Bergger Film in Pyro

[Steve Sherman]

I have always used Ilford HP 5 and PMK Pyro with my 7 X 17 Camera. Heard good t hings about Bergger BPF 200 film. I am a devoted Pyro user, I am looking for so me comments and maybe a "time & temp" starting point. Thnaks Steve Sherman

[Carl Weese]

Steve,

BPF shows a strong response to pyro formulas, but also has a heavy fb+f--even more so than HP5+. This is generally no problem for silver printing where you just print through the base density, but can be more trouble for alternate processes. Other pyro formulas like ABC+ or Pyrocat HD may be better choices than PMK for this film.

[Bill Marsh]

Carl,

What film/developer combination do you prefer for platinum?

Thanks,

Bill

[Jorge Gasteazoro]

Bill I would say read "The new platinum print" by Dick Sullivan and Carl, there you will find about the film and a very nice chapter on choosing techniques......

[David R Munson]

I like the combination of Bergger and PMK for contact printing on Azo. I tend to shoot in low light and in the woods, if not both simultaneously, so much of the time I use HP5+ in PMK, but when I can justify the slower speed, I shoot the Bergger at EI 100 and develop for 12 minutes at 70 degrees F in PMK.

[David R Munson]

Meant to add that I find that this combination has excellent shadow separation.

[Diane]

Pyrocat is better for bergger. Try shooting Bergger 200 at 125asa. Develope it in pyro as follows: Dilute pyro 1a + 2b +100 H2O at 72deg for 7:30 mins. use water for stop for 1 min. fix in tf4 for 3 mins. then (and this is the important part) wash in running water for 40 mins to hour. This is when the stain sets up. Good luck

[robert_4927]

You can find detailed post about Pyrocat HD by visiting michael and paula smith's web site. Sandy King the inventor of of Pyrocat has many detailed post there including tests done with PMK, ABC, Wimberly w2d2, and Pyrocat. He can answer most of your questions

[Sidney Cammeresi]

I use Bergger and PMK Pyro with my 11x14 camera. I usually end up varying my development times a bit, but for N development, I develop at 75 F for generally 8 to 10 minutes.