Rolf-Werner wrote
: ‘Protectan is the first thing that springs to my mind too.
Then there are the C41 kits, although I think powder is better for amateur use because of its shelf life.’ In my case, at least, I tend to find time for working in the darkroom at short notice and on the spur of the moment. That’s why I’ve always ordered based on availability and then hoped that I’ll get round to using it in the foreseeable future. Last time, however, it took two years before I could actually use the 1-litre Tetenal kit, and I had a strange feeling in my stomach… It still worked well, but you never know.
Small 1-litre powder packs, with five of them in the box for larger quantities, would be more manageable for me. That way, I wouldn’t have to worry about the concentrates going off once opened (you’d normally expect a better price per litre for a larger purchase, otherwise it wouldn’t make sense). Often, however, you only need 500 ml or less – so even smaller sachets wouldn’t be a bad idea.
And for the same reasons, I’d like to see RA4 in powder form, if that’s technically feasible.
Regards
Rolf
Weighing out small quantities of powder is, unfortunately, extremely laborious and expensive to produce. There are no machines available for this (barring unfeasible custom-built equipment).
This means that, as tempting as small powder sachets may be, we would have to charge so much for them that the price would end up being unattractive (labour costs account for approx. 3/4 of the price).
It’s different with liquid chemicals. There are machines available for this, and small quantities can be bottled quickly.
The Magic Box was only 250ml – we don’t do that sort of thing, but half-litre kits would be an alternative, filled with 100ml concentrates.
Apart from that, RTU C-41 can be stabilised for up to 24 months (with appropriate preservatives).
Somehow, nobody asks about that. Does anyone have any experience with RTU (ReadyToUse)?
That seems to me to be the best option for this exact application.
