Polaroid 665 Questions

[zenrhino]

I got a pack of 665 for my Land Camera and ultimately what I want to do is contact prints (on Van Dyke, which you guys were a super help with!) with the negatives.

To "fix" the negatives, it says to soak them in a sulfite solution. Can I just put them in a tray of this solution or does it need to be some sort of hanging thing?

Also, will the positive be usable?

Thanks!

[Ole]

Hanging is not needed, although a little agitation helps. A tray is what I use (for Type 55, which is the same in a different package).

To get a good negative, the positive should be overexposed at least one stop. So the positives generally won't be usable.

[Deniz]

If you don't want to bother with the sodium sulfite, you can always use kodak hypo clear, ilford washaid or permawash. They work perfectly fine and less of a hassle and commonly available.

with my type55 negs, i first let them sit in the solution for a min then gently rub the goop off with my index finger, fallowed by another 2-3 mins soak then 5 mins of washing.. works perfect.

[Peter Schrager]

Type 665/55 Archival Treatment:
1. Rinse Negatives
2. Fix 3-4 minutes
3. Rinse
4. HCA w/1:20 selenium 2-3 minutes/these give you N+1
5. Rinse
6.Wash thoroughly
7.Foto-flo with distilled water
8. Hang up to dry
I carry my negs around in a pail until I go home. Some people use paper towel on the negs to protect them in the pail. Pail can either be filled with sodium sulfite or just plain water.
Peter

[Sean]

I use a 1 bath fix and hardener consisting of potassium alum and sodium sulfate (yes sulfate). I can give you the exact details tomorrow, I've had great success with that mix and it's used in the field

[zenrhino]

Type 665/55 Archival Treatment:
1. Rinse Negatives
2. Fix 3-4 minutes
3. Rinse
4. HCA w/1:20 selenium 2-3 minutes/these give you N+1
5. Rinse
6.Wash thoroughly
7.Foto-flo with distilled water
8. Hang up to dry
I carry my negs around in a pail until I go home. Some people use paper towel on the negs to protect them in the pail. Pail can either be filled with sodium sulfite or just plain water.
Peter

HCA w/1:20 selenium 2-3 minutes/these give you N+1

I'm unfamiliar with HCA and n+1 (other than as an algebraic concept). What do they mean?

[VoidoidRamone]

HCA is Hypo Clearing Agent. And "n+1" is neutral or normal plus one stop. So your negatives will be slightly more dense/contrasty than "normal".
-Grant

[dr bob]

HCA w/1:20 selenium 2-3 minutes/these give you N+1

I'm unfamiliar with HCA and n+1 (other than as an algebraic concept). What do they mean?

HCA is Kodak's Hypo Clearing Agent used to wash prints and negs after fixing to convert the remaining fixer to a more soluble compound for final washing. N+1 is a Zone System term indicating development for a time greater than the normal (N) to increase contrast.

[smieglitz]

HCA w/1:20 selenium 2-3 minutes/these give you N+1

I'm unfamiliar with HCA and n+1 (other than as an algebraic concept). What do they mean?

HCA stands for Kodak's Hypo Clearing Agent which is a prepackaged clearing agent for films and papers. It is largely sodium sulfite.

N+1 is an abbreviation for an expansion development/toning of 1 stop. It is Zone System lingo which refers to an increase in contrast of 1 stop. This can be accomplished either through an exposure change or through development. In this case the reference is to increasing the density scale of the Polaroid instant negative by one stop through the action of the selenium toner. The highlight areas of the toned negative will become proportionately much denser than the shadow areas with this treatment.

The concept is similar in a way to "pushing" film of which you may have heard. To push a film one gives less exposure than normal (usually by rating the film speed higher by a stop) which could be thought of as N-1 exposure. When this is coupled with an N+1 development the contrast is adjusted higher and this compensates for the loss of contrast caused by the underexposure. This is a very simplified explanation of the concept but it is essentially what you do to "push" a film. "Pulling" is the opposite, combining a plus exposure with a minus development. The degree of "pushing" or "pulling" can also vary as in N+3, N-1/2, etc.

For Van Dyke Brownprinting this additional contrast will improve your results in most cases since the process requires a dense, high contrast negative for optimum results. That sort of negative is difficult to achieve just using the Polaroid film unless the subject lighting contrast can be carefully controlled.

[Murray@uptowngallery]

Someone told me an empty 665 pack can be opened and a piece of ground glass inserted (for users with lowlier cameras like Polaroid pack filmers).

Anyone have one I can pay postage for? I'm cutting the back off a Color Pack Polaroid for a project and don't plan of acquiring any 665 until if and when I decide this will work. So you can see that buying a film pack won't solve the ground glass insertion step (chicken and egg thing), hence the panhandling.

Thank you

Murray