Hi-
I am going in for pt/pd printing. I wonder if i can use my almost "bullet proof". negativ to get a good resultat. I have used very dense negs for printing on POP papers. It vill be very nice to use both my old negs and my new ones that i dev. for pt/pd printing.
Thanks
Inge from Sweden
You should be able to. Of course, "dense negs" is not necessarily the same as "high-contrast negs", but in general, pt/pd can take a neg of high contrast. If your negs are of too high of a contrast, you can consider the POP platinum process (Ziatype) which can handle higher contrast negatives.
"Bullet Proof" negatives are not the answer. SUch negatives will take forever to print.
Negatives with a long scale are what is needed. Slower films produce more contrast more easily - like FP4+. Use your normal EI, or 1/3-1/2 stop higher and develop 40% longer for traditional films. These may not be perfect, but they will get you in the ball park. Shadows should be rather thin, highlights twice as dense as for gelatin silver.
Get the book by Sullivan and Weese from Bostick & Sullivan and study it before you begin. It will save you a lot of frustration and money.