NOTES ON TECHNIQUE OF USING BROWN DEVELOPERS
FIXING 8 May 1945
Do not fix overly long, as hypo gradually reduces the image; prints left in acid hardener type hypo overnight will be completely blank the next morning.
CONTRAST CONTROL 8 May 1945
Contrast control with brown developer is obtained as follows:
Short exposure plus long development time gives a contrasty brown image
Long exposure plus short development time gives soft and browner images up to an orange-brown which is redder when there is no K Br in the solution, and yellower when some is present
COLOR CONTROL 14 May 1945
With ammonium chloride warm tone developer, the conclusions reached in the matter of color control are as follows:
Without K Br more brown tones can be obtained with the colors ranging from a purple-brown through copper tones to a rose copper which is particularly pleasing
With K Br the tone is more consistent, but not as rich or pleasing, and the development is slower
DEVELOPING TECHNIQUE 28 May 1945
1. Develop print half way up in tray, lift out, drain and hold over rinse tray until desired tone is reached; then plunge the print into rinse or preferably short stop. The reason for this is that the ammonium chloride-hydroquinone-carbonate developer without bromide works so rapidly that this is the easiest method of control, inasmuch as complete development is often arrived at in 30 seconds.
2. The developer is very sensitive to temperature, inasmuch as merely dabbing at the submerged emulsion surface with the fingertips will produce dark brown spots.
DEVELOPER MODIFICATIONS 3 June 1945
For an easier-to-work developer add 1 grain of K Br per 10 ounces of Brown Developer Modification 4. Without any bromide, the developer works too rapidly and has a tendency to stain or fog on prolonged development as short even as 1-½ minutes. A slight amount of K Br might remedy this, or perhaps the hydroquinone content might be halved.
