Re: Dry Down

["Don Bryant" <dsbryant@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Dr. Rudman,

>Thank you for your kind words about my book - it's really nice to get
>such positive feedback. It may sound odd but I didn't know it had a
>following in the States until I got onto the 'net' a week ago. It's been
>quite a revelation to me.


I'm glad we surprised you!

My dry down problem started after my beloved Ilford Multigrade III was
discontinued. I used that paper for many years and had subconciously
adjusted for dry down as you have mentioned. Since I don't cotton to MG IV
like I did MG III I have been in search of a new replacement.

I am currently using Forte Polygrade and I've made some beautiful prints
with this paper, and as you probably know this paper tones and bleaches
quite nicely, much more so than Ilford MGIII or IV, but I have had much more
waste with making work prints from the dry down problem. Also Forte doesn't
seem to hold up at the extremes of contrast, 0 and 5 or in my case maximum
yellow or magenta filtration (I use a dichro head).

The editor of Photo Techniques magazine, Mike Johnson, suggested in an
article or e-mail message that the wise black & white printer would learn to
use several brands of paper to avoid the crisis of seeing one's favorite
paper fall from production and to have knowledge of paper brands that can be
used with modern and older film emulsions. Hence my desire for discovering a
method of quantifying dry down. Thanks for your reply. I shall put it to
good use!

>An awful lot has been written about 'drydown' and it does cause many
>people a problem.

Some printers swear that dry down doesn't exist! Howard Bond I think is one
of those.

>Whatever your views are it is none the less essential to find a way of
>coping with it. >

Agreed!  Me thinks there is a microwave oven in my darkroom's future!

TTFN,

Don



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