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Question about dry plates

mark

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Nov 13, 2003
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I can’t find the answer so thought I would ask.

Can dry plates be developed as positives like wet plates?
 
Hi mark
Short answer yes!
But it requires a special developer.....
If you can find a copy of the darkroom cookbook there are a few in there...
 
Hi mark
Short answer yes!
But it requires a special developer.....
If you can find a copy of the darkroom cookbook there are a few in there...

so they are not like wet plate where you can go negative or positive. That’s what I needed to know.
 
Or, you could apply as standard B&W reversal process -- develop as negative, bleach away the silver image, fog the remaining halide, and redevelop. This won't be a reflection positive like a wet plate tintype (those are actually transmission negatives, but with enough density to reflect/scatter light where the image would be dark in transmission, and they're viewed against a black plate surface or backing).