Glycin Developers for Film

[David A. Goldfarb]

I have not tried these, but since people are experimenting with Ansco 130 as a film developer, they seem to be of potential interest. These come from The Morgan & Morgan Darkroom Book, ed. Algis Balsys and Liliane DeCock-Morgan (Dobbs Ferry, NY: Morgan & Morgan, 1980), pp. 152-55. The book has some obvious typos, like a recipe for Agfa #12 that leaves out the developing agent, so if anyone can confirm these from other sources, that would be helpful.

Agfa #8--Normal Contrast Glycin Developer

Warm water 52 C--750 ml
Sodium Sulfite, desiccated--12.5 g
Glycin--2.0 g
Potassium Carbonate--25.0 g
Add cold water to make 1.0 liter

Development time for ASA 100-125 films is 10-12 min. at 20 C

Agfa #72--Soft working developer

Water 52 C--1.0 liter
Sodium Sulfite (anhydrous)--125 g
Glycin--50 g
Potassium Carbonate--250 g

For tank development, dilute 1+10 and develop at 18 C for 15-20 min.
For tray development, dilute 1+4 and develop at 18 C for 5-7 min.

Gevaert GD-202

Metol--1.0 g
Sodium Sulfite--32.0 g
Glycin--0.5 g
Hydroquinone--0.5 g
Sodium Carbonate--28.0 g
Potassium Bromide--1.5 g
Citric acid--1.0 g
Water to make 1.0 liter

"If exposure has been correct, the film will be properly developed in 10-12 minutes."

Kodak D-78

Water--750 ml
Sodium sulfite (anhydrous)--3.0 g
Glycin--3.0 g
Sodium carbonate (mono)--7.2 g
Water to make--1.0 liter

The average development time is 15 to 25 min. at 18 C.

[David A. Goldfarb]

Just glancing at Anchell's The Darkroom Cookbook Crawley's FX-2 and Ilford ID 60 are two more.

[Photo Engineer]

David;

I'm very interested in this. I have reports of many people adding glycin to common developer formulas for paper and film. Grant Haist is quoted as saying that "you don't need 3 developing agents" or something akin to that. I was wondering why.......?

PE

[David A. Goldfarb]

GD-202 seems to violate all the rules. You've got metol, glycin, and hydroquinone together (three developing agents), both citric acid and sodium carbonate neutralizing each other, and then KBr. I forget who said that a film developer shouldn't need a restrainer, and if it does, then it is better to reduce the developing agent (maybe that was Crawley).

Again, I haven't tried these. I've just posted them, because they seem interesting and relevant to some experiments that people are doing with Ansco 130 for film.

[Louis Nargi]

I thought started out as a film developer.

[bowzart]

dfcardwell started a thread on Edwal 12 a short time back: http://www.apug.org/forums/forum37/5...xperience.html

I've been using it with Eastman XX 5222. It uses PPD, Glycin, and metol. Edmund Lowe, in his notes advises that the developer was intended for flat midwestern light, which means it's pretty good up here in the Pacific NW, since we have lots of overcast. The glycin is variable between 2.5 and 20 g, depending on the particular highlight characteristics desired. I'll be doing more work with this, and probably some comparisons with more conventional developers and using more easily available films that occur in a wider variety of formats.

I'd certainly be interested in what others find using other formulae; I'm particularly interested in the designation "soft working developer" for Agfa 72. "Soft working" has not been in my experience at all. Perhaps there is an additive effect among the three developing agents in E12, but the overwhelming fact of this stuff is that it loves to build contrast. Glycin seems to be the agent that has the greatest effect on the highlights. Today, for example, I shot some in bright early morning sun reflected on a metal building; I am NOT going to process it in E12, because I know it will kick those whites right off the scale and I'd have a very hard time holding them at all.

[Trask]

Thanks for the formulas, David. I have a few more culled from some photo lab books in French I picked up in Brussels, but they call for exotic components like Diethylparaphenylenediamine sulfite (or sulphate, it’s not clear) and hydroxyethyl-o-aminophenol.

Here’s one that’s stated to be a compensating developer:

Sodium Sulphite 40 grams
Potassium Carbonate 40 grams
Glycin 8 grams
Phenidone 0.5 gram
Potassium Bromide 2 grams
Water 1000 ml

Dilute 1:1, average time of development at 20 degrees Centigrade: 8-12 minutes.

Another, somewhat similar, formula is said to be fine grain and come from Ilford:

Sodium Sulphite 90 grams
Sodium Carbonate 2 grams
Borax 2 grams
Glycin 5 grams
Phenidone 0.2 gram
Water 1000 ml

Used straight, average time of development 8 minutes.

An alternate formulation also said to be from Ilford, in a different book, as follows:

Hot water 700 ml
Borax 2 grams

Then, with water at 50 degrees Centigrade, add in order:

Sodium sulphite 70 grams
Sodium carbonate 2 grams
Glycin 5 grams
Phenidone 0.2 gram
Water to bring level to 1000 ml

For a gamma of 0.65, develop 11 minutes at 17-18 deg Cent, or 9 minutes at 18-19 degrees. (NB: no explanation as to why they’re staying below 20 deg Cent) Further, can be diluted 1:1 and used at 20 deg Cent for 8-9 minutes for slow-speed films.

[Tom Hoskinson]

David, I've posted on this subject several times before but can no longer find the posts on APUG.

I'm not EXPERIMENTING with Ansco 130 as a film developer - I'm using it routinely as a Semi-Stand film developer (with excellent results).

The Ansco 130 formula I'm using (Published in 1938 by Ansco) - I posted this on APUG years ago - can't find it on APUG.

Ansco (Ansco/American Agfa) 130 Paper Developer

Water (125 F or 52C)-----------------------------750 ml
Metol*-------------------------------------------2.2 grams
Sodium Sulfite (anhydrous)------------------------50 grams
Hydroquinone-------------------------------------11 grams
Sodium Carbonate (monohydrated)-----------------78 grams
Potassium Bromide---------------------------------5.5 grams
Glycin---------------------------------------------11 grams
Water to make-------------------------------------1.0 liter

With Kodak TMAX 100, I dilute Ansco 130 stock 1:20 with water and develop semi-stand for 26 minutes at 22C. This should be a good starting point for Kodak TMY-400 as well.

With Efke 25, I dilute Ansco 130 stock 1:20 with water and develop semi-stand for 18 minutes at 22C.

[Trask]

Tom: any photos you can post so we can see how this is working out for you? Sounds interesting.

[dpurdy]

If you look at Ansco 130 next to Dektol you see it is pretty close to just adding Glycin and Potassium Bromide to convert Dektol into Ansco 130 (and then don't dilute as Dektol)

Ansco (Ansco/American Agfa) 130 Paper Developer

Water (125 F or 52C)-----------------------------750 ml
Metol*-------------------------------------------2.2 grams
Sodium Sulfite (anhydrous)------------------------50 grams
Hydroquinone-------------------------------------11 grams
Sodium Carbonate (monohydrated)-----------------78 grams
Potassium Bromide---------------------------------5.5 grams
Glycin---------------------------------------------11 grams
Water to make-------------------------------------1.0 liter


Kodak's D72 Formula DEKTOL
750 ml Water
3 g Metol-Elon
45 g Sodium Sulfite Anhydrous
12 g Hydroquinone
80 g Sodium Carbonate 1-Hydrate
2 g Potassium Bromide Anhydrous
Water to make 1 liter
Use diluted 1:2 at 68°F for 45 seconds to 3 minutes (or longer).