ACROS 100 and Pyrocat HD

I've been using some 120 ACROS film recently and souping in Rodinal 1:50 and am impressed by it's quality. However, my last three rolls looked contrasty, but when printed onto VC paper, I found them a lot flatter and had to up the filtration quite a bit to get the contrast I wanted. I am wondering if they would print better on graded papers?

I am of the belief that the Pyrocat devs might be better for VC paper printing. I get on very well with ACROS older sibling... Neopan 400 in Pyrocat HD, and get great results, but wanted to know if anyone has tried ACROS 100 in Pyrocat HD. Settling on one developer would be a definite plus.

Who has used Pyrocat HD (Glycol version) with ACROS 100. What did you rate your film at? What dilution 1:1:100? Temperature? Agitation?

I am used to Neopan 400 rated @ 200 with 14 minutes dev time at 1:1:100 @ 72 Deg F with extreme minimal agitation.

Would ACROS be similar?

I like this combination very much. I experimented with Acros in Pyrocat HD 1:1:150, agitation for 30 seconds initially, and on the 5 minute marks for a total of 25 minutes at 68 degrees F. Lighting was even, heavy overcast. Film rated at box speed. Nice negs, maybe a touch contrasty, extremely smooth and sharp. I'd maybe try 20-22 minutes next time.

Peter Gomena

Andrew Moxom said:

I've been using some 120 ACROS film recently and souping in Rodinal 1:50 and am impressed by it's quality. However, my last three rolls looked contrasty, but when printed onto VC paper, I found them a lot flatter and had to up the filtration quite a bit to get the contrast I wanted. I am wondering if they would print better on graded papers?..............

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Something changed in the processing of your last 3 rolls, or perhaps in the printing. I suggest finding out what that was before launching into a new developer for this film. The "flatness" could be worse with a staining developer if you print on VC paper.

As far as printing on VC vs graded paper, I was always under the impression that Pyrocat was designed to work best with graded papers, where the stain would help contrast.
Some of the best prints I've ever done are on Kentmere Bromide G3 with Pyrocat negs from FP4 or Tri-X. Just huge impact in highs and lows while retaining good separation in the mid tones. All this by my standards of course...

- Thomas

I used acros and pyrocat hd for a quite a while but have switched to exactol lux which seems to give exactly the same results since it is easier to buy in the UK.

My time was 11mins @ 20C 1:1:100. Constant inversion agitation for first 30secs then one inversion each 30secs. Speed came out at EI80.

I tried ACROS 120 film in pyrocat HD... presoak for 3 minutes. Pour in Pcat dev 1:1:100 at 72 deg F. Start timer at 18 minutes. Agitate for two minutes. After count down reaches 12 minutes, agitate for 10 seconds, then again at 8 minutes, 4 minutes. Stop and fix as normal. Grain is very low as you'd expect, and contrast seems very good. However, edge detail does not seem as crisp as Pyrocat HD and Neopan 400. I think the ACROS is much smoother, that's why. At any rate, it seems that this combination is easier to control than rodinal 1:50. Now I have two films and one dev... Gradually trying to make my life easier

Andrew Moxom said:

I tried ACROS 120 film in pyrocat HD... presoak for 3 minutes. Pour in Pcat dev 1:1:100 at 72 deg F. Start timer at 18 minutes. Agitate for two minutes. After count down reaches 12 minutes, agitate for 10 seconds, then again at 8 minutes, 4 minutes. Stop and fix as normal. Grain is very low as you'd expect, and contrast seems very good. However, edge detail does not seem as crisp as Pyrocat HD and Neopan 400. I think the ACROS is much smoother, that's why. At any rate, it seems that this combination is easier to control than rodinal 1:50. Now I have two films and one dev... Gradually trying to make my life easier

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If I may ask, what are you rating the film? I am about to try the same combination myself actually.

Thanks!

Gary

I rated the film at 100 as you are not supposed to lose film speed with pyrocat HD. For shots that were questionable to retain shadow detail, I erred on caution and gave an additional stop of exposure. Highlights were contained no problem.

Andrew Moxom said:

I rated the film at 100 as you are not supposed to lose film speed with pyrocat HD. For shots that were questionable to retain shadow detail, I erred on caution and gave an additional stop of exposure. Highlights were contained no problem.

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Thanks for the info! The reason I had asked was with some films, JandC Classic 100 and one other, I noticed that I needed at least one additional stop if not more. Wasn't sure if it was going to be the the same with Acros.

Thanks a bunch!

Gary