Kodak 6556

[ggriffi]

Have recently recieved some of this film having never used it. I downloaded the Kodak pub for this and see that they recommend a EI of 25 for Kodalith (which I also have) but this is for using on a copy stand, which is what it is designed for. My question is for those of you that have used this type of film what did you rate it at? I am using 35mm if that matters.

Thanks,
G

 

[Konical]

Good Evening, G,

6556 is a very specialized film meant for use in producing half-tone negatives. It is very high contrast and is probably not suitable for most copying purposes.

Konical

 

[Donald Qualls]

Many very high contrast films work very well for pictorial contrast use if exposed and developed appropriately. I'd be inclined to try this film at a very low EI (shoot a test around EI 12, for a start, it shouldn't be more than one stop off that) and develop in highly dilute Rodinal or HC-110 with greatly reduced agitation -- one cycle per five minutse is probably about right, and a developing time that might run from twenty to as much as thirty minutes (even as high as 45 minutes with Rodinal 1:200) -- in order get the best combination of film speed and compensation to tame the contrast.

The above methods work very well for microfilms, which are also high contrast; the 6556 (based on Konical's description) look to be a similar emulsion. It's certainly worth trying if you're not just microfilming text and half-tone illustrations.

 

[ggriffi]

Donald,


In Kodak's tech sheet they recommend an EI of 25 with Kodalith, however it seems to me that I had heard someone using an EI of 6 or 12 as you suggested. I am just looking for someone who has either used a film like this or this particular one. Thank you for the starting point.

G