Originally Posted by
Drew Wiley
I disagree completely with [Nicholas Lindan] about TechPan prints resembling contact prints. ... It was designed to behave just like an all-or-nothing ortho litho graphics film ...
It seems Drew Wiley and myself have no common ground.
Here is a 6x8" print as an example of gradation. High contrast subject, inside of skylit shopping mall, Nikon FM2, 16mm fisheye, f2.8 @ 1/8, hand held, so not the sharpest. LF Forum doesn't seem to like high res. in-line images so it's a 75dpi scan and should show up somewhat lifesize on a 72 dpi monitor.
A center enlargement, 4x - or 24x32" print:
Looks like smooth gradation, good shadow detail and nary a sign of soot nor chalk.
Technical Pan seems to have some of its roots in Solar Flare patrol film, hence the extended red sensitivity. It was heavily promoted for microscopy, electron microscopy, and photographing electrophoretic gells (DNA evidence), applications where the subject contrast is low but continuous tone.
The Technical Pan data sheet opens with:
Kodak Professional Technical Pan Film is Kodak's slowest and finest-grained black and white film for pictorial photography (when developed in Kodak Technidol liquid developer). It is a variable contrast panchromatic film with extended red sensitivity; because of it's extended red sensitivity, it yields prints with a gray-tone rendering slightly different from that produced by other panchromatic films. (This is most noticeable in portraits, in which it suppresses blemishes.)
Use this film for pictorial, scientific, technical, and reversal-processing applications. It is an excellent choice for making big enlargements or murals.
The data sheet does say it can be used in microfilm applications when developed in Dektol (!), HC-110 or Versamat (don't know why anyone would want to - TP is much more expensive than any microfilm).
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