This article appeared in the March/April 2003 issue of PT. To purchase this issue and receive this and other valuable articles in this issue, CLICK HERE: Ship within the U.S. | Ship outside the U.S.

PyroTechnics Plus: Formulating a New Developer
by John Wimberley

The first time I used pyrogallol was unforgettable. During lunchtime on a hot summer day in 1970, I left work and climbed a hill nearby to expose some test negatives. That evening, I tray processed the 4x5 Plus-X in Kodak D-1 (see Formula 1), a classic version of “ABC Pyro.” When I turned on the light, what I saw made my heart pound. The negatives were beautiful: tones were spectacularly differentiated throughout the density range, especially in the highlights. And what sharpness! I knew I’d finally found my developer.

For several years, I had experimented with virtually every film developer on the market. None had given me the results I saw in my mind’s eye. Then I came across a copy of Ansel Adams’ The Negative, where he wrote, “Pyro developers (pyrogallol, a.k.a. pyrogallic acid) as a rule produces a “stained” image, which augments the printing contrast of the negative. Pyro with less than normal alkali produces fine translucent high opacities. It’s an excellent developer—perhaps the finest in many ways—but its action is not always consistent; the amount of stain produced depends chiefly on the degree of oxidation of the solution. This oxidation varies with the concentrations of pyro, sulfite and alkali in the solution, and the time the solution has been used and exposed to air. Yet many workers feel that the results from pyro outweigh its inconsistencies—not the least of which is the unpredictable amount of stain, further modified by the printing or enlarging-light color.”

My initial test confirmed that pyro was very special, but further testing also validated Adams’ reference to pyro’s inconsistencies. Since it was formulated for the films and plates of an earlier era, ABC Pyro also reduced effective film speed by half. It took seven years of research and testing to solve these problems.

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