Jeff White - Developing Roll Film in PMK

Developing Roll Film in PMK

I primarily do large format black and white photography. For many years I did not use black and white film in roll film cameras because I could not obtain the sharp image and tonal qualities that I was use to in large format. That has changed. I was originally drawn to PMK for its use with large format but for me its qualities in roll film development impressed me most. For me, PMK is the only developer that I will use for 35mm and 120 black and white. With the proper presentation, I can hang 35mm images along side an image made from a 4x5 and feel very happy with the smaller format image. Once you are proficient in film developing, I recommend that you give PMK a try.

Developing roll film in PMK developer is essentially the same as developing in a conventional developer. One difference is that agitation must be increased. I use one inversion every 15 seconds after the initial 30 second agitation. When agitating, I also rotate the film tank about one third with every agitation. This helps to make the agitation more random.

Acidic stop bath is not recommended for PMK. I tends to reduce the staining effect so water works just fine. Photographers Formulary TF-4 is my choice of fixer for all black and white films, I originally used it because TF-4 was the recommended fixer for PMK. I found that I liked the way that it fixed T-Max films and now use it for all film developing. A rapid fixer without hardener would also be acceptable for film developed in PMK.

After fixing the film, it is recommended that you give the film another bath in the used developer. This called the "after bath". I prefer to use a dilute sodium metaborate bath instead of the used developer. The film seems to come out cleaner using this method, this bath is suppose to help increase the staining properties. When the "after bath" is complete the film goes directly to the film washer, no hypo clearing agent is required. A 20 to 30 minute wash is suggested, the longer wash is also suppose to increase the film stain. Photo-flo as usual and hang to dry.