[pure-silver] Re: Favorite Print Developer

Michael Healy wrote:
You talk about the look after processing, but dId you tone these? What comparison can you make from that? And are you using the semi-matte or the glossy WT? 

Mike Healy
I normally tone in dilute selenium with very little apparent toning effect. I am toning this paper primarily for archival purposes and the toning that I do only adds a very small amount to the densities (no color shift). I bought a large quantity of WT FB in a group buy a few years ago. About 10% of it was matte and the rest glossy. My habit is to dry with the paper back to the ferrotype and the glossy surface to the linen side. I like the resulting finish as it's quite natural looking with the full glossy look moderated but it still seems to have the extra drama that glossy can exhibit. The deepest blacks in this combo have almost a velvety quality that also adds to the look. I had tried 130 many years back and don't recall being unduly enthused and wonder now if it's the added black capabilities because of the alternate restrainer? I had been using Ryuji's formulas but had a couple of batches of Dimezone-S go bad in a very short time that had me chasing my tail trouble-shooting, otherwise I was quite happy with the performance on most materials.
If I was more informed and capable, I would actually love working up a long shelf life concentrate that had the attributes of the modified 130 that I like. My darkroom time is sporadic and varied. The 130 is remarkably resilient in a covered tray. I did a friend a favor and did requested b&w candids at a reception for his daughter's wedding. It led to some multi-day printing sessions to do 50+ 8x10's and the developer didn't change behavior over a 5 day period with just a slight recharge with some fresh addition before each session. I was limited to the numbers of prints in my washer and needed to spread out the work.
Some of this is tied into total material flow, I suppose. My standard MF film is HP5+ and I've been using PyroCat-MC. These negatives seem well suited to the dev/paper combo. I recently was testing some TMY-2 in XTOL and these also printed nicely (I was surprised at how well the 35mm behaved, too). I also did a roll of Neopan 400 in FX-55 as a quick test but even though the negatives looked good, I never did get prints to look right. I'm rambling on about this as I'm thinking that I've settled into my comfort zone now with a combo that works and anything else seems to be a challenge in some way. 
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