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Nearly twenty-five years ago, in an article on photo-chemistry, Paul De Mayo said:

“Photochemistry has a long history, but it has only becomea mature science in the last ten to fifteen years or so. By‘mature’, used in this context, is meant that the major, initial,surprises of discovery are supposedly over, and that the work-ers in the field have drawn up a provisional set of rules bywhich to abide: the science, in short, has become respectable.Concomitant with the achievement of respectability come theassertions that the subject has lost its youthful glamour, is byway of being a little staid, and, in fact, is, as the Frenchdelicately phrase it, of a certain age. Everything new about thesubject, it is implied, has an air of déjà vu.”1

To some extent, this is largely the case with stainingdevelopers.

Staining developers, often lumped together as “pyro,”are also known historically as pyrogallic acid, or pyro-gallol, or trihydroxbenzyne-based developers. These de-velopers are currently enjoying a renaissance amongphotographers, and have a substantial, devoted follow-ing, including many ultra large format shooters, and tra-ditionalists working with alternate printing processes.During the past several decades, a large body of knowl-edge — and an even larger body of myth — about thesedevelopers has become available to the darkroom work-er.

Some of the icons of 21st century large format photog-raphy used pyro developers, including Ansel Adams andEdward Weston. Gordon Hutchings, in his book, TheBook of Pyro,2 comments on Weston’s enthusiasm forpyro. Given the steady interest in staining developers,View Camera decided it was time to explore the world ofpyro from the perspective of several of the better knowninventors of its modern formulas.3

We say “modern formulas,” because pyro developersare not a new phenomenon; they are as old as photogra-phy itself, although their purposes and value havechanged over time. In its original incarnation, pyro wasnot necessarily valued for the same reasons it is today.Procedures to avoid and/or reduce staining from nega-tives were, interestingly, often discussed. Today, thesestaining properties are very much valued.

The 1911 Encyclopedia of Photography notes of pyro, “Itwas introduced as a developer by F. Scott Archer in 1851,at which time it was very expensive, the price, six yearslater, being six shilling a dram. For many years it was theprincipal developer used in the earlier processes, and lat-er for dry plates.”4 The Encyclopedia Britannica’s 11th Edi-tion (known as the “Scholars Edition”) further states thatit was “first produced by Scheele in 1768.”5 This is the

same K. W. Scheele who is generally credited with thefirst recorded photochemical experiments. Standard pho-tography texts used in university programs through the1940’s make reference to pyro, and some have darkroomsessions devoted to its use.

Each of our respondents – Jay DeFehr, Sandy King, andJohn Wimberley — was asked the same set of questions.Their replies follow, without comment or content edit-ing (apart from correction of typographical errors andhelpful punctuation) by View Camera.

In 30 words or less, introduce yourself to theView Camera readership

Jay: I turned forty in June; father to Kaya, Chadwickand Leaf, and husband of nineteen years to my dear wife,Traci, who is my favorite photographic subject.

John: This is my 40th year as an artist photographingin black and white. My current work is primarily con-cerned with landscape and First Nation rock art. In 1977,I published the first staining formula for modern films.

Sandy: I am a landscape photographer and work pri-marily with LF and ULF cameras. I print almost exclu-sively with alternative processes, including carbon, kalli-type, and palladium. I am also a photo historian, andhave published several scholarly books on Pictorialismin Spain, two of them in the Spanish language.

Why and how did you become interested instaining developers?

John: Wanting the highest possible quality in my neg-atives, in 1970, I began experimenting with pyrogallol.At that time, it had virtually disappeared from photogra-phy, and, as I soon discovered, the old formulae weren’toptimized for modern films. Thus began years of researchand testing to get the best possible results.

Sandy: I began using staining developers in 1990. Atthat time, I was printing with silver VC papers, 5X7 wasmy only LF format, and Tri-X 320 and Super-XX were myfavorite films. I immediately noticed that Tri-X 320 neg-atives developed in the staining developer were mucheasier to print than negatives developed in traditionalnon-staining developers, especially in the highlights. Onthe other hand, my Super-XX negatives developed in thestaining developer appeared to give flat, compressed high-lights when printed on VC silver papers. I was intriguedby the difference in results between these two traditionalfilms, but did not have sufficient knowledge or experi-ence at the time to explain it.

Jay: I became a serious student of photography aboutsix or seven years ago, and began to read everything I

STAINING DEVELOPERS:A CONVERSATION WITH SOME EXPERTS

Compiled by Ted Harris

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could lay my hands on. I became intrigued by the hyper-bole used to describe pyro developers, and the mystiquesurrounding them.

What is a staining developer?Sandy: A staining developer is one that tans and stains

the gelatin. The stain masks silver grain and gives asmoother, less grainy look. When a stained negative isprinted on VC silver papers, the stain, which is usuallyyellow-green or brown, functions somewhat like a low-contrast variable contrast filter, which it resembles incolor, resulting in compensation or shouldering in thehighlights. On graded silver papers and UV sensitive pro-cesses, the stain is seen by the processes as neutral densi-ty. A staining developer also hardens the gelatin duringdevelopment, which reduces the effects of irradiation(scattering of light in the film emulsion) and infectiousdevelopment (spreading of silver development beyondthe exact image boundaries). This results in a more pre-cise and localized reduction, which enhances sharpness.

Jay: A staining developer, or, more precisely, a tan-ning-staining developer, is one that tans the gelatin, andforms a dye image in proportion to the exposure andsilver density.

John: A “staining” developer produces a dye mask thatis coincident with the image in the negative and propor-tional to the silver densities.

What advantages do you think they have?Jay: There are advantages associated with both tan-

ning and staining. Tanning hardens the gelatin in theemulsion in proportion to the exposure, creating a reliefimage, and reducing the sensitivity of the emulsion dur-ing development, which aids in inspection developmentand reduces the emulsion’s vulnerability to mechanicaldamage. Tanning can be especially beneficial when us-ing some of the European films, with their characteristi-cally soft emulsions. Tanning also reduces the migrationof developer within the emulsion at the boundaries be-tween high and low exposure regions to enhance appar-ent sharpness.

While the effects of tanning are physical, the effects ofstaining are optical in nature. The color of the stain makesit more or less opaque to printing papers, so a stainednegative is a composite of silver and stain densities, mean-ing less silver density is required for a given printing den-sity than would be the case with a non-staining develop-er. Less silver means less grain, and, since stain forms inproportion to silver density, its effect is most pronouncedin the regions of greatest silver density, or the highlights,where grain is most apparent. Stain is formed in additionto silver density, increasing the maximum printing den-sity and contrast of which a film is capable, and improv-ing its expansion development potential, which can beespecially important with UV self-masking printing pro-cesses.

John: The color of the dye mask effectively adds den-sity, allowing the negative to have lower silver densitiesresulting in finer grain and higher sharpness, plus ex-quisite tonalities, particularly in the higher values. Inaddition, pyrogallol hardens gelatin, making negatives

more resistant to scratching. Another advantage is thatnegatives can be developed to higher contrast than withconventional developers.

Sandy: The major advantages for my own work,which is primarily with graded silver papers and alterna-tive printing, are increased sharpness, smoother grain,and the capability of boosting effective printing contrastwith the stain beyond what is possible with non-stainingdevelopers.

What disadvantages do you think they have?John: Because the dye mask consists of developer ox-

idation products, more care is needed when processingto obtain consistent results.

Sandy: Some Pyro formulas produce a lot of general,or B+F stain, particularly when used with thick emulsion,high-speed films, and with old film that has a lot of fogfrom age. The additional B+F stain can increase printingtimes by two to three stops, a very serious problem whenworking with UV sensitive processes like Pt./Pd.

A second problem with stained negatives is that theyprint with different contrast on graded silver papers andVC papers. If, for example, a negative is developed in astaining developer to print with normal contrast on agrade 2 silver paper, this negative will print with lesscontrast on a VC paper with a grade 2 filter.

Finally, sensitometry with Pyro staining developers andVC papers is more complicated than with a non-stainednegative. However, the stain is not a problem for sensit-ometry when printing on graded silver papers (includingAZO) and on UV sensitive processes, since these process-es see stain density as neutral density.

Jay: Most of the disadvantages commonly associatedwith staining developers are formula-specific, and notcharacteristic of staining developers in general. All stain-ing developers complicate sensitometry, and those whopractice it must learn to overcome those complications.Staining developers are not the best choice for foggedfilm, as the silver density of the fog is stained proportion-ally, and the effect amplified.

Do you suggest testing for personal film speedand developing time any differently with a stain-ing developer than with a non-staining develop-er?

Sandy: I test for personal film speed and contrast withthe BTZS system. This system works as effectively withstaining developers as with non-staining developers. Topractice BTZS with stained negatives, it is necessary tomatch the spectral sensitivity of the process to the properdensitometer mode: blue filter for graded silver papers,including AZO, blue-green filter for VC silver papers (withsome loss of precision), and UV filter for alternative pro-cesses.

Jay: No, except where sensitometry is practiced. Inthat case, an effort must be made to match, as closely aspossible, the sensitivities of the densitometer and theprinting paper.

John: When testing, it is very important to beconsistent in all aspects of processing. If a densitometeris used to determine negative densities, it needs to be a

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color densitometer, so that the effective density of thedye mask can be included in density measurements byusing the blue channel.

What do you know about using a staining devel-oper for platinum/palladium printing?

Jay: Platinum/palladium are UV processes that re-quire negatives with greater density ranges than silverenlarging papers do, and staining developers can moreeasily build printing densities with these processes, be-cause the stain image is more opaque to UV than tovisible light.

John: The dye mask is much more effective whenprinting with UV than with visible light. Thus, for plati-num/palladium printing, pyrogallol is ideal. Develop-ment times need to be increased only slightly beyondthose for silver printing. This means that the same nega-tive can be printed either in platinum/palladium, or withsilver.

Sandy: Staining developers work well with Pt./Pd.printing, and with other alternative processes as well.The stain is highly actinic and is capable of adding asignificant boost to contrast over silver density by itself,a useful characteristic when working with low contrastfilms in scenes of low contrast.

Another interesting feature of staining developers isthat they allow making dual-purpose negatives; i.e., neg-atives that print well with both silver papers and withPt./Pd. A stained negative has, in essence, two printingdensity ranges: one for the blue or bluish/green light, towhich silver papers are sensitive, and another for the UVsensitivity of alternative processes. A stained negativewill print with UV processes with a much higher effec-tive density range than with silver. This fact has beenknown for a long time, as we can see in The Daybooks ofEdward Weston from his stay in Mexico, where Westonwrote that he expected to be able to print his pyro nega-tives in either platinum or silver.

What health and environmental hazards areassociated with these developers? In what respectdo personal and environmental precautions dif-fer from those documented for regular develop-ers?

John: Though pyrogallol is a poison, I have used itintensively for 36 years and enjoy excellent health. Sim-ple precautions, such as rubber gloves to avoid skincontact, a dust mask to avoid inhaling the dry chemical,and good darkroom cleanliness are requisite. But, then,these precautions should be employed with all darkroomchemicals. I’m not familiar with any environmental pre-cautions or restrictions. Pyrogallol is an organic chemi-cal and breaks down into simple carbon and other com-pounds.

Sandy: Although there are some health risks involvedin the use of pyro developers, they have been greatlyexaggerated. Pyrogallol and pyrocatechin do not presenta much greater risk to health than hydroquinone. Thesethree ingredients are very similar chemically, and, if youlook at the MSD sheets, you will find that they haveabout the same degree of toxicity. And yet, you have

people who wail about the risks of pyrogallol or pyrocat-echin, and think nothing sticking their hands in MQdevelopers containing hydroquinone.

The primary dangers to photographers are dermal ab-sorption and breathing the dry powder, both of whichare easily avoided. To avoid dermal absorption, wear la-tex or nitrile gloves, and go outdoors or use a vent hoodto mix the stock solution from chemicals in powder form.By following these simple procedures, and exercisingcommon sense, the potential health risks associated withusing these chemicals for developing film are virtuallyeliminated.

Jay: The risks associated with staining developers arethe same ones associated with non-staining developers,and only differ in degree, so the same precautions thatapply to staining developers also apply to non-stainingdevelopers.

Do you feel that these developers are any moredifficult to use than a non-staining developer? Ifso, why and how?

Sandy: I do not find pyro developers any more diffi-cult to use than non-staining developers. You should weargloves to avoid skin contact when using pyro developers,but the same precaution should be used with other de-velopers. Pyro developers are, in fact, actually easier touse than many standard developers. They are very eco-nomical, the stock solutions have long shelf life, and theworking solutions can be quickly mixed from the stocksolutions.

Jay: Traditional staining developers could be difficultand frustrating to use because they were unstable, andvaried in performance from one working solution to thenext. Among modern staining developers, relative easeof use is formula-specific, and directly proportional tothe number of stock solutions a formula requires, andthe solvents used. A traditional three-solution water-based developer like ABC Pyro is highly complex andinherently unstable, while a modern single-solution de-veloper that utilizes an organic solvent is extremely sta-ble, and as simple to use as any concentrated one-shotdeveloper; just dilute with water to make a working solu-tion. Two-solution developers fall between the two ex-tremes, and the ones with the solution containing thedeveloping agent(s) made up in organic solvents are themost stable of them. Varying the ratios of the two solu-tions and their dilution to adjust the working propertiesof such developers can be very complex, which increasestheir difficulty of use dramatically, compared to single-solution developers.

With any developer, there is a learning curve, and stain-ing developers exhibit unique characteristics that mustbe understood to be used effectively. Staining developersare variable in their printing properties with differenttypes of printing papers, which can make them difficultto learn to use, but extremely versatile once learned.

John: Obtaining consistent results, day to day andyear to year, requires more care than with conventionaldevelopers. This is because the effective density of thedye mask, as I stated above, depends on oxidation of thedeveloper. The most important factors in obtaining con-

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sistent results include using distilled water, mixing theworking solution just before beginning development,and consistent agitation.

What about scanning a stained negative. Isthere anything special that needs to be done?

Jay: Yes and no. Stained negatives can be scanned likeany others, but since they are dyed, they present an op-portunity to take advantage of the color managementcapabilities of the scanning software to improve the qual-ity of the scan.

John: I don’t have experience with this.Sandy: Stained negatives scan very well, perhaps even

smoother than non-stained negatives. One of the prob-lems in scanning B&W negatives is film grain, especiallyin the upper mid-tones and in the highlights. This prob-lem is minimized with stained negatives, because a verylarge percentage of the total highlight density of a stainednegative consists of stain image (dye), which has no grain.This diminishes the effect of silver grain and gives theimage a smoother look. Moreover, even greater suppres-sion of the appearance of grain can be obtained by bleach-ing out all of the silver density, so that the scan is made ofjust the stain. This will give scans that print with virtual-ly no grain at all. Generally, I would recommend scan-ning a stained negative in RGB, and then looking at theseparate layers to see which one gives the best renderingof tonal values.

What films work best with one of these stainingdevelopers?

John: Conventional films such as Ilford FP4+and HP5+, and Kodak Tri-X produce the best results.

Sandy: I have used staining developers with manyfilms, both traditional emulsions and T-grain emulsions.My experience has been that all films benefit to aboutthe same degree from the staining and tanning that onegets with pyro developers. Some people have expressedthe opinion that traditional films such as FP4+ and Tri-X320 benefit more from development in staining devel-opers than from developing them in T-grain emulsionssuch as Tmax-100 and Tmax-400. I do not agree. What Ihave found in my own work is that proportional imagestain, which is the stain that forms around silver grains,is very similar in intensity with all films. The idea thattraditional films appear to work better than T-grain emul-sion with staining developers is perhaps due to the factthat the gelatin base of traditional films is thicker, andthese films develop more general stain, for the simplereason that there is more gelatin to stain. However, thisstain is general B+F stain, not proportional stain, and itadds nothing to the printing qualities of the negative.

Jay: I have never used a film that doesn’t work wellwith a staining developer.

What films might benefit the least from astaining developer?

Sandy: Speaking from the perspective of a Pt./Pd.Printer, there are clear disadvantages in developing somethick emulsion and high speed films in staining develop-ers. These films tend to produce a lot of general stain, orB+F stain, which causes a significant increase in printing

times. This problem is compounded by the fact that Pt./Pd. negatives need a lot of contrast, and the long devel-opment times needed to develop these films to the re-quired approximate CI result in a further increase in gen-eral stain.

Jay: Fogged film would benefit least by the use of astaining developer.

John: Tabular grain films, including Kodak T-Max100, T-Max 400 and Ilford Delta films, show less advan-tage with pyrogallol.

What color(s) is/are the typical stain and howdoes this affect the contrast of the image on grad-ed papers? On variable contrast papers?

Jay: While difficult to quantify, most staining devel-opers produce a green-brown stain with most films. Thestain acts to increase contrast with both graded and VCpapers, but the contrast of VC papers is attenuated tosome degree, providing for some compensation effect.Since the stain is proportionally more intense in the high-lights, the effect is similar to exposing the highlights andshadows at different contrast filtrations, which can be apowerful tool in experienced hands.

John: The color of the dye mask can range from brownto yellowish/orangish to greenish, depending on the for-mula and film combination. The optimum color is in therange of yellowish/orangish, because it acts as the mosteffective filter with blue sensitive graded papers. The sameis true for variable contrast papers, which, in additionto having a blue sensitive high-contrast response, are sen-sitive to green light to produce low contrast. A greenishdye mask is less effective with variable contrast papers.

Sandy: There are two broad categories of pyro stain-ing developers: those that use pyrogallol as the primaryreducer, and those that use pyrocatechin (catechol). Py-rogallol-based developers tend to produce a yellow-greenstain, while pyrocatechin developers give a more neu-tral-looking brown stain.

When printing on graded silver papers, the color of thestain is of little or no consequence, since these blue sensi-tive papers see the stain as neutral density. In fact, whennegatives are developed to the same effective printingcontrast, tonal values will be reproduced the same waywith both staining and non-staining developers.

With VC papers, which are sensitive to both blue andgreen, the color of the stain has a big impact on howtonal values, especially upper mid-tones and highlights,are rendered. The yellow-green stain of pyrogallol-baseddevelopers, which is similar in color to the low-contrastfilters used with VC papers, acts as a continuously vari-able contrast filter that results in shouldering, or com-pensation, in the upper mid-tones and in the highlights.The consequences of this type of highlight compensa-tion have both positive and negative implications. Theadvantage is that it is possible to print high negative den-sities without burning in the highlights. The disadvan-tage is that extending the luminance range via compen-sations results in a flattening, or loss of contrast, in thehighlights tones.

The same type of compensation is also seen with de-velopers that give a brown stain, although the effect is

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not as great as with developers that give a yellow-greenstain. Brown stain blocks green light more effectivelythan yellow-green stain, giving more contrast but lessshouldering and compensation in the highlights. Whenbrown stained and yellow-green stained negatives aredeveloped to the same effective printing contrast for grad-ed papers, the brown stain negatives will print with morecontrast on VC papers than the yellow-green stain nega-tive, but with less compensation.

Do you recommend a graded paper or a variablecontrast paper for printing with a stained nega-tive? Why?

John: Excellent prints are possible on both gradedand variable contrast papers. However, if a greenish-stain-ing formula is employed, it is recommended to use grad-ed paper for the reason stated above.

Sandy: My favorite silver paper is AZO, a graded silverchloride paper.

I recommend graded papers for short-toe films thathave long straight characteristic curves, and variable con-trast papers for films that have a long toe and a continu-ally increasing slope. Tmax 100 and Tmax 400 are exam-ples of the first type, while Tri-X 320 and Efke PL 100 areexamples of the second type. Printing on variable con-trast papers with stained negatives on films that havelong straight-line curves tends to flatten the highlightsmore than I consider acceptable.

Jay: I recommend both. Film developers and printingpapers are tools to be exploited for the effects they conferon the finished print. Both graded and VC papers offerunique qualities worthy of pursuit. With the numberand variety of printing papers diminishing, it makes senseto me to learn to use both types of papers.

Does it matter what type of light source is in theenlarger (cold light, incandescent, etc.)? If so, why?

Sandy: I prefer to print with a cold light head or withsome other diffusion-type light sources. And, if using acold light head, I recommend a light source like the Aris-ta V-54 that is rich in green light. However, good printerscan make excellent prints with either diffusion- or con-denser-type enlargers.

Jay: The color of the exposing light can affect thecontrast of VC printing paper, and the speed of gradedpapers whether one uses a staining or non-staining de-veloper. I don’t know why one type of light source wouldbe superior or inferior to another, once development isadjusted for the light source in use, but there’s a lot Idon’t know.

John: The type of light source is much less importantthan the color of the dye mask. For many years, I used acold light, and, at present, I print with an incandescentcolor head, and the results are equivalent.

What are the typical chemicals involved in astaining developer and what are their functions?

Jay: Traditionally, staining developers were made upof a reductant, or developing agent (pyrogallol), a preser-vative (sodium sulfite), an accelerator (sodium carbon-ate), and often a restrainer (potassium bromide), made

up in as many as three separate aqueous solutions. Thedeveloping agent reduces silver halide to metallic silverto form the negative image; the preservative controls theoxidation of the developing agent; the accelerator con-trols the activity level of the developer; and the restrainerprevents the development of unexposed silver halides.

The use of an organic solvent like triethanolamine(TEA) permits unique formulations. TEA acts not only asthe solvent, but, when mixed with water, it acts as theaccelerator as well. TEA-based solutions will not oxidizein the absence of water, so a preservative like sodiumsulfite is not necessary, and, since a restrainer is not re-quired in a carefully balanced formula, that leaves onlythe developing agent and the TEA as requirements for aworking developer, as in Pat Gainer’s Pyro-TEA.

Catechol requires a higher pH environment than TEAcan provide, and is not practical for use in single-solutiondevelopers. Catechol can be dissolved in propylene gly-col and use a separate accelerator solution. With the ex-ception of the integral accelerator that TEA provides, andthe simplicity of a single solution, a glycol-based solu-tion enjoys the same benefits that a TEA-based solutiondoes, permitting the omission of a preservative and re-strainer, and the virtual elimination of oxidation. Stainformation can be controlled by the addition of a verysmall proportion of ascorbic acid, which dissolves readilyin either TEA or glycol.

John: The formulae for staining developers are essen-tially the same as for conventional developers, with theexception of the developing agent. Typical staining de-velopers consist of two solutions that are mixed togetherjust before use. The “A” solution contains the developingagent, usually pyrogallol, and perhaps metol or pheni-done, and an acid such as sodium bisfulfite to preventoxidation and preserve the developing agent. The “B”solution consists of an alkali, such as sodium carbonate,to activate the developer. Some formulae may also con-tain a fog suppressor, such as benzotriazole, though withpyrogallol, this is normally not necessary. The oxidationproducts of pyrogallol are antifoggants, and this is usual-ly sufficient, unless very extended development timesare used.

Sandy: Development is a process in which a latentimage formed during exposure is converted to a visibleimage. This is done by a process known as amplification,in which the latent images of the exposed silver halidegrains are increased in size by as much as a billion times.Developers consist of four main kinds of chemicals:

* The Reducer, or Developing Agent* The Preservative* The Accelerator or Alkali* The Restrainer

The Reducer, or Developing AgentThe process of development is a process of chemical

reduction. The primary reducers used in staining devel-opers are pyrogallol or pyrocatechin, usually in combi-nation with a secondary reducer that adds synergism.The secondary reducers most commonly used in combi-nation with pyrogallol and pyrocatechin are metol,

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phenidone, and ascorbic.

The PreservativeDuring the developing (reducing) process, the devel-

oping agent becomes oxidized. A preservative must beadded to prevent this oxidation, so that the develop-ment process remains constant throughout. If it werenot, the developer would quickly become exhausted. Thepreservative most commonly used in staining develop-ers is sodium sulfite. Ascorbic acid, which is substitutedfor sodium sulfite in some formulas, plays a similar rolein restraining oxidation. The sodium metabisulfite usedin the stock solution of many two-part staining develop-ers performs a double function: 1) it makes the solutionacidic, which gives it greater shelf life, and 2) on mixingwith water it releases sulfite, which preserves the work-ing solution, and, in some cases, adds synergism to thesolution.

The Accelerator:Most developing agents require an alkaline, or high

pH, environment. As a general rule, higher pH results inmore active, faster-working developers. The acceleratorsmost often used in staining developers are sodium me-taborate, and sodium or potassium carbonate.

The RestrainerAt the same time that the alkali is facilitating and speed-

ing up development, a restrainer may be needed to slowdown the process, to prevent unexposed areas of theemulsion from getting developed, which would causechemical fog. The restrainers most commonly seen instaining developers are potassium bromide (inorganic)and benzotriazole (organic).

Most of the staining developers in common use todayare two-part stock solutions that are mixed with water,just prior to use, to form a working solution. Stock Solu-tion A typically contains the reducers, the preservative,and the restrainer, while Stock Solution B contains theaccelerator. Two-part developers offer the maximum inflexibility, since the ratio of the two parts can be changedto optimize use for different films and conditions.

How do you suggest developing film in a stain-ing developer? (open trays, rotary processing,nitrogen burst, etc.?)

John: I have always processed my sheet film in opentrays, and believe this to be the simplest and best meth-od, producing extremely even results. Rotary processingusually introduces too much air into the developer, re-sulting in excessive oxidation that produces uneven re-sults.

Sandy: With some exceptions, such as rotary process-ing in Jobo and BTZS-type tubes, developing film in stain-ing developers is no different than developing film innon-staining developers. The type of agitation used inprocessing film is the most important single factor inestablishing the best balance between even developmentand apparent sharpness. Unfortunately, these two char-acteristics are somewhat antagonistic, because the condi-tions that favor the former work against the latter. The

two extreme types of agitation are continuous agitation,as in rotary processing, and stand development. Contin-uous agitation is capable of very even development, butit minimizes the development of adjacency effects, andmay result in a loss of apparent sharpness. Stand agita-tion is capable of producing extreme adjacency effects,but at the risk of uneven development. So the key toagitation is to find the precise balance with a given devel-oper and dilution that provides even development overthe entire surface of the film, and that also produces goodadjacency effects.

The best compromise between the two extremes is, inmy opinion, a procedure called minimal agitation. Inminimal agitation, the film is agitated at the beginningof development for one minute, and then for ten sec-onds every two or three minutes thereafter. Minimalagitation has two highly desirable results: 1) greater ap-parent sharpness, because of the formation of enhancedadjacency effects, and 2) maximum emulsion speed.

There are several good methods for developing filmwith minimal agitation. A nitrogen burst system is per-haps the most sophisticated method of minimal agita-tion, but development in slosher-type trays and in tubesin vertical position filled with developer also gives verygood results.

Jay: The best method of development for a particularuser will depend on many factors, including, but notlimited to, the developer in use. Some developers areincompatible with some methods, or perform best with aspecific method, while others are more universally com-patible. For those considering trying a staining develop-er for the first time, it will be a more painless transition ifthey can continue to use a familiar developing method,provided a suitable developer is chosen.

* * *The formulas developed by our participants and dis-

cussed above are not the only formulas available to the“staining development community.” We asked KevinSullivan, of Bostick & Sullivan, and Bud Wilson, of ThePhotographers Formulary, two of the leading domesticvendors of photo chemicals, another series of questionsabout staining developers, from their perspective as pho-tochemical retailers. The questions and their answersfollow. As in the forum above, we have not edited theircomments.

Which of the staining developers do you sell?Kevin: PMK, Rollo Pyro, and Pyrocat HDBud: staining developers currently in catalog.

01-0100 Windisch catechol dry powder kit01-0105 Windisch catechol modified dry powder kit01-0120 ABC pyro Dry powder kit01-0140 WD2D pyro original formula dry kit01-0155 WD2D+ PyroMetol Liquid kit01-5000 Pyro Triethanolamine (TEA) liquid01-5045 PMK dry powder kit01-5060 PMK liquid kit01-5070 ABC Plus Pyro liquid kit

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01-5080 Pyrocat HD powder01-5091 Pyrocat HD Liquid in Gylcol01-5095 Pyrocat MC liquid in Glycol

Do you sell them pre-mixed or as dry chemi-cals?

Kevin: People can buy the raw chemicals and mix itthemselves if they want, but all of our proper developersare sold as liquid solutions or easy to mix “drypacks”(just add water to the bottle and shake it up).

Bud: As noted above

Do you feel there has been an increased inter-est in these developers?

Kevin: Actually, I think the major interest in pyrodevelopers has passed, as far as the experimental phasegoes. Now, staining developers are simply an acceptedpart of large format photography, and there is less dis-cussion and controversy. So, there are still plenty ofpeople using the developers, but most of the irrationalexcitement has dwindled.

Bud: Yes. Lots of variations available, and Internetforum discussions that create interest by just being thereand chatting about all of the different formulas.

Do these developers seem more difficult to usethan non-staining developers?

Kevin: Some people do seem to have difficulty transi-tioning from traditional developers to staining develop-ers. But, in general, they seem just as reliable and easy touse as standard developers. In some ways, they are easierto use than non-staining developers, since they general-ly give negatives with excellent shadow detail and goodhighlight control.

Bud: No. Maybe different. More sensitive to agitationchanges, temperature variations. Consistency in workhabits with these or D-76 is the answer.

Do you receive more calls from customers hav-ing problems with these developers than non-staining developers? Do some of the formulaeseem more prone to problems than others? If so,which one(s)?

Kevin: Several years ago, about 50% of our tech sup-port calls involved pyro developer “problems,” eventhough pyro makes up a much smaller percentage ofoverall sales. So pyro was disproportionately difficult tosupport. This has tapered off, and pyro questions proba-bly only account for 10% or so of our tech support callstoday.

Bud: No. Not problems with the developers as muchas which developer to use. They all are unique; I don’t seeany one more problematic than any other.

What is the cause of these problems?Kevin: Generally, pyro negs are harder to read with

the naked eye, so this causes some initial confusion. Pyronegs can be extremely dense, even though they lookokay in visible light. Long exposure times are a possibil-ity if you are overexposing and overdeveloping. Also,pyro negs are harder to fit into the zone system and BTZS

techniques if you don’t have the proper UV or color den-sitometer.

Bud: The overload of Internet information.

What advice do you give people who call and askabout these developers?

Kevin: Try it if you think your negs need improve-ment. (If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.) Spend time familiar-izing yourself with the film and developer combo beforebeginning any large project. Make prints from the nega-tives to see what’s happening; do not rely on eyeballingthe negs or densitometry readings alone.

Bud: Advice? Pick 1 or 2 formulas based on some infothat you trust from someone that you feel is giving outreal information, and try them. Try them on several dif-ferent films and papers; see what you like or don’t like.Then maybe they will want to try 1 or 2 more. It is allPersonal Preference. Get The Book of Pyro by GordonHutchings. Use an Alkaline Fixer like TF-4.

How do you feel these developers work for alt.processes?

Kevin: Pyro staining developers are probably the clos-est thing to instant gratification for producing alt. pro-cess negatives. But it may not match up with everyone’sworkflow. It is just another tool we can use if it helps.

Bud: All 10-11 of these formulas, and all of the other40-60 different black and white film developers, will de-velop film that can be used as negatives for AlternativeProcesses. What’s the difference? That is the difference.They are all different. Couple that with all of the differentchoices there are in Film, Papers, Processes, and PaperDevelopers, and the choices become endless. Isn’t thatwhat someone wants that goes to the effort to shoot aView Camera?

***For the reader who is looking for conclusions or a sum-

mary, we are sorry to disappoint, but, in this instance,our goal, as stated early in the article, is to serve as aforum to provide information on pyro to our readers,interested novice and experienced user alike.6

End Notes1 De Mayo, Paul, University of Western Ontario, Superficial Photochemistry,Pure & Appl. Chem., Vol.54, No.9, pp.1623—1632, 1982. Pergamon Press2 Hutchings, Gordon, The Book of Pyro and the PMK Formula, Bitter DogPress, Granite Bay, CA 1992. The Book of Pyro is the most comprehensivereference on staining developers available to the contemporary photographerwishing to explore their lore. Sandy King has also published, on the Internet,“An Introduction to Pyro Staining Developers, With Special Attention to thePyrocat-HD Formula” (http://unblinkingeye.com/Articles/PCat/pcat.html),which contains a wealth of historical and general information, as well as thespecifics of the Pyrocat-HD formula.3 Our thanks to Howard Effner, Ph.D., for reviewing the technical aspects ofthe article. Dr. Effner teaches chemistry at the University of New Mexico.4 Jones, Bernard E., editor, Encyclopedia of Photography, as reprinted byThe Arno Press, New York, 1974, with an introduction by Peter C. Bunnelland Robert A. Sobieszek. Archer was the inventor of collodion-wet platesand, thus, pyro became the developer for these plates.5 The Encyclopedia Britannica, London and New York, 1911.6 Over the past 18 years, View Camera has published a number of articles onstaining developers. To the extent that they are still available, they will berepublished on the magazine’s website.

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