Digital BW, The Print

Cleavis, thanks for your post about containers for the 
sulfite/sulphite solution. Up until a few months ago I had some 
containers made by Polaroid that they used to make to hold the 
sulfite solution with dividers for the film.  Thinking that I would 
never shoot Polaroids P/N film again until recently, so I threw them 
out. A few weeks ago, when I decided not to sell my pack film holder
on Ebay, deciding I could pick up a inexpensive 4x5 camera & lense, 
I wish I hadn't thrown them out. I was suprised to find that they 
were still making the P/N film.  My only concern with the pack film 
after scanning some old polaroid negatives is film flatness, I had 
some areas of the film that were not sharp for no apparent reason.

One question I have is: do you need to worry about keeping the film 
separated while they are in the sulfite solution or is it ok to 
stack them together in the solution?

Thanks,
Randy


--- In DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@yahoogroups.com, "lyonscox" 
<lyonscox@c...> wrote:
> Dear List,
> 
> I have been using the Type 55 (sheet) & 665 (pack) Polaroid film 
for pinhole
> photography which is by nature very experimental in exposure and
> composition.  I needed to be able to process the film in the field 
and
> therefore a container that I could sling over my shoulder with the 
Sod.
> Sulfite solution (SS).  
> 
> I've never quite understood the advantage of exposing Type 55 in 
the field
> and then processing later unless one was going for the 'look' of 
the film
> and borders, etc. or perhaps space savings.  Further, processing 
later is
> not an option for the 665 pack film.
> 
> As a result I ended up using a Stainless steel canister set 
(example picture
> - http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.gsp?product_id=881798 )
> the tallest one holds enough juice to cover 4x5 film and the seal 
is good
> enough that it doesn't slosh out.  In my case, I slipped the 
canister into
> the largest climbing chalk bag I could find and clipped an unused
> neck/shoulder strap to the whole thing which allows me to walk 
around with
> the outfit. Another small sack attached to the neck strap 
functions as a
> trash bag.
> 
> You do not want to spill sodium sulfite solution in your friend's 
car (or
> house, etc)!  And therefore always need to be a little careful 
about how you
> pick up any container of the stuff.  As you open the sealed lid 
and flip it
> back to place film in the container (after sloshing and walking 
around) a
> drip or two will inevitably slip off the lid, so I'm careful about 
where I
> do this.
>  
> In theory you can put the film in water for temporary storage but 
with the
> 665 film, the backing layer doesn't gel and makes a flaky mess of 
your
> water, while SS does gel it, and slides off more easily later.  I 
have also
> left film in the SS longer than I care to confess and unless you 
also leave
> it outside in the sun in the Arizona heat (resulted in light 
staining that
> looks pyro-ish), it seems fairly durable.
> 
> I have not had much time to scan or print (I have both digital and 
regular
> darkroom) so can't offer useful comments there yet.
> 
> Best regards,
> Cleavis