Ilford ID-62
Ilford ID-62 is the PQ counterpart to Dektol — the Ilford equivalent of the MQ paper developer that has set the tone standard for silver gelatin printing for nearly a century. Where Dektol uses the Metol + hydroquinone pair, ID-62 substitutes phenidone for metol and re-balances around it. The result is a paper developer that prints slightly warmer than Dektol at comparable development times, avoids the Metol skin-sensitization hazard entirely, and keeps longer in stock form and working dilution.[1]
ID-62 is a direct competitor to Dektol for every standard silver gelatin paper — RC, FB, neutral, warm-tone. The typical working dilution is 1:3 from stock (1 part stock + 3 parts water), developing at 20 °C for 1.5–2 minutes. Longer development extends midtones; shorter cuts contrast slightly.
When to choose ID-62 over Dektol
- You want to avoid Metol contact. This is the primary reason most ID-62 users picked it — occupational darkroom skin sensitization was an unsolved problem until phenidone arrived in 1953.
- You want slightly warmer image tone. ID-62 prints a quarter-stop warmer than Dektol on the same paper, which reads as a more "print-like" visual quality on warm-tone or chlorobromide papers.
- You want longer working-solution life. A PQ developer shows its exhaustion (colour change, activity loss) more slowly than the Metol form. A single tray of 1:3 ID-62 will out-live a comparable tray of Dektol by roughly a third.
- You want tighter tonal scale. ID-62 produces a very slightly longer tonal range than Dektol, which can matter on graded papers where you are pushing for either extra highlight detail or deeper shadow separation.
Choosing between ID-62 and Bromophen
Bromophen is Ilford's "universal" PQ paper developer sold as a packaged dry powder — same underlying chemistry as ID-62 but with slightly different ingredient proportions tuned for a broader range of papers. ID-62 is the home-mix version; Bromophen is the factory-packaged version. Practical tone differences are subtle; most workers use whichever is easier to obtain.
Phenidone vs Dimezone-S substitution
Dimezone-S substitutes for phenidone in ID-62 at roughly 80% of the phenidone concentration (0.4 g instead of 0.5 g per liter of stock). The developer then runs with slightly longer working-solution life and marginally cleaner oxidation. The cost is higher per liter, and dimezone-s is less widely stocked than phenidone.
Related recipes
- Dektol (D-72) — the MQ reference that ID-62 is measured against.
- Microphen — Ilford's PQ film developer using the same phenidone/hydroquinone pair tuned for negative work.
- Ethol LPD — alternative PQ paper developer with a different activity profile; used where longer tray life is desired.
References
- BOOK The Darkroom Cookbook 4th ed. Focal Press, 2016. ISBN 9781138959170. ↩
Mixing Instructions
Start with 750 ml of water at 50 °C (125 °F). Phenidone is sparingly soluble in cold water — working from warm water avoids clumping.
- Add sodium sulfite (anhydrous) and stir until fully dissolved. The sulfite goes in first to protect the reducers from premature oxidation.
- Add hydroquinone and stir until dissolved.
- Dissolve phenidone in a separate small volume of warm water (or 1 g in 20 ml propylene glycol if you keep a phenidone glycol stock), then add to the main bath. Phenidone dissolves poorly in cold water; a warm-water pre-dissolution step prevents clumps.
- Add sodium carbonate (monohydrate form) and stir until dissolved — the solution will fizz slightly as it accelerates the pH rise.
- Add potassium bromide and stir.
- Add benzotriazole (typically pre-dissolved as a 1% stock solution — 20 ml of 1% stock = 0.2 g of benzotriazole) and stir.
- Add water to make 1 liter of stock.
Stock life: about 3 months in a tightly capped brown glass bottle, kept cool and dark. Signs of exhaustion: yellow-to-amber colour, developer-ghost smell.
Working dilution: mix 1 part stock + 3 parts water immediately before use. Working-tray life is one full session (roughly 30 sheets of 8x10 in a tray).
Development: 1.5–2 minutes at 20 °C with normal intermittent agitation. Run a test strip for the paper grade and batch before committing a full print.
Ingredients for 1L of Stock Solution
| # | Chemical | Role | Qty (1L) | Unit | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sodium Sulfite | Preservative | 50.0 | g | |
| 2 | Hydroquinone | Developing Agent | 12.0 | g | |
| 3 | Phenidone | Developing Agent | 0.5 | g | |
| 4 | Sodium Carbonate | Accelerator | 60.0 | g | (monohydrate form) |
| 5 | Potassium Bromide | Restrainer | 2.0 | g | |
| 6 | Benzotriazole | Restrainer | 0.2 | g |