Gast
Hello,
I’m currently having a look at the Calbe range... F/impex says of the N113: “Maximum capacity and best service life in open trays or in the machine.”
Up until now, I’d always assumed that the products/formulas and their designations were the same across partner/successor companies, i.e. Agfa = Ansco (Agfa’s US distributor before and after the war) = ORWO = Calbe. Examples: R09, A300.
The other day I read through a formula for Ansco 113 in the Developing Cookbook; Anchell writes for this, as well as other amido developers, “This developer oxidises rapidly, as do most amido formulas, and so should be mixed just before use”. (p. 138, Formula #51).
So what’s the deal? What have your experiences been?
Mirko, I hope to pop round to your shop sometime in April. To stock up for the rest of the year... ;-)
Thanks!
MirkoBoeddecker
Roman,
AMIDOL 113 is completely different from N113. N113 is a powerful, standard-black positive developer with an exceptional shelf life of up to several weeks in an open tray. Virtually unrivalled.
AMIDOL developers are very special formulations for enthusiasts. We sell an Amidol kit from Moersch. A wonderful fine-print developer with superb contrast-balancing capabilities.
You can find out more about Amidol at www.moersch-photochemie.de – there’s also some information in our catalogue.
It’s just a coincidence that they’re both called 113!
Best regards,
Mirko
Gast
Hello,
Is the N113 developer comparable to Agfa Neutol?
Best regards,
Jelke
Gast
The N113 really does last forever – it usually runs out before it’s actually used up. I always mix up 10 litres, and that easily lasts between six months and a year, and I’m still using powder made in the GDR...
Gast
N113 is not the same as NEUTOL.
Neutol is a liquid developer with a significantly shorter shelf life and, in my opinion, a slightly lower DMAX.
But let’s be fair. Liquid developers can’t be as good as powder ones.
I believe the original formula for N113 was Refinal (unless I’ve mixed that up with the original formula for A03 film developer...)
If it wasn’t Refinal, then it was the AGFA powder positive developer for machines from the same era.
Regards
Mirko
FOTOIMPEX
Fotowerkstatt
Hello,
I’m currently having a look at the Calbe range... F/impex says of the N113: “Maximum capacity and best service life in open trays or in the machine.”
Up until now, I’d always assumed that the products/formulas and their designations were the same across partner/successor companies, i.e. Agfa = Ansco (Agfa’s US distributor before and after the war) = ORWO = Calbe. Examples: R09, A300.
The other day I read through a formula for Ansco 113 in the Developing Cookbook; Anchell writes for this, as well as other Amidol developers, “This developer oxidises rapidly, as do most amido formulas, and so should be mixed just before use”. (p. 138, Formula #51).
So what’s the deal? What are your experiences?
Mirko, I hope to be able to pop round to your shop in April. To stock up for the coming year... ;-)
Thanks!
Hello Roman,
if you’re interested, I can send you some recipes for the old Orwo developers. I have an ORWO recipe book for all Orwo products.
Regards, Claudia
Gast
Hello there!
The N stands for Neutol. However, there are – or were – a great many developers with ‘Neutol’ in their name, both in liquid and powder form.
The other letters: A stands for Atomal in the case of A49 – but not the other As! --, F for Final, M-H for Metol-hydroquinone solution, B for Blautol, R for Rodinal, ...
The numbers are different for Ansco. You also need to be careful with Agfa literature dating from before the 1930s, as different numbers were used back then as well.
Best regards,
Alex
Urnes
Hello,
So, back to the shelf life of N113. I found a 5-litre bottle at home which, because I always label everything, I’d prepared back in April 2002. I just couldn’t bear to throw the stuff away, so I took it along to my course to see if it was still any good. For contacts, I don’t really need the absolute deepest shade of black anyway. I was really surprised at how well the N113 worked. And the black was truly black, even within the specified time of 2 minutes.
Regards, Sven.
micha
Blimey, you all seem to be really raving about this stuff. I suppose I’ll give it a go too, then. Hopefully I’ll be able to conjure up a bit more black in the Classic Vario papers. Even with brand-new Agfa Neutol, it still doesn’t turn out as black as I’d like.
Micha
Gast
Claudia,
Sure, send me the scans – if it’s not too much trouble! :-)
Micha, the N113 works well with what’s left of my stock of Fortespeed Polygrade, which should be quite similar to the Classic stuff. Very cool, deep black tones. Lovely, really.
I’ll be using the N113 exclusively from now on; my stocks of Neutol Plus and Amaloco Bromax 2002 are slowly running out and won’t be replaced. The 10-litre canister is just too handy.
Regards, Roman
mcbastian
Well, I only use the N113 these days.
It sits in the 40x60 tray for about a month, and then works as if nothing had happened...
If you pour it into a canister and make sure it’s filled to the brim, it should last 6–9 months without any issues.
The canister should be kept in a cool, dark place, though :-)
In my humble opinion, the N113 comes highly recommended.
Regards, Sebastian
cfb_de
Hi Sebastian,
A shelf life of 6–9 months in a container is nothing out of the ordinary. My Eukobrom easily manages that too. It’s stored in a 5-litre chemical container under an inert gas atmosphere in the cellar. The other container is the same age, currently in use, and is still going strong (also stored under an inert gas atmosphere in the cellar).
If there’s enough sulphite in the solutions (which seems to be the case with both) and you don’t immediately start panicking at the slightest hint of a honey-coloured tinge, then these standard paper developers clearly have a very long shelf life.
Why did I make up 10 litres straight away? Well, for one thing, I learnt at some point that Eukobrom keeps for a long time (which is why I still use it). For another, this way I always have enough when I need it and don’t have to make a fresh batch or only realise then that I’ve run out.
Best regards,
Franz
Gast
Hello,
After such a long period of inactivity, is the contrast reproduction still comparable to that of freshly mixed developer?
Lesna
cfb_de
Hello Lesna,
In my experience (and I’m talking about Eukobrom here!), yes, it does. Provided two conditions are met: you use fixed-grade paper and you *develop* it fully.
It only starts to soften right at the end, when the developer is already a deep yellow.
Best regards,
Franz
