How to determine developing time with Kodak film and Ilford developer?

Question

I am new to B&W film processing. I have a roll of T-MAX 100 that I want to develop, but only have Ilford Developer. The development times listed on the T-MAX package are for Kodak chemicals only (obviously).

Is there a way to tell how long the development time should be with Ilford or is it purely trial and error?

Answer 1

The Massive Development Chart is your friend. You'll find a link to it in the references section of my response. I can guarantee that this isn't the first time you'll want to try an unorthodox film and developer combination, so bookmark it and keep it for future reference.

Also, something to bear in mind is that many Ilford developers are either exact copies or at least very close copies of Kodak developers. If you know the equivalent Kodak developer, you can generally use the same times. The stereotypical example is Ilford ID-11, which is an exact copy of Kodak's D76.

One final thought-most of the time, when developing B&W film, you'll at least get something even if your development time is off. The results will not be optimum, but they'll at least, most of the time, be useable.