Mittelformater
Hello fellow darkroom enthusiasts,
I’ve been using Kodak T-Max film for years, which I develop using T-Max developer. However, after enquiring with Kodak, I’ve discovered that this developer is unfortunately no longer available in 200 ml bottles. Instead, it’s now only available in 1-litre containers.
Unfortunately, I have no use for this quantity, as the vast majority of the developer would go to waste due to the small number of films I need to develop. Before I ask about alternatives here (please no tips at this stage), I would first like to put the following question or appeal to the forum:
? Are there any fellow hobbyists in the Erlangen/Nuremberg area who also only need 200–400 ml and would be willing to share the 1-litre quantity?
I’m curious to see if there are any fellow sufferers out there.
Many thanks in advance.
Best regards,
Joachim
Tandemfahren
Hello Joachim,
First of all, a warm welcome to the Photo Lab Forum.
No, I can’t share the developer with you, and with the film-processing community becoming increasingly isolated, the chances of you finding someone aren’t particularly high.
If you’ve settled on this particular chemical and don’t want to switch to another similar product (which makes sense), your only option is to preserve the surplus developer as well as possible.
The best way to do this is to divide the concentrate into small Aponorm bottles, which you fill to the brim. Uwe Pilz has already mentioned this. But it has to be Aponorm, not plastic.
Brown glass, narrow neck, tight-fitting lid – don’t let any air in.
And the best thing to do afterwards: take lots of photos!
Best regards
Frank
AchimBauer
Hi Joachim,
I’m not a T-Max user yet, and perhaps I never will be; my big film test will reveal which film becomes my go-to choice.
But the problem isn’t limited to you, and it’s got nothing to do with the ‘death of analogue’ (actually, I hate the term ‘analogue photography’ because it’s not quite right)! After all, the problem existed back in the days when paper and chemical manufacturers – which no longer exist today – were still able to provide training for beginners and advanced users.
I can still remember reading something from that era about freezing photographic chemicals. I can’t remember whether it worked or not. If I ever have a spare moment (which is rather unlikely after last night, as I was the victim of a burglary), I might look for the article.
But there’s no harm in giving it a go – just freeze them and then try it out on a test film that doesn’t contain any irreplaceable photos of your mum and the grandkids.
BUT BE CAREFUL TO FREEZE THEM IN SUCH A WAY THAT THEY CAN’T BE MIXED UP WITH FOOD!!!!
Regards, Achim
Wolkenkratzer
Hello Joachim,
I live in the Nuremberg area and work in Nuremberg itself.
This is the first time I’ve used T-Max developer. My throughput is also very low. Perhaps we can work something out.
At the moment I have an opened bottle, about six months old.
Best regards, Thomas
Mittelformater
Hello Thomas,
I’m delighted to have found someone else in the region who works with the T-Max. The results with this film and developer combination are truly impressive. If you’d like, we could exchange phone numbers so we can get in touch. Perhaps one or two others from the region will get in touch as well. I’m planning to order some film, developer, fixer and so on soon anyway.
Best regards from Erlangen
Joachim
HenningH
[...]I can still remember reading something from that time about deep-freezing photographic chemicals. [...]
Hello,
I’ve got that article somewhere too. I seem to recall that it worked with certain colour chemicals, but not with ID-11.
But apart from that, I find freezing liquid photographic chemicals to be one of the most absurd and far-fetched things you can do. No normal person would think of preserving milk, shampoo, petrol, vinegar, wine or similar substances by freezing them.
Solids that have once precipitated may no longer be able to be dissolved in a controlled manner, and just like that, the composition is ruined...
Aponorm bottles are available cheaply in many sizes. Simply buy the quantity in the size you need for a standard development run and then decant the litre into the required portions.
Best regards
Henning
Wolkenkratzer
Hi Joachim,
We’ll give that a go. I don’t have much experience with the Tmax developer yet. So far, I’ve only conducted the development of Acro 100 in it.
It’s a film that gives me a bit of trouble because it’s quite stiff when loading it into the canister. Others, like the HP5 or the APX, are easier to handle.
Hi swingender Henning,
I’ve read similar things.
Regards, Thomas
Mittelformater
Hi Thomas,
If you’d like, I’d be happy to give you some tips on T-Max films and developers. Here’s my email address – why don’t we swap phone numbers? joa.kraus@arcor.de
Best regards,
Joachim
Wolkenkratzer
Hi Joachim,
Sorry for only getting back to you now. The email is on its way.
Best regards, Thomas
