Pyro restaining?

[Henry Yorke]

Hi, everyone.

I came across an issue of the Jobo Quarterly that features an article by Chuck Farmer where he discusses developing film with pyro in the Jobo tubes:

http://www.jobo-usa.com/images/archive/JQ6.pdf

He writes about using the used pyro solution after the film has been fixed to restain the film:

"After the fix, dump the saved Pyro developer back into the drum for two minutes or so. Even though the developer is completely oxidized, it will re-stain the film in proportion to what the fix removed. I like a fairly heavy stain because it will mask any sign of grain even in a very large print. Stain can be add by lengthening the re-staining time or be removed to taste by a soaking in hypo clearing agent."

Does anyone do restaining with their pyro developer? Does it do as Farmer suggests - mask any sign of grain?

[Sal Santamaura]

...Does anyone do restaining with their pyro developer?...

Not anyone who knows that Gordon Hutchings subsequently advised against doing it.

...Does it do as Farmer suggests - mask any sign of grain?

No, it only adds to general stain. Which is why Hutchings changed his approach.

[koraks]

What Sal says, apparently this piece of lore refuses to die. I stand corrected if I'm ever presented with evidence that the second round of stain is indeed proportional.

[Pete Roody]

What Sal says, apparently this piece of lore refuses to die. I stand corrected if I'm ever presented with evidence that the second round of stain is indeed proportional.

Photographers Formulary still has the second round of staining in their instructions for PMK. If you want to create ‘bricks’ that take an hour or more to print, by all means do it! I made that mistake once and never used PMK again.


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[Sal Santamaura]

...I made that mistake once and never used PMK again...

That's a second mistake. PMK without the afterbath yields wonderful negatives.

[Pete Roody]

That's a second mistake. PMK without the afterbath yields wonderful negatives.

Noted!


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[bob carnie]

I have stained every film I have ever processed since 94 with PMK...

[Pete Roody]

I have stained every film I have ever processed since 94 with PMK...

Just curious. With or without the afterbath?

And I am not knocking PMK. Just the instructions that should be corrected. I didn’t try it without the afterbath because I went back to Pyrocat and I am happy with that.


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[bob carnie]

I split the developer into two baths split the time.. I use the first bath as a final stain.

[Mark Sampson]

I began using PMK (with TXP) in about 1992, after reading Mr. Hutchings' article in 'View Camera'. Of course I followed the instructions and used the after-bath. At some point I gave up on the after-bath... perhaps because someone on line made a credible argument against it. In any case I never saw much difference in the printing qualities of my negs. I didn't do any measurements before or after.... so if my newer negs printed better or easier, I'll just say that my practice improved over time. Were I to go back to PMK now (having used Pyrocat in this decade) I wouldn't bother with the after-bath.