Pheniglin

About the Developer

Pheniglin is a phenidone-glycine developer developed by Ilford as far back as 1955, although it is known by this name primarily on Russian-language websites. Glycine, unlike hydroquinone, for example, works very cleanly and gently, without a veil, rendering shades and halftones well and effectively bringing out the sensitivity of photographic materials; for optimal results, it is used in combination with phenidone. It is one of the best developers for achieving maximum softness—it yields the highest effective light sensitivity of the film with minimal increase in contrast.

Character

Phenidone-glycine equalizing developer, fine-grain, which increases the effective light sensitivity of photographic material—up to 4 times, depending on processing time. Glycine acts very cleanly and gently, without veiling, and renders midtones well; for optimal results, it is used in combination with phenidone.

Best films

The source does not provide specific data on particular films; according to the description, it is designed for any black-and-white film at maximum push processing, where the most important factors are minimal veiling and minimal loss of contrast.

How to Prepare and Use

1. 1The developer comes in three packages: small (phenidone), medium (Glycine-Photo), and large (other ingredients).
2. 2Dissolve the fenidone from the small packet in hot water.
3. 3Dissolve the contents of the remaining packets in distilled water according to the enclosed instructions, bringing the volume to 1 liter.
4. 4Develop fresh film for 7–8 minutes at 20°C without agitation (the standard development time indicated on the film package).
5. 5For the PUSH process, increase the time almost in proportion to the desired increase in sensitivity: ×2 — 12–14 minutes, ×4 — 20–24 minutes.
6. 6When processing several rolls of film in a row, increase the development time for each subsequent roll by about 20%.