferred. I'd appreciate comments on this formula.

Edit: This formula can be mixed as an organic solution as well. Combine 13.4 ml triethanolamine and about 20 ml of propylene glycol and heat in a water bath or on a hot plate. Add 11.5 g ascorbic acid and 0.15 g phenidone and stir until dissolved (it could take quite a while -- magnetic stirring will help -- addition of 1-2 ml of water may also aid dissolution). Then dilute with propylene glycol to a final volume of 50 ml. This organic solution should keep almost indefinitely. To use, dilute 1+19 with water containing 60 g/L sodium sulfite.

Is it possible to replace phenidone with metol and sodium metaborate with borax?

[Jordan]

Originally Posted by Alessandro Serrao

Is it possible to replace phenidone with metol and sodium metaborate with borax?

You can try substituting the phenidone with about 10 times its weight in metol and then add in as much borax as is needed to the target pH, but I suspect you'll never be able to reach that target pH with just borax. It is not a strong enough base.

Gainer has some metol-ascorbate-borax formulae out there (sulfite-free) that you may want to try mixing up.