There have been magazine articles on the technique in *VIEW CAMERA* and in *Camera & Darkroom Techniques*. A lot of Technical information is available from Ilford at their web page which can be gotten on-line. I would also suggest that if you use their products regularly (and you live in the US or Canada), you consider joining ILFOPRO. It's free. They will send you a quarterly newsletter. When I joined they sent an initial package of the tech sheets on all their current Black & White products. I believe you can join on-line at their web address.
The 4 second step is a full stop (double) the 2 second step but the 6 second step is only a half stop greater than the 4 second step, the 8 second step is only one third stop greater than the 6 second step and the 10 second step is only one quarter stop greater than 8 second step and so on. I prefer to work in even f-stop increments or fractions thereof.
The first test is done using the #00 filter. The Kodak scale calls for a 60 second time. I usually use 30 seconds and then halve the time that appears on the segment I select. I use a consistent developing time (based on the manufacturers recommendations), stop bath and fix. I wash and dry the test. In full white light I look for the section that gives me the tones I want in the lightest areas (Zone X will have no tone, just paper base, Zone IX will have tone but no detail). Bruce Barnbaum believes that there is no such thing as dry down, you only need to squeegee the print to judge the tones. I disagree and recent posts on the Ilford web page indicate that Ilford's own tests indicates a dry down factor of around 6-9%. Dry your tests before judging the exposure.
On the #00 test, unless you are printing an extremely high contrast negative, the shadows will be significantly lighter than Zone I even in the darkest areas. I am not concerned with the shadows at this point, I am looking for the shortest exposure that will result in slight tonality in the areas I want to record as Zone IX.
Using that exposure time I expose a second 4X5 sheet of paper for the chosen time with the #00 filter but without the Kodak Print scale on top of the paper. Without moving the paper, I gently place the Kodak Scale over the paper (it's only a test so a little movement isn't critical), change the filter to the #5 and run a 30 second test on the same sheet of paper. I develop, fix, wash, dry and again judge the tones (this time the shadows) in full white light. Since the highlight exposure (the #00) has already been made the additional exposure needed to get the correct shadow density can be read off the segment that looks best on this test.
Some practitioners prefer to make the shadow test (the #5 filter) first. I'm told Fred Picker of Zone VI Studios teaches that method. I recently confirmed through an ILFOPRO forum section of their site that Ilford does recommend that the highlight exposure (#00) be established first, then the shadow exposure (#5). I have tried both ways and prefer the highlight (#00) test to be first. If you are using different materials/equipment you may want to experiment both ways to see what works best for you.
A full sheet print is then made exposing through each of the two filters for the time determined by the test sequence above. At this point it makes no difference which exposure is made first. Since I am using the filter drawer between the condensers on a Beseler MCRX 4X5 movement between the exposures isn't much of an issue. The enlarger is very stable and with a little care not to bump things I have no problem.
My first full sheet print(s) is (are) considered a draft copy and I will likely make further adjustments in base exposure as well as determine where dodging and burning are required and during which part(s) of the exposure. If the darks are fine in an area but I am losing the highlights, I will dodge that area during only the #00 exposure. Conversely I can dodge or burn only the #5 exposure to manipulate the shadows of a specific area. I find this to be a tremendous tool for controlling local contrast.
It is perhaps a bit misleading to say I'm modifying only the shadows or only the highlights because except for Zone I and Zone X the rest of the print is a mix of the two filter's exposure and each filter will have some effect on all Zones in the area manipulated. The effect is proportional however and with practice you can train yourself to judge how much of which exposure (#00 or #5) to adjust either overall or locally through dodging and burning in.
It helps to train your eye to see the print in terms of the Zone System and to make your tests in consistent f-stop segments. Although I make reference to f-stops, I never alter the f-stop after setting up the negative for printing. Adjustments in exposure are made by changing the exposure in quarter, half or whole stop increments of time. With practice you can learn to judge tones in quarter stop increments.
Every full size draft print is consistently processed, washed, dried and evaluated in full white light. As you can see this is a time consuming process and I would not recommend that anyone make high school senior portraits or wedding prints this way. The prints I make by this method are fine art landscapes for exhibit. I average about 5 full sheets of paper to get one final print including the sheets cut down for the initial tests.
I don't find this method suitable for all prints. Some subjects call for less than a full range of Zone I through Zone X tonality and for them I will usually use only a single filter of appropriate contrast. Some other cautions: It seems to work better with Ilford's Multigrade IV than with Ilford's previous versions of Multigrade. Also I have never tried it with other brands of paper or mixing different brands of paper and filters. Ilford has a chart on their web page showing filter equivalents to different makes of dichroic heads. You will note on the charts that there is some variation at the extremes of yellow and magenta. Since this method uses only the extremes, using a dichroic head may change the results from what the Ilford filters would produce.
Happy printing. :-)
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"The trouble with some people is that they want to get to the promised land without going through the wilderness." Author unknown
Last updated Sept. 1, 1997 ©All rights reserved James F Bullard, Artist/Craftsman/Photographer