Acros 100 and Pyrocat HD: some questions about development

My apologies if this has been covered already. I did have a quick search but couldn't find much.

I just developed my first roll of 120 with Pyrocat HD (Acros 100 rated at EI 80) and had some observations/questions.

First of all, the development conditions:

Developer: 1:1:100 dilution, 21.5 C, 14 minutes, Sandy King's "minimal agitation" method (1st minute continuous agitation, then 10 seconds agitation at the 1/4, 1/2 and 3/4 periods).

Stop: Ilfostop 1:19, 21.5 C, 1 minute continuous agitation.

Fix: Ilford Rapid Fixer 1:4, 21.5 C, 10 minutes, 10 seconds agitation at start of each minute.

Wash: llford method, then rinsed with 2 drops of Ilfotol in deionised water

Now, a couple of points:

1) After the development the developer came out of the tank a deep blue. Is this normal?
2) The film is still drying, but as yet I don't notice any kind of stain to it. Again, is this to be expected with this film, or could it be something else (fixed for too long etc)?
3) Just eyeballing the negs they appear to have a good density with the above conditions, and should digitise without any issue (can't wait to see how the acutance compares with Rodinal).

Thanks.

That's very similar to the way I develop Acros 100 with Pyrocat-HD 1:1:100 at 70F...

1. If you didn't do a pre-wash, that's the anti-halation dye that washed out during development.
2. I have found that different films do stain slightly different, but you should notice some stain. It would be helpful if you posted a pic of the negative on a lightbox.
3. I think you'll find the acutance, especially given your development parameters, just fine. I haven't used Rodinal for many years, but it's certainly no slouch in the acutance department! You should notice less grain in the Pyrocat neg.

Alan9940 said:

That's very similar to the way I develop Acros 100 with Pyrocat-HD 1:1:100 at 70F...

1. If you didn't do a pre-wash, that's the anti-halation dye that washed out during development.
2. I have found that different films do stain slightly different, but you should notice some stain. It would be helpful if you posted a pic of the negative on a lightbox.
3. I think you'll find the acutance, especially given your development parameters, just fine. I haven't used Rodinal for many years, but it's certainly no slouch in the acutance department! You should notice less grain in the Pyrocat neg.

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Thanks for the reply.

1) I've never bothered doing a pre-wash with any developer, and this is the first time I've seen it come out blue from Acros or any other film. Interesting. Presumably the catechol forms a complex with something in the dye. Do you know if pyrogallol developers do the same?
2) Yes it appears I was too hasty in my previous comments; the last spots are still drying on the film, but shining a light through the negs shows a subtle yellow/brown stain to them. I guess I just expected it to be more obvious (pyro noob here).
3) Here's hoping! Reduced grain will be welcome; I found Rodinal a touch heavy in that regard, even with an ultra fine grained film like Acros.

1) since I've pre-soaked all my film for nearly 40 years, the only color I've seen in the developer is the color of the developer. Depending on oxidation level during development--Pyrocat-HD doesn't reveal much aerial oxidation vs something line ABC Pyro which does quite a bit--the developer, for me, can appear a darker brown. FWIW, the pre-wash with Fomapan 100 always comes out bluish/purple. Sorry, I don't know enough of the technical facts to comment about what's going on between the developing agent and the dye.

2) That's exactly what you want! If you see a heavy looking stain, most likely that's global stain which isn't desirable. Again, FWIW, an ABC Pyro developed negative barely looks stained at all. If I showed you one, you probably couldn't tell that it was developed in a pyro formulation.

3) Yep, I, too, always found Rodinal to be a bit heavy with the grain, but that's because the grain is SO frickin sharp! I never complained about the acutance of my Rodinal negs.

Well just looking at the RAW scans of the negs now. Wow, I'm seriously impressed! The grain is, as you say, almost non-existant. The tonal range is also huge; probably the biggest of any film/developer combination I've yet seen. I just may be a permanent convert...

GLS said:

Well just looking at the RAW scans of the negs now. Wow, I'm seriously impressed! The grain is, as you say, almost non-existant. The tonal range is also huge; probably the biggest of any film/developer combination I've yet seen. I just may be a permanent convert...

Click to expand...

Glad to hear you're happy with the results. Pyrocat-HD has been my primary developer for probably 10 years or so. I do use a couple of others simply because I've found combinations that really strike a chord with me. Recently, I've started playing around with stand development using Caffenol-C-L and I can't believe how the process holds the difficult high values we get here in the desert! Won't ever give up my Pyrocat, but Caffenol is quickly becoming a fav for high contrast scenes.

Btw, I remember reading somewhere that Sandy King--the father of Pyrocat--considered Acros 100, developed per your technique, provided some of the best negatives he had ever seen. High praise, indeed, IMO.

Have fun!