I finally attempted to print some contact sheets in the darkroom I've set up over the last few months. I have Beseler 23C in fine working condition and I tried a few times to print a contact sheet that had been exposed at f/5.6 with Ilford Multigrade No. 2 filter on Ilford Multigrade IV RC paper. I exposed the paper in 5 second intervals for a test contact sheet. I am trying to establish a benchmark from which I will work in the future.

Anyway, I mixed the Ilford Multigrade developer (It was clear) 1:4, steadied it at about 69-70 F and went on my merry way. The first time around I kept the paper in the developer for about a minute and nothing showed up. Next time around I waited about two minutes and still no dice.

Third time around I waited and waited, well over three minutes for more white paper.

My question, finally, is am I just missing a step, a brain cell, or is it possible that the developer was bad. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated before I print twenty more white 8x10s.

-- Jonathan Danz (jdanz@wirefire.com), June 11, 2000

Answers

Can't comment on Ilford Multi developer, use dektol myself. I have, though, exposed the wrong side of my paper a couple of times !!

-- Wayne Brown (wayneb@involved.com), June 12, 2000.

hmm, are you sure you didn't accidentally expose the back of the paper?

also, i have a 23C dicro. it's honestly a rather dim enlarger, in my experience. did you try exposing at f2.8? there's really no point in stopping down at all for contact prints, as long as you're getting even edge-to-edge illumination.

and are you sure you actually mixed up developer. i don't mean to sound condescending, but i had a buddy once who got his jugs mixed up and put fixer in the developer tray. he couldn't figure out why nothing was happening.

as for the ilford MG developer: i don't like it. i never was able to get really rich blacks with it--just dull blacks. now i use edwals ultra-black, which gives me BLACKS.

anyhow, sorry i can't be of more help. if you still have it, dig out the developer concentrate bottle and make sure it wasn't expired.

--brad

-- brad daly (bwdaly@hiwaay.net), June 12, 2000.

I've done exactly what you're doing many times, even using the 23C. I never put my fingers in the developer, but in this case see if it feels slightly slippery. Fixer will feel just the opposite- that should confirm any mixup. Even if the developer is brown and dead, you should still get at least some image density. Possibly you got a package of defective (uncoated!?) paper. Ten or fifteen seconds through the back side of the paper will still produce the start of an image. This just has to be a chemical mixup or paper problem.

-- Conrad Hoffman (choffman@rpa.net), June 12, 2000.

Thanks for the responses so far. I just wanted to add that I did have the paper emulsion side up. I also looked for an expiration date on the bottle (500ml size) and all I could identify was that it lasts up to two years in an unopened bottle. I also mixed up a second batch just to be sure, so I know the developing tray had developer in it. These suggestions are great, though, as I am slowly eliminating possibilities. Any more responses would be helpful. Thanks.

-- Jonathan Danz (jdanz@wirefire.com), June 12, 2000.

Greetings,

If you want to eliminate the paper or the chemistry, take a sheet of paper and expose it to room light then develop it. If it is still white, then you haven't proved anything, you could still have bad paper or chemistry. With Ilford MG, to determine if the paper is sensitized leave a sheet in strong sunlight for about an hour. If it is sensitized, it should darken without development. Good luck!

Regards,

-- Pete Caluori (pcaluori@hotmail.com), June 12, 2000.

Experiments.

1. Take a piece of paper into daylight. (You can cut off a small section in the darkroom. You don't have to waste a full 8x10 sheet.) After a few minutes in direct sunlight, or a few hours in indoor lighting it will start to change color if it is sensitized. If it doesn't, you have a bad batch of paper.

2. Expose your contact sheet as you have. If it doesn't develop after 2 to 3 minutes, turn on the white lights. See if you can get any denstity to appear. If you don't, flop the paper over to see if you exposed the wrong side. If nothing still shows up, your developer is at fault.

-- Charlie Strack (charlie_strack@sti.com), June 13, 2000.

Johathan: I had exactly the same experience with the Ilford developer a few years back. I left the prints in for 5 minutes or so, and still no picture. I didn't mess with changing dilution, because 5 minutes in even a way-too-dilute developer should bring up something. I returned the unused stuff to the dealer and went back to Dektol. I didn't follow up on this with Ilford because I assumed, as did the dealer, that it was just a bad batch.

-- Keith Nichols (knichols@iopener.net), June 17, 2000.