Michael_Sherer/CAS/UNO/UNEBR@unomail.unomaha.edu
Sun, 06 Jun 1999 17:02:25 -0500
Greetings all,
I need help!
Last year, I began tinkering with the Ziatype system and had some nice luck. I
was working in 4x5 Tri-X developed in PMK Pyro. This spring, I have moved up to
a 5x7 camera and have been developing Tri-X in Rollo Pyro in a Jobo Expert Drum
on a Beseler motor base.
The short version of my troubles is this. All of my 5x7 negs are lousy. Today,
for example, I tried printing a neg with the following mix: 6 drops of AFO and 6
drops of Cesium Palladium and one drop of Tween. The final image, after
literally baking it for 20 minutes in my UV exposure unit, came out nearly
neutral gray in tones and flat in contrast.
Then I pulled out one of my best 4x5 negs from last year, and printed it with 4
drops of AFO and 4 drops of Cessium Palladium and one drop of Tween. This
negative printed very well with just five minutes of exposure in the very same
exposure unit. And to top it off, this print came out with a very strong
red/brown tint...perhaps a bit too strong for my taste...but dramatically
different from the 5x7 print. And to make matters even worse, the actual image
for the 4x5 was great...i.e. nice range of tones, etc. Fyi, both images were
made in subdued light...trees in shadows.
I have prowled the news groups, checked Deja.com, reread many times the New
Platinum Print book, and the alt-process mailing list looking for answers. I
suspect that I am getting too much stain in my 5x7 negs. Does this sound right?
Would this explain why the 4x5 neg originally processed in PMK pyro would really
respond well to the Cessium Palladium whereas the same combination using the 5x7
neg had very little impact (fyi, I did print a 5x7 with a combination of 3
Cessium Palladium and three drops of Lithium Palladium with 6 drops of AFO...and
it is very similar in tones to the 6 drops Cessium print).
I have been processing my 5x7 negs in Rollo Pyro for 9 minutes at 68 degrees
(the actual time is guided by using a Zone 6 compensating timer which supposedly
is calibrated for 68 degree times). I used a pre-soak metaborate bath of 250ml
mixed wtih 1/8 tsp for five minutes. Then I mixed 500 ml of Rollo Pyro with 7.5
ml of solution A and 15ml of solution B. This was used for 9 minutes at 68
degrees (again using the Zone 6 compensating timer...I place the probe in a
second jug of distilled water that has been sitting at room temp for a couple of
days...just like the stuff I used for the developer).
This developing is followed by two quick water rinses, followed by 5 minutes of
fix (non-hardening fix from Photographers Formulary), then two more water rinses
and then the second metaborate bath (again 250ml mixed as above) for two
minutes. Then a 20 minute wash.
If anyone can offer any suggestions, I would be forever grateful!
mike
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