There has been a lot of talk about the use of the zone system for producing negs
for alternative processes.
Are these negs in camera negs or are they inter-negs ?
If they are in camera negs there is probably only one film on the market that
has the ability to accept the necessary pushing to achieve the densities
necessary for fine platinum and palladium prints or carbon prints. If they are
inter-negs, are they being made on a film of a quality that justifies the kind
of control implied by the zone system ?
In general not only is the 'zone system' inappropriate as a term to describe the
making of negatives for non silver gelatine printing as it is, as Judy has
pointed out, a back formation but it is also inappropriate for the usual
alternative process materials and what is expected of them. As it is
inappropriate, the effort involved in making all the nice graphs and developing
according to the zone system is otiose.
As a substitute for the zone system, for those interested in the destination
rather than the journey, an effective method is to make a step wedge from your
original or the inter-positive and then cut it into three or more across the
steps. Develop these pieces for increasing steps in time from below the normal
development time to above it. The resulting film will show which is the most
appropriate combination of exposure and development for the image to be printed
and for the process. This was a method used by process printers on whose
decisions millions of photographs would be printed.
I have never used the zone system for alternative processes. It is a waste of
time and effort.
I do own a densitometer and I get quite good prints.
Terry King