Liquid equivalent of D-76?

[sockeyed]

I'm a fan of D-76, but not of mixing powders (for some reason they seem to leave specs that get picked up by my film scanner).

Is there a readily-available liquid equivalent to D-76 (a solvent developer, I guess).

cheers
Ben

 

[richiedcruz]

I use Sprint Standard B&W developer. It is supposed to be, and in my experience is, the equivalent of d-76 1:1. It is also cheap 😀

Richie

 

[pshinkaw]

Many people claim that HC-110 is the liquid equivalent.

-Paul

 

[pesphoto]

yup.
I use Sprint also. Times are same as D76 and results are pretty similar too.

 

[sockeyed]

Thanks, folks. It looks like Sprint is only available in the US, unfortunately.

I thought HC-110 was more like Rodinal in the way that it worked, although I do find that it yields less grainy results with better tonality.

 

[kzim56]

I get very D-76 like results from Arista Premium Liquid Developer from Freestyle.

Karl

 

[kaiyen]

Premium liquid dev...that's Clayton F76, I believe. That actually should be much closer to DDX than D76. Phenidone based dev. Still good stuff, though.

allan

 

[kmack]

Thanks, folks. It looks like Sprint is only available in the US, unfortunately.

I thought HC-110 was more like Rodinal in the way that it worked, although I do find that it yields less grainy results with better tonality.

I just shot some tri-x at 200 and developed with HC110 1:119 I was quite impressed. I really only do about a roll of film a week so storage time is important for me. Personally I have settled on Diafine when I want higher speed and HC110 for everything else.

 

[bmattock]

Right, but I believe the original question was is there a liquid equivalent of D76, not what is a good developer to use. Forgive me if I'm wrong. I gave this some thought, but I don't think that there is a liquid equivalent, because Kodak D76 is a Metol-Hydroquinone developer, and it begins to oxidize as soon as it is put into solution from the powder, having a definite and rather short lifespan. Unless one came up with a divided formula that consisted of two or more parts that would be brought together at developing time, I don't think a manufacturer would want to sell bottles of liquid developer that had a sell-by date on them of a couple of months (or come up with some totally sealed, oxygen-free environment).

Now, I fully believe that there are liquid developers that act a lot like D76, but I don't think you can say they are 'just like' D76 since they won't be m-h based.

If I'm wrong on this, someone correct me.

Best Regards,

Bill Mattocks

 

[RayPA]

ID-11 is the equivalent to D-76, and doesn't Ilford provide that in a liquid? Maybe I'm thinking of another Ilford product.

EDIT: My bad. I'm thinking of DDX see HERE direct Freestyle link.


🙂

 

[kaiyen]

HC-110 is an acutance developer more along the lines of rodinal than of D76.

However, the question is - what qualities are you after? Grain control? sharpness? flexibility?

 

[olmanwompa]

I am now using xtol, but for a long time was using Nacco 76 regularly. In my opinion, the results are the same as D76 (not sure if the formulation is different). They also sell a Super 76, which I believe is just more highly concentrated. All of my dev. times and dilutions were exactly the same as with D76. Here in L.A. it is sold everywhere, from Samy's to Freestyle.

 

[kaiyen]

Bill makes a good and correct point - chemically, there is no liquid equivalent to D76.

Which is why I ask what it is you are looking for in a developer. D76 is a lot of things - it's flexible, giving acutance at 1+3 and solvency at 1+0, economical, relatively stable, and forgiving of times. It is a great compromise.

So if there is something in particular that you like - sharpness, fine grain, tonality, etc - then we can make recommendations on those traits.

allan

 

[MelanieC]

When I went to the camera shop they sold me something called "Nacco 76" or "Nacco D-76." If you tell me what ingredients to look for, I can look at the label and tell you if it's the same stuff.

 

[bmattock]

Melanie,

I think that Nacco and Edwal, etc, liquid developers that have "76" in the name are trying to say that they are 'like' D76 in one way or another - typically meaning you can expect similar results or use it just like you would D76 with regard to developing times, etc. And that may well be true, I have no experience with those. I'd say that you're on the right track - one of those may well suit.

I just wanted to say that the benzene molecule is very fascinating thing - m-h is but one of many choices, but each has their own special characteristics. I find myself intrigued and delighted by the many possibilities.

Best Regards,

Bill Mattocks