!. Paper developer.
In tests we undertook some five years ago comparing films and developers for
platinum printing to give the nearest we could attain for a straight line, we
found that FP4 and a paper developer, PQ Universal gave the best results for
negatives with a density range of around 2.0.
2. Film
I forgot to mention that I also use a Swiss film, Typon, for my gum printing
which can be obtained in large sizes and comes as a straight blue sensitive
continuous tone film or as a variable contrast film using blue and yellow
filters.
I also use a fine Dupont panchromatic graphic arts film, which no longer
manufactured, which gives good results. Such outdated films can be bought cheap
and with a little adjustment to exposure and development times will give
excellent results.
All the films I use are heavier gauge as they are easier to handle in multiple
printing and their enhanced stability aids in multiple registration.
3. Paper.
RC paper without stripping the back off works very well as negative material,
although in order to cut down on exposure times it is worth making separate
negatives to cover the tonal range.Three pieces of RC are likely to be cheaper
that one sheet of direct dup,
Many of my best prints are made using paper negatives.
Terry King