Beutler developer formulae

Photographer's Formulary sells FX-1.

Ryuji's old post of a modified FX-1

L-ascorbic acid 1.0g (pure Vit C)

metol 0.4g

sodium sulfite 20g

sodium carbonate (monohydrate) 4.0g

sodium bicarbonate 1.0g

water to make 1.0 liter

Willi Beutler's "Meine Dunklekammer Praxis" (1st Edition)

Stock Solution A: - 1000 ccm Water 40^oC - 2g Calgon - 10g Metol - 50g Natriumsulfit sicc. (Sodium Sulfite)

Stock Solution B: - 1000 ccm Water 40^oC - 2g Calgon - 50g Natriumsulfit sicc - 10g Hydrochinon

Stock Solution C: - 1000 cm water - 5g Calgon - 100g Natriumcarbonat sicc (Soda)

Stock Solution D: - 100 ccm Water - 10g Bromkali (Kaliumbromid/Potassium bromide)

Film Surface developer (p.35) for KB (35mm) film:
500 ccm Water
50 ccm Solution A
25 ccm Solution C

Develop @ 18^oC 8-12 min. for 14^o DIN and 1-18 min. for 17^o DIN film. According to the contrast he writes (and depending upon the film stating that the 17 DIN films seemed to need it more) 1-2 ccm Bronkali (Solution D). He wrote that one could to increase the contrast (hardness) decrease the amount of solution C and increase D and develop longer.

Please Edward tell us what "Calgon" is... maybe some sequestering agent as sodium hexametaphosphate? Thank you. Eduardo Benavidez.

Also please tell us if "Natriumkarbonat" ("Soda") is the same as Sodium carbonate. Regards. Eduardo.

Is Neofin Blue a variation of Beutler's? How does it compare?

Calgon = sodium hexametaphosphate. A calcium sequestering agent to limit the formation of calcium scum, a risk with some tap waters.

Probably unnecessary when distilled water is used to make the stock solution. The later formulae likely reflect the availability of demineralized water.

"Calgon = sodium hexametaphosphate. A calcium sequestering agent to limit the formation of calcium scum, a risk with some tap waters."
"Probably unnecessary when distilled water is used to make the stock solution."

So perhaps the intent of Beutler and others--- p.13 he writes that Calgon is used to keep the solutions clear for aesthetic reasons as (my translation) "milky solutions have no effect on development"--- but it has indeed been shown, even using filtered or Aqua Dist. to indeed have an effect.

"The later formulae likely reflect the availability of demineralized water."

Aqua Dist. was available and the discussion of its need has spanned over a century.. The standard Agfa recomendation since the 1930s has been to boil and decant water.

But its also different in not just the "mising" Calgon.. clearly someone's take on Beutler but clearly not Beutler's "Combined Developer" as published in his book.. It is perhaps accademic but what your "Manual of Photography, 7th edition" has called "B" is really half the concentration of Beutler's "C" but used in equal parts to "A" instead of as 1/2 per the original. Effectively this is the same final concentration in the developer but the original selection of concetration was, as one can see, driven by the desire to control contrast by adding more solution "D" by, for example, 1 ml and reducing solution "C" by same.

"Also please tell us if "Natriumkarbonat" ("Soda") is the same as Sodium carbonate."

Yes. The "formulas" called for Soda sicc. which is the waterfree or anhydrous sodium carbonate called also "soda ash". One must, however, keep in mind that anhydrous soda absorbs water from the air to become sodium carbonate monohydrate. 100g of the monodydrate is the equivalent of 88g Soda sicc (or 1.17:1). Soda is also available in crystal (Dekahydrat) form but the equivalence is 37g Soda sicc = 100g Soda crystal (or 2.7:1).

Lex

Would FX-2 classify as a Beutler variant?

No idea, Jorge, but if the formula shown on this site is any indication it does not appear to fit the general characteristics of a Beutler developer:

Crawley's FX-2 (darkroompro.com website)

Edward-- one thing that hasn't been explained- what was the B solution for?

Lex

Ok, but take a look at:

http://www.jackspcs.com/fx2.htm

Jorge, those FX-2 recipes weren't all that different from each other (metol and elon are the same thing - there are way too many different names for the same basic chemicals used in the darkroom).

However because of the presence of glycin I'm not sure whether that disqualifies FX-2 as a Beutler developer since the original formula did not contain glycin, as far as I know.

It certainly appears to qualify as a high acutance developer.

Barry Thornton offers both "the orignal Beutler formula" and "original Stoeckler 2 bath formula" developers for sale at;

http://www.barry-thornton.co.uk/shop.htm

I believe Calgon is alkali - so maybe Calgon makes the dev a bit more active?

Last year I ran a series of tests with FX-1 from Photographers Formulary, using some 4x5 Ilford Delta 100 I had on hand. Dip-and-dunk agitation was four lift-and-tilts in four seconds, once per minute. Time: somewhere in the high teens.

The write-up in their catalogue speaks of the incredible acutance and sharpness which many photographers reject because it looks too much like an engraving. As the highest-acutance developer ever formulated in the entire history of photography, it revealed absolutely every detail - both good and bad.

My results printed 11x14 full-frame showed a nice, clean, neat-and-sweet commercially-usable image similar to Plus-X with D-76 full-strength from the old days. I couldn’t ask for any better quality, but hardly the special effects the catalogue implied. Nothing remarkable in the sharpness department.

General consensus among my learned LF colleagues was that (1) you need more silver than is contained in Delta films to see this effect, and (2) an 11x14 enlargement from 4x5 isn’t large enough to prove anything.

There may be some validity to the theory that a film with a high silver content is needed to show off the vaunted characteristics of a high acutance developer.

I've attached an excerpt from a recent test of Efke R100, reportedly a silver rich, thick emulsion film (tho' the film base is quite thin) in Neofin Blau, reportedly a Beutler or high acutance developer.

The jpeg represents a 3"x5" print excerpted from an equivalent 18"x18" enlargement. This is a very large jpeg, lightly compressed to preserve as much detail as possible.

Print on Ilford MGIV RC Satin finish. Durst M605 color head enlarger with 80/5.6 EL-Nikkor N. Exposure 1 minute, 20 seconds at f/11. No contrast filter used.

Scanned via an ancient Umax Vista-S6 at 300 ppi. I didn't bother removing dust spots (mostly under the glass of this scanner) since this image is provided just for technical info.

Camera: Rolleiflex 2.8C TLR. Exposure: 1 second at f/16. Subject to camera distance was about 10-12 feet.

Film was exposed at EI 100. A 30ml vial of Neofin Blau was added to 500ml distilled water. Time was 11 minutes, 30 seconds at 75°F, with 3 inversions every minute.

I wouldn't say the results look etched but detail is quite high. However the grain tends to diminish detail so while apparent sharpness is high at normal viewing distances, actual resolution probably can't compare with a film like TMX in D-76/ID-11. I'm looking forward to trying Neofin Blau on TMX to compare results.

"Edward-- one thing that hasn't been explained- what was the B solution for?"

p.15 he mentions that the B solution is to increase the contrast and also refers to its more common use within the positive process.

p.106 "Ich betonte bereits , daß man aus den oben... ("As I've stated already, from the above solutions one can make all the developers one needs in normal photography with the exception of some special very hard developers."

So the idea is from these basic solutions to make everything.. Film and paper developers!!

p.107. (Section on Paper developers) "The first developer I make contains
1 Part A
1 Part C
5 drops D to 100 ccm
This developer is very soft and can be made even softer by diluting it with 1 to 2 parts water.
The second developer
1 Part A
6 Parts B
5 Parts C
and as typical D
I've made works hard and is even more brilliant when one add 2-3 more drops of D.

If I have a normal negative I'll rather select a somewhat softer paper and develop with the hard developer for 2 minutes at 18^oC...."

I was going to put my favourite Leica 2-bath Beutler-type formula into one of my books (Quality, I think) but after trying it with modern films I decided not to bother.

Ah, that's too bad, Roger. Perhaps it could be included in an updated edition.

There seems to be a resurgence of interest in traditional style films and processes, if internet/web discussions are a valid indicator (I believe they are).

My 7th edition of The Manual of Photography (1978) essentially *mentions* older processes and chemicals but seems to relegate them to the archives of historical curiosities.

I believe digital photography has driven many of us farther backward and has sparked renewed interest in traditional techniques and materials.

Roger, do you smell a book? If you do, I want just a wee credit somewhere in small print. ;>

From: 150 Black & White Popular Photographic Formulas;Patrick D. Dignan;1977.

In an Gerald Koch article;

FX-13

Metol .5g

sod. sulfite 40.0g

Pot. Iodide,0.001% 5.0ml

Sod.Carbonate ,mono 2.925g

water l liter

MASON

Metol 5.0g

Sod. Sulfite 5.0g

Pot. Iodide.0.001% 5.0ml

Sod Carb.,mono 5.85g

water 1 liter

There is also a high acutance Phenidone formula( by D. William Reichner), but it does contain a lot more chemicals. Hope this adds to the library

I have Gerald on another list. I asked hime for some more information. Here is what he said--

My only comment on the Beutler formula is that the potassium iodide addition mentioned greatly improves the negatives. BTW, Ethol TEC is the Beutler formula made up 1.6X as concentrated and as a single solution rather than two. Neofin Blue is normal strength Beutler but as a single solution.

Kodak DK-50 can be used as an acutance developer. DK-50 is made up (or purchased) and considered as stock solution A. Stock solution B consists of 80g/l of sodium metaborate (Kodak Balanced Alkali "Kodalk"). For use take 2 parts of A, 1 part of B and 7 parts of water. Development times are 8 - 13 minutes at 20C. From the BJ Annual 1972, p 230.

Re dilluted DK-50

That's a seldom used trick to increase acutance - dillute the dev, but do not dillute the alkali!

I see this forum has been languishing for some time.

In regard to the use of DK 50 as a high acutance developer, specifically to the issue of alkali being kept at a higher level I have one memory from ancient history. There was a California photographer named Don Ross, whom I never met but had seen and still remember his work (back in the 1960's - I was at San Francisco State then). He was reported to use (got this from Jack Welpott, I believe) DK 50 in the 1:7 or 1:8 dilution; can't remember. But, remarkably, to the working batch he added one ounce of acetone. I believe that was regardless of the quantity, which suggests that it was an excessive amount which did its job and the excess remained in the solution without effect. The result was that the acetone dissociated the sodium ions from their usual companions and produced a concentration of sodium hydroxide. I have tried this, and it works, though I've never used the developer on a regular basis. It feels slippery, as does any developer made with lye.

The use of acetone in this way may seem strange since it dissolves lots of plastics. As a frequent and fond user of the old pyro acetone formula given in Wall and Jordan's _Photographic Facts and Formulas_, I have never had a problem with this. W&J specify the pyro acetone developer for glass lantern slides; presumably it was not used with film due to its solvent properties. I guessed that with the advent of estar, mylar, etc. as a substrate, this would no longer be a problem.

Correction: Having written the above and thought about it overnight I recall now that it was actually Dektol Ross was using, not DK-50.