PhilippReichmuth
Hello,
As we hinted at some time ago, we have been experimenting to see to what extent ADOX print film for internegatives can be used for enlargements on POP paper using the contact printing method. We tried this out using two methods: firstly, by developing the print film as an internegative directly; and secondly, by taking an intermediate step via an interpositive and re-contacting.
Our findings:
(1) On the reversal processing of ADOX print film using the Foma reversal kit:
(1.a) Reversal processing of ADOX Creativ-Plan sheet film is, in principle, possible.
(1.b) The emulsion of the print film appears to be quite sensitive, whilst the process itself places high demands on the emulsion due to the fluctuating pH levels of the individual baths. We ran a test batch using tray processing and temperature fluctuations of two to three degrees, which the film responded to by peeling; but even in another batch with temperature-controlled baths and rotary processing, the emulsion began to peel. ADOX print film, incidentally, undergoes development quite quickly for a film.
(1.c) In and of itself, tray development seems to work better here; the process is generally easier to control. On the other hand, the whole thing is quite a stinky business, partly because of the sulphuric acid.
(1.d) Overall, reversal processing is only worth it if you want to save yourself the one copying step via an interpositive, for instance to preserve tonality or similar. Reversal processing isn’t cheaper, because the reversal kit costs proportionally more than a sheet of 24x30 print film. You don’t save much time either, because the reversal development takes so long, especially if you mess up the negative in the process (grumble). This is also a question of the equipment in the darkroom and the ability to keep the parameters for the reversal development of the sheet film constant.
(1.e) It may be worth trying again in Steinkimmen to see to what extent the process can be further optimised for a sensitive emulsion such as that used in ADOX print film.
(2) Two intermediate copies (interpositive-internegative):
(2.a) First copy (interpositive): Enlarging the original negative. Note: The backing must not have any contours, as these will show up on the film. Theoretically, one could also contact print the negative first and then enlarge it in a second step, but the print film is cheap enough that one can minimise the loss of information. Develop in Rodinal 1+25 to produce an interpositive; care must be taken when choosing the primary developer to ensure the interpositive does not become too hard, otherwise you will end up with rock-hard prints, as once something is hard, it will not soften again.
(2.b) Second copy (internegative): Contact printing of the interpositive. We developed it in Tanol, due to the stain and the exposure of the POP paper to daylight. Density and gradient should only be determined at this stage. The development is a bit tricky. At the start, you can manage quite well by eye. POP paper is only sensitive to blue and UV light, both of which are blocked by the Tanol stain; which is why the internegative can look a bit lighter, as areas that appear normal to medium-dense to the naked eye are already almost opaque due to the stain. As indicated above, the development times are considerably shorter than for other films, as print film develops more quickly; therefore, visual development is really recommended to start with.
You can throw the interpositive away afterwards, keep it, stick it to the window, or whatever.
(3) Final print on POP paper using the contact method:
(3.a) Perform exposure of the internegative onto POP paper using the contact method under daylight or UV light. POP paper has a fairly wide dynamic range, so you need relatively dense negatives if you want to see detail. Staining developers are suitable for this purpose. We produced two series of prints:
(3.b) First series: Develop the interpositive hard but thin, then develop the internegative in Tanol to a density that appears normal to the eye. The result looks like a photocopy – you can get that cheaper elsewhere. The detail in the highlights is lost, all the more so as the POP paper loses even more detail in the highlights during fixing.
(3.c) Second series: Interpositive developed in a balancing developer, the internegative then developed in Tanol so that it appeared rather flat to the eye. The prints turned out well, with deep shadows, detail in the highlights and lovely tonal values.
(3.d) When fixing, POP paper always loses some density in the shadows and detail in the highlights. For the shadows, you can prevent this somewhat by using gold toner before fixing; however, this washes out the highlights and is not exactly cheap. Selenium toner preserves the highlights, but with POP paper it also tones the base fog slightly. So, especially if you don’t want to tone the prints, you should adjust the exposure so that the prints appear slightly darker overall than you want them to appear afterwards; with gold you can save the shadows during fixing, with selenium the highlights. POP paper also darkens further as it dries, much like some warm-tone papers.
(3.e) POP paper is difficult to dry in a press because the emulsion is relatively sticky. The support is, however, very forgiving, and with other drying methods you can get it quite smooth. We stuck our prints with the back side onto glass plates and dried them there.
So, perhaps this will help you. Many thanks to Mirko for providing the print film and the reversal kit; perhaps there is now more to be said in Steinkimmen about the reversal development of the print film (although this would be more expensive than the route via an interpositive anyway)!
Samuli & Philipp
