Hi all,
Sorry for yet another tray processing thread, but I have a specific question regarding tray processing single sheets of 8x10" film (at this stage Bergger Pancro 400) in PMK.
As background, I've only ever tray developed a couple of times– using D76 only to test my technique–and at the advise of friends I did four sheets at once. My technique was not up to much as there were quite a few scratches on the emulsion. Streaking / banding wasn't so bad, but there weren't really any flat areas of tone to test that side of things properly. I constantly agitated by lifting bottom one out of soup, rotating 180 degrees, and putting it on top of stack. I patted the film down gently with my fingertips to make sure it was submerged, then lifted the next one out from bottom to do the same.
I want to process one sheet at a time because the type of work I'm making is very slow going, and I want to make sure each step of the process is very consistent as well as offering minimal risk of scratching, etc. I want to use PMK because it pairs well with the Bergger Pancro 400 by all accounts, plus I like what I see from examples of other film processed in this developer.
As with most people asking about tray developing, my question really is about or at least boils down to being about agitation.
Am I correct in thinking that after a 3min pre-soak, I should slip the sheet of film into the PMK emulsion side up, gently padding it down with my fingers. Following that, the great debate seems whether or not to continuously but gently rock each corner / side of the tray to agitate–working way around each side of the tray as to alternate the direction / motion of the waves–or to follow the same regime as I did with multiple sheets; that is to lift film out of the developer, rotate 180 degrees and place back in the developer patting down with finger tips for the duration of the development cycle.
I have read so much conflicting information about single sheet tray processing, with some agitating as either way described above; others following essentially a cycle akin to tank processing, with agitation once every min for ten seconds; and others stand processing, etc. Some even warn against it altogether because of streaking. I guess it must boil down to personal preference based on experience and adapting to idiosyncratic workflow choices. As I'm a novice at tray processing let alone using PMK, I thought it best to ask for some clear advise and warnings etc if I'm doing single sheets, listen and take note, then simply get stuck in. My only hope is that I minimise the mistakes, so I can simply get on with making the pictures and being able to predict how the processed negatives will turn out.
THanks,
Tim
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