Finally done with PMK. What next?

[Gary L. Quay]

A further consideration for getting my processes straightened out is whether or not I should do a presoak. I will likely to be moving to a dip & dunk system for everything. I just need some more 8x10 tanks. I want to do dip & dunk because there is very little handling of the film. Here are the questions: should I use distilled water? A wetting agent? Sodium Metaborate? Should I agitate during the presoak?

Thanks for all the responses so far.

[ROL]

I've been threatening to do this for a few years, but I've finally decided to stop using PMK Pyro.

Oh no! Please, NOT THAT! Oh Lord, you're frightening me… gooood help us all.

Sorry, I missed the post as I was otherwise engaged. Still teetering on the edge of that building? All seriousness aside, if you can't achieve decent negatives with any of the developers mentioned, the problem lies elsewhere. I fear you'll be wasting a lot of time searching for that magic bullet.

[ROL]

I figured out that I don't want to mess with pyro after hearing about the mental issues it causes... Who wants a bottle of pyrogalol?

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[Drew Wiley]

I always presoak, for every kind of film, sheet or otherwise. Same agitation pattern as development, though a minute or two should be sufficient. Don't know about
metaborate, whether it helps or not. I don't use it, but others might use a pinch.

[Drew Wiley]

... but I'd agree that dip n' dunk won't be any easier or safer than other methods. It might be harder, and you'll probably need substantially larger volumes of chem,
so will actually have more cumulative exposure to anything suspect. ... but yes, distilled water if there is any questions of particulates or excessive mineral content
in your tap water. But in any case, distilled for the final rinse, with a tad of Photoflo or the equivalent added.

[mihag]

What about the stain, is it toxic, should one wash their hands after handling a pyro developed film?

[bob carnie]

Plus one though I so not wear glasses

I order my Pyro developers pre-mixed and wear nitrile gloves while processing. My darkroom is well ventilated. I wear glasses all the time, so splashes are not a big concern. It's not a big deal if you use a little caution and follow good basic laboratory procedures.

[vinny]

A further consideration for getting my processes straightened out is whether or not I should do a presoak. I will likely to be moving to a dip & dunk system for everything. I just need some more 8x10 tanks. I want to do dip & dunk because there is very little handling of the film. Here are the questions: should I use distilled water? A wetting agent? Sodium Metaborate? Should I agitate during the presoak?

Thanks for all the responses so far.

If the temps here ever get back into the double digits, I'll be resuming production of my 1L and 2L ABS tanks for sheet film/hangers. Process film in hangers w/o mixig gallons of chemistry. Info on my website.

[StoneNYC]

What about the stain, is it toxic, should one wash their hands after handling a pyro developed film?

Good question!

[Michael Kadillak]

You can't print carbon without using a staining developer?



It's good to hear, I haven't completely disgraced it, but weather outside living in New England is unpredictable, do you mix every time you develop? It make some kind of concentrate mix that's liquid and then dilute it after for a working solution?

I develop once a week at least.

I mix a gallon of Pyrocat HD and a gallon of ABC Pyro about once every 4-6 months although the Pyrocat lasts longer. I usually wait until the ambient temperature is at least 50 degrees and the wind is calm outside. Plug the electronic scale and the heater magnetic mixer in the porch socket and it takes me about 10 minutes a batch from start to finish. The carbonate I mix in the basement as it is not at all dangerous.

I mix my Amidol fresh each printing session. I premixed the allotted weight of necessary chemicals in sealed baggies and just dump the three of them into the water and it takes me no time at all.