I don't know if anybody is watching this or not.  I did notice, and if you tried to mix, you'd notice, that the amidol amount was off by a factor of 10x.  It has been changed from 40 to 4 grams of Amidol in 100cc PG.

Although I don't use this developer much, for certain things I like it very much.  It is good for pushing film to higher than normal contrast levels.  It produces a lot of contrast in the shadows without blowing out the highlights.  I believe with different dilutions, there is still much to be discovered about this developer.  I'd also like to add a little restrainer, either potassium bromide or BZT.  This should clear the base a bit and maybe allow for even greater development.

Also, since I originally designed this developer, I'm using a lot of Ilford FP4+.  I'd like to try some of that with this developer.

As a side, while looking around the web for other pyro-amidol film developers, I found this patent:

patent 2877116, Dickerson dev, AF.

More later.  EW

Pyrodol™ WXYZ

I like the convenience of PMK, but after 20 years I was tired of developing sheet film in a Jobo with nitrogen.  I've switched to (ABS, sewer pipe) tubes and looked for a developer that was better suited to this technique.  I wanted a liquid concentrate that kept forever, that was easy to mix, high accutance, good speed, that could push process as much as possible, and give more contrast in the shadows. Is that too much to ask?  I diddled with chemistry, read books, and talked to friends that still got their hands wet.

For those of you that enjoy 'rolling your own', here's a new pyro - amidol film developer formula that I call Pyrodol™.  I have tried it with HP5+ only (now FP4, too, see below).  Not to say you couldn't use it with other films, it's just that I haven't. Pyrodol™ has a strong stain that builds aggressively in the shadows: more than other developers.  It gives good speed.  I would not recommend this for alt process types, as the fbf is too high.  I'm not sure how it would work as a dual-use neg either, as the stain is brown.

This developer is three parts, as not everything can be dissolved in TEA (triethanolamine).  Amidol will not dissolve in TEA, no matter how hot.  It sinks to the bottom in a big wad.  However, amidol does dissolve in propylene glycol, PG.  This in-active organic solvent is widely available for cheap; my gallon is from the large-animal feedstore.

I used both fresh, grey Amidol (English) and 30 year old black Amidol (Lauders). They worked equally well.

From the name, you see that there are 4 parts, W, X, Y, and Z.  W is water.  For use with HP5+, use 970:10:10:10 for one liter, mixed in alphabetical order.  X is optional.  W + X fizzes when Y is added as the sodium bicarb neutralizes the acidic vitamin C.  I guess that the vitamin C acts not as a developer, but only as a preservative for the Amidol.  There are some color changes that take place as you mix WXYZ. After development, it is dark brown.

Pyrodol™ will push HP5+ very well.  The extremes of push and pull I do not know.  Normal is 7 minutes, 70F, in a tube.with slow, constant rotation floating in water.  As pull times can get very short, one could increase dilution. (N-2 to N+4: 5, 6, 7, 8:45, 10:45, 14, 18, respectively, all 70F.)

I had always wanted to design my own developer. I spent several months of reading and mixing and this is what I got.  I make no claims.  Use at your own risk.  This shouldn't be your first developer. You should have previous experience mixing developers with TEA.  I have tried variants of this mix with and without other agents, including Dimezone, but I couldn't make pyrogallol - amidol work better than this.  

Part W =
water, distilled or RO

Part X = 

100 cc water
0.7 gr sodium bicarbonate

Part Y =

100 cc PG (propylene glycol)

4 gr Amidol
1.5gr C

Part Z =

100 cc TEA (triethanolamine)

10 gr Pyro

Presoak

I've printed some sheet film negs and I'm seeing some mottling.  Better presoak.

May 2011

I just mixed up a new batch. To give any "tryers" some hints, here is what to expect.

I started with 500cc of distilled water. I added 5 cc of X, which is water clear. Nothing happens. Then I added 5cc of Y, which is a middle grey. Adding this to the mix changes the color of the mix by a little, but it is still basically clear. There are a few little bubbles. The Y solution is thicker than water, but not as thick as honey. Then I add the Z. Z is thick like honey and golden like honey. At first it just sinks to the bottom in a string. Stir it and the solution changes to a plum color.

After use on HP5+, the solution is very dark, very brown that will not pass light.

January 2015

I was looking for a way to get a controlled N+4 contrast with nice shadows and no bulletproof highlights.  I used this same batch of developer concentrates with FP4 Plus exposed at 250 ASA.  I haven't printed yet, but the contacts are encouraging.  I mixed one liter of developer at the 970:10:10:10 dilution and split the batch in a 500cc tank.  10 minutes, twice, for a total of 20 minutes.  The W and X are still clear, but the Y and Z are dark as the brown bottles.

Next roll, I'll try twice the concentration for a lesser time.  

Back at it

I was in the darkroom all weekend.  Long overdue.  I developed 19 rolls of film and about 40 sheets of film.  The sheetfilm was all in Pyrodol.  The negs look good.  I'll try to post a couple of them soon along with a scan of the neg so that you can see the color.