I've been shooting 7x17 for platinum and silver for several years now.
What works best for me is FP4+ (at ASA 64) in PMK Pyro for about
13 minutes at 80 deg. F. I've also used PH5+, but found that it's
much higher base fog level is counter-productive to making platinum
prints. I still use it if I absolutely need the film speed.
I process the negatives in BTZS-like tubes that I made out of 3" ABS
plastic pipe with soft rubber end caps that are easily removed and
replaced in the dark. I turn the tubes on Beseler motor bases that I
have bought used over the years for dirt cheap. About twice a minute,
I pick up the tube, stand it up momentarily to re-mix the developer,
then turn it 180 degrees and replace it on the motor base so it rotates
in the opposite direction (these are not revesible motor bases). I have
four motor bases, so I can process 4 sheets at a time. The tubes cost
me about $7 or $8 each, including caps and the motor bases cost me
between $25 and $40 each used. Truly, the poor-man's approach to
rotary processing.
One modification to the Pyro processing technique: The rotary
processing increases oxidation (exhaustion) of the Pyro developer.
For this reason, I make twice the quantity and use half for the first
half of the developing time, dump it, then refill for the last half
of the time. In addition, I do not use the spent developer for the
Pyro after bath, but use potassium metaborate (0.5 teaspoon per liter
of water) instead.
The nice thing about a Pyro negative is that it can print well in
both silver and platinum, if that is important to you. The
yellow-green pyro stain is proportional to negative density. This
stain acts to block some of the very blue UV light created by my UV
exposure box. The result is that the stain behaves like a contrast
increasing mask for platinum printing, yet the negatives are not so
contrasty that they can't be printed easily on Azo or standard gelatine
silver papers.
As for film, $5 a sheet sounds high. I usually buy mine from Samy's
in Los Angeles (213) 938-2420. I think their current price is
about $75 per box of 25 sheets.
I store my negatives in the original film boxes using the
interleaving sheets included with the Ilford film.
I hope this information is useful to you. E-mail me directly if I
can be of more assistance.
--Kerik Kouklis
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Kouklis_Kerik@aphub.aerojetpd.com
Kerik717@aol.com
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