Bad Dektol?

[KenR]

I have been using Dektol paper developer for many years with sporadic uses of other paper developers. Recently I had trouble obtaining Dektol from my usual supplier (back ordered) and so I ordered another bag from a second supplier. Both arrived and upon opening the envelops both powders were dark brown. I mixed up one batch and it is the solution is the color of Coca Cola whereas in the past it had a pale brown color. It seems to work on a test strip, but I would hate to waste a day in the darkroom with bad developer. So my questions are: has anybody else seen this? Is this a new formulation? Or two bad batches?

 

[Horatio]

Some bad batches were released last year by Kodak. Do a search at Photrio.com where it's been extensively discussed.

Edit: Sorry. It may have been D76 that shipped in batches with dark brown coloring. A quick review for Dektol indicates the new formula looks like root beer, but has no effect on developing.

 

[Highway 61]

This reminds what happened to some people here with some D76 pouches recently. Nowadays' Kodak QC... 😱

You have two bad batches, the powder is sold badly oxydized from factory. It may work for a few prints though, but at the risk of a bad tonal range response from the paper, and brown stains on your pictures. Trash that stuff and get something else.

Last year I opened one Dektol pouch which I had bought in 2014, to take advantage of the lockdown to get back to the wet darkroom. Although theorically outdated, the powder was white and the stock solution made with it had no abnormal color. The prints turned out perfectly fine as well.

 

[Ronald M]

Avoid all this BS by mixing your own. Always fresh, always exactly the same. And 1/10 the cost of store package.

Some initial investment.

 

[Vince Lupo]

I had the same thing a few months ago with two pouches of D76. I contacted Kodak and provided them with the batch #'s etc and they sent me two new pouches.

 

[KenR]

I was able to find a letter from Kodak Alaris dated March, 2020 that says that batches of Dektol produced after August of 2019 will have this problem. They say that the color is caused by a contaminant, but that it doesn’t effect the activity of the developer. I hope to print in a couple of days and will report back then.

 

[Hari]

Get a scale and the chemicals and role you own
like a cowboy.