Nee Recommendation for development of Bergger film

I recently took a photographic trip through the Midwest, shooting 4x5 Bergger film at ISO=100, expecting to develop it myself in PMK. I'm no longer in a position to do so, but when trying to find a commercial lab to do it in PMK I can only find one which will even try it, and they charge $5.50 a sheet, which would send me to the poor house. My regular lab will develop them quite reasonably in any major developer that I specify (D-76, TMax-RS, Rodinal, Ilfosol, XTOL, etc.) What would you recommend? My own immediate thought is Microdol-X 1+3, because this is a thick, coarse grained film to which I've already given a little extra exposure. Thanks

If you go to the Bergger web page at www.bergger.com, you will

find their recommendations.

 

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I have developed the Bergger film in PMK, Rodinal 1:50, and

HC-110. My personal preference is the HC-110.

Jim,

 

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what time/ EI are you using for Bergger in HC110? My tests are

all over the map on this film..

 

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thanks

 

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david

I shot it at EI 100 and used the Bergger recommended times of 6

minutes at 68 degrees F from their web site even though they

recommended an EI of 200. Negs are fine although I'm printing with a

cold light head. It you are using a condenser head you might want to

cut back on the development time a bit.

There is an alternative. Have the lab develop in a conventional

developer like HC110. I say conventional because pyro is not now

though it used to be conventional. If at any later time you crave the

dual nature of pyro, bleach the film in a sepia bleach and redevelop

it in PMK. This process does not require a darkroom. In fact the

film must be exposed to light between bleaching and redeveloping. The

original silver image remains and the stain is added to it. The

redeveloped image then prints differently on graded paper and VC

paper. It is useful for making prints by alternative processes such as

platinum that require high contrast negatives, yet can be used with VC

papers to make beautiful prints.