HCC-110 with Fujifilm Neopan 400

[dreamingartemis]

Damnit! MattKing was right! I didn't understand the term stock solution until just now! >_< let this be a very very painful and wasteful lesson.

[Helinophoto]

That may be, but it may have saved other people (like me) some money.
I haven't started with HC-110 yet, so your mistake here, saved me from doing the same one, because I tend to do them, so it's not a total loss, if it helps

[MattKing]

Damnit! MattKing was right!

My wife has been known to say this too.

Just so you have some sense of context on this:

1) HC110 was originally designed for high volumes of processing, and the instructions reflect that. They also reflect the fact that it was designed to be incredibly flexible, and therefore work similarly in a lot of different commercial environments, through use of custom tailored dilutions;
2) If you search APUG, you will find lots of people who have been confused by HC110; and
3) Many people find that once they get past the initial confusion, HC110's flexibility is wonderful.

If you are looking for a fairly straightforward approach, you might try Jason Brunner's. He is a moderator here, makes entertaining and informative videos, and has settled on a 1+ 49 dilution because it is easy to work with. Here is a link: http://www.jasonbrunner.com/hc110.html

[dreamingartemis]

My wife has been known to say this too.

Just so you have some sense of context on this:

1) HC110 was originally designed for high volumes of processing, and the instructions reflect that. They also reflect the fact that it was designed to be incredibly flexible, and therefore work similarly in a lot of different commercial environments, through use of custom tailored dilutions;
2) If you search APUG, you will find lots of people who have been confused by HC110; and
3) Many people find that once they get past the initial confusion, HC110's flexibility is wonderful.

If you are looking for a fairly straightforward approach, you might try Jason Brunner's. He is a moderator here, makes entertaining and informative videos, and has settled on a 1+ 49 dilution because it is easy to work with. Here is a link: http://www.jasonbrunner.com/hc110.html

Don't I know it >_<...

[Rudeofus]

1) HC110 was originally designed for high volumes of processing, and the instructions reflect that. They also reflect the fact that it was designed to be incredibly flexible, and therefore work similarly in a lot of different commercial environments, through use of custom tailored dilutions;

Of all the developers, why would HC110 be the developer for high volume processing? Kodak went through great pains to formulate a developer which contains no water and lasts for years, while a high volume lab would go through these bottles in less than a day.

There is a reason I could imagine why Kodak recommends the 1+3 stock solution: let's assume you want to develop 5 different films with different dilutions. In my experience HC110 needs at least 1+3 dilution or it wouldn't mix. Since 1+3 stock is much more pleasant to handle than this thick concentrate, one would benefit from starting with 1+3 stock for all films and then diluting this down to what's actually needed for each film. Basically if you need 1l of 1+32, 0.5l of 1+49 and 0.5l of 1+100, you'd mix 33ml + 10ml + 5ml = 48ml concentrate with 150ml water and use this much more liquid 1+3 stock to conveniently create the final dilutions for each dev run.

This would be a nice way for 5 films today, 2 tomorrow and another 4 films next month kind of volumes. For much higher volumes one doesn't have to mess around with and also pay extra for such a concentrate.

[Thomas Bertilsson]

Getting the water out of the developer makes it easier to handle (lower volume) for shipping and distribution. The small bottle appeals to those that don't like powders, and it lasts practically forever.

Whatever it was designed for, HC-110 sure is a neat little package!
And, you don't have to use it at the recommended dilution either. Just dilute it like you would Rodinal, like 1+50 or 1+25, and work out your own times, which you have to do anyway to fit your process.

[MattKing]

Of all the developers, why would HC110 be the developer for high volume processing? Kodak went through great pains to formulate a developer which contains no water and lasts for years, while a high volume lab would go through these bottles in less than a day.

There is a reason I could imagine why Kodak recommends the 1+3 stock solution: let's assume you want to develop 5 different films with different dilutions. In my experience HC110 needs at least 1+3 dilution or it wouldn't mix. Since 1+3 stock is much more pleasant to handle than this thick concentrate, one would benefit from starting with 1+3 stock for all films and then diluting this down to what's actually needed for each film. Basically if you need 1l of 1+32, 0.5l of 1+49 and 0.5l of 1+100, you'd mix 33ml + 10ml + 5ml = 48ml concentrate with 150ml water and use this much more liquid 1+3 stock to conveniently create the final dilutions for each dev run.

This would be a nice way for 5 films today, 2 tomorrow and another 4 films next month kind of volumes. For much higher volumes one doesn't have to mess around with and also pay extra for such a concentrate.

Hi Rudeofus.

HC110 used to be available in larger packaging. In addition, it was common for commercial labs who used it to use it replenished, and the replenisher was very economical.

But most important, it was designed to be usable in automated processors, and with different materials. The different dilutions were designed to compensate for those material differences - thus permitting using the same, equipment specific development time for different materials.

And I agree that it is more convenient to make the stock solution, because the viscosity makes measuring small quantities of the concentrate a challenge. It is just that the stock solution can go bad before one uses it up (generally one bottle of HC110 lasts me somewhere between 48 and 72 rolls).