Pyro in a deep tank, Fomapan 200 sheet developing?

[Gene McCluney]

I normally shoot enough film that I need to process in a 3.5 gallon tank on film hangars. I normally process about 20 5x7 sheets at one time. I would like to use a Pyro developer, even though I know I would have to mix it up fresh for each run. I normally keep Wd2d concentrates mixed up, so this would be my developer of choice.

Any experience or advice? Particularly with Fomapan 200, which is my primary 5x7 sized flim choice.

[Mark Sampson]

You need a copy of Gordon Hutchings' "The Book of Pyro". It has a large amount of useful information about pyro developers. Not so much about WD2D, and IIRC he doesn't prefer deep tanks, but the background information alone is worth the price.

[Brook Martin]

I have had good luck with pyrocat HD for just what you are describing, albeit w/ HP5+. I think it is a bit more economical than WD2D, but thats from memory. I find pyrogallic based developers more fussy in terms of even development. I recall someone doing ABC in deep tanks, perhaps David Goldfarb.

[Michael Kadillak]

This I know from direct experience. 3 1/2 gallons of pyro is terribly expensive for a single developer run. If you can afford it, then good for you.

As an alternative I would recommend a plenum for your 3 1/2 gallon tank, an interval timer/solenoid valve and a small N2 tank and regulator and use gaseous burst. Then I would use Pyrocat at the 1:1:100 dilution as my normal developer. The other option with gaseous burst would be to utilize an electroic power interupter and use gaseous burst for stand and/or semi stand development with Pyrocat. Works like a champ and both developing techniques allow you to use Kodak 4A hangers.

Pyrocat is far more cost effective for a one shot pyro developer and gets the job done quite effectively.

[David A. Goldfarb]

I answered this on APUG, but since Brook Martin brings it up here, yes, I do ABC in 5x7" tanks. It's good for three batches, I find, as long as I do them in fairly quick succession. Michael Smith runs two batches back to back through ABC in trays. Tanks have more solution per sheet, less surface area per volume, and I suspect less churning of the developer lifting the hangers every 15 sec. as opposed to constant shuffling, so perhaps it's unsurprising that it will last for three batches.

You could easily run 20 sheets of 5x7" on single hangers in three batches in a 5 quart tank. If you've got your 3.5 gallon tankline set up more or less permanently, just get a 5 quart tank for the developer. It's been ages since I've used 3.5 gallon tanks, but I suspect that a hanger that fits the long way in a 5x7" tank should fit across the short way in an 8x10" tank.

[Gene McCluney]

You could easily run 20 sheets of 5x7" on single hangers in three batches in a 5 quart tank. If you've got your 3.5 gallon tankline set up more or less permanently, just get a 5 quart tank for the developer. It's been ages since I've used 3.5 gallon tanks, but I suspect that a hanger that fits the long way in a 5x7" tank should fit across the short way in an 8x10" tank.

While I have single 5x7 hangars, I prefer the 2x 5x7 hangars, that hold 2 sheets of 5x7 in the space of 1 8x10 sheet..so that is what I use, and they require the form factor of a 3.5 gal. tank. I can easily add or subtract a tank, all my tanks are just sitting in a deep sink. Black Cesco-lite and Kodak hard rubber tanks. I normally use HC-110 in both dilutions "B" and "E" in the tanks. I don't normally replenish, so I mix up frequently. I would need to mix up a tank of non-hardening fixer also..for pyro processing. I have the extra tanks to do this. As far as 20 sheets...I normally have from 50 to 60 sheets to process, I feel comfortable processing 20 sheets at once on 2x 5x7 hangers (10 of them).

[Brook Martin]

David, Do you ever have problems with surge marks or other uneven development? Is this mainly for albumen printing?
Thanks

[David A. Goldfarb]

No, I don't have any surge marks. Usually the cause of that is insufficient agitation.

I print with albumen, Azo while I've got it, and silver. The developers I use most often are ABC pyro, PMK for small format negs, RAF pyro-metol for speed with negs to be contact printed, and Acufine for speed and convenience. I don't use tanks and hangers exclusively. I also use trays for formats larger than 5x7" and small batches of the smaller sheets, and I have a Nikor sheet film tank.