Kodak D-76 Film Developer
A general purpose fine grain film developer.
Recipe
| Chemical | Amount |
|---|---|
| Water (50 °C) | 750 ml |
| Metol | 2 g |
| Sodium sulfite (anhydrous) | 100 g |
| Hydroquinone | 5 g |
| Borax (decahydrate) | 2 g |
| Water to make | 1000 ml |
Mix chemicals in the listed order. Make sure each chemical is completely dissolved before mixing the next one. Mix a pinch of the sodium sulfite before mixing the metol. Use distilled or deionized water for improved keeping properties. The stock solution may be diluted with tap water at the time of development.
Usage
Starting development time is 7:00 at 20 °C with the stock solution. Can be diluted 1+1 for increased sharpness with longer development times.
Comments
This is a good general purpose film developer (the gold standard). Very well balanced. Nice (slightly soft) grain and good tonality.
This is the original recipe with weak buffering. Oxidizing hydroquinone increases the activity of the developer over time. To reduce this effect only keep D76 in fully filled glass bottles. Wait three days before using the mixed developer as it's more active when freshly mixed.
The stock solution keeps more than six months.