Best Photo Industries / Panthermic 777

I was a naval photographer in Vietnam and was just going through some
old papers and phond a note:

Panthermic 777
Best Photo Industries
2319 Watterson Trail
Louisville, KY 40299

I remember squirreling away several bottles and having my father send
several more during the each of the two years I spent in on Westpac
tours in Vietnam. I loved the stuff. Given I was on a ship, I'd line
each side of the sink with sponges, tape the lid on the can, knock 20%
off the time, and let it rock back and forth and out came gorgeous
stuff. I used it until it was absolute sludge. I haven't done
photography for decades since getting into the software business but
it's good see, whoever Harvey and his friends are, that someone kept
that magic stuff alive...

I ordered a case (4 units to make 1 gal each ) a few months ago.
"ExNavyPhotog" wrote in message
oups.com...
I was a naval photographer in Vietnam and was just going through some
old papers and phond a note:

Panthermic 777
Best Photo Industries
2319 Watterson Trail
Louisville, KY 40299

I remember squirreling away several bottles and having my father send
several more during the each of the two years I spent in on Westpac
tours in Vietnam. I loved the stuff. Given I was on a ship, I'd line
each side of the sink with sponges, tape the lid on the can, knock 20%
off the time, and let it rock back and forth and out came gorgeous
stuff. I used it until it was absolute sludge. I haven't done
photography for decades since getting into the software business but
it's good see, whoever Harvey and his friends are, that someone kept
that magic stuff alive...

Although the exact formula of 777 is a closely guarded secret, it
belongs to the same family of developers as Edwal 12, Morris Germaine's
Fine Grain developer, and my own Secret Sauce. These developers utilize
p-phenylenediamine, and/or glycin, in combination with more common
developing agents, and are among the more toxic developers ever
formulated, but are capable of truly unique results. Wether the risks
justify the benefits is a separate question, but TMY developed in
Secret Sauce is my favorite film/developer combination.

Although the exact formula of 777 is a closely guarded secret, it
belongs to the same family of developers as Edwal 12, Morris Germaine's
Fine Grain developer, and my own Secret Sauce. These developers utilize
p-phenylenediamine, and/or glycin, in combination with more common
developing agents, and are among the more toxic developers ever
formulated, but are capable of truly unique results. Wether the
benefits justify the risks is a separate question, but TMY developed in
Secret Sauce is my favorite film/developer combination.

"ExNavyPhotog" wrote in message
oups.com...
I was a naval photographer in Vietnam and was just going
through some
old papers and phond a note:

Panthermic 777
Best Photo Industries
2319 Watterson Trail
Louisville, KY 40299

I remember squirreling away several bottles and having my
father send
several more during the each of the two years I spent in
on Westpac
tours in Vietnam. I loved the stuff. Given I was on a
ship, I'd line
each side of the sink with sponges, tape the lid on the
can, knock 20%
off the time, and let it rock back and forth and out came
gorgeous
stuff. I used it until it was absolute sludge. I haven't
done
photography for decades since getting into the software
business but
it's good see, whoever Harvey and his friends are, that
someone kept
that magic stuff alive...

I think Harold Harvey's formula is still being made by
somebody. While it was sold as "Panthermic" meaning that
development temperature had little effect on development, it
really wasn't. I am pretty sure that Grant Haist has a
formula for something approximating 777 in his book _Modern
Photographic Processing_. I don't remember what was in it
and don't have the book handy. 777 was originally marketed
by Defender, a smaller paper and film maker eventually
bought out by DuPont.
I think there are other developers which match 777 for
image quality and are much easier to come by.
Its interesting that all the special extra-fine-grain
developers of the 1930s and 1940's, including 777, fell out
of use once decently fine grain film became available.


--
---
Richard Knoppow
Los Angeles, CA, USA

The "panthermic" refers to the fact that the developer works equally well
over a wide range of temperatures with adjusted development times. You'll
get a copy of the original data sheet if you buy some 777 from BPI.
-Lew
"Richard Knoppow" wrote in message
nk.net...

"ExNavyPhotog" wrote in message
oups.com...
I was a naval photographer in Vietnam and was just going through some
old papers and phond a note:

Panthermic 777
Best Photo Industries
2319 Watterson Trail
Louisville, KY 40299

I remember squirreling away several bottles and having my father send
several more during the each of the two years I spent in on Westpac
tours in Vietnam. I loved the stuff. Given I was on a ship, I'd line
each side of the sink with sponges, tape the lid on the can, knock 20%
off the time, and let it rock back and forth and out came gorgeous
stuff. I used it until it was absolute sludge. I haven't done
photography for decades since getting into the software business but
it's good see, whoever Harvey and his friends are, that someone kept
that magic stuff alive...

I think Harold Harvey's formula is still being made by somebody. While
it was sold as "Panthermic" meaning that development temperature had
little effect on development, it really wasn't. I am pretty sure that
Grant Haist has a formula for something approximating 777 in his book
_Modern Photographic Processing_. I don't remember what was in it and
don't have the book handy. 777 was originally marketed by Defender, a
smaller paper and film maker eventually bought out by DuPont.
I think there are other developers which match 777 for image quality
and are much easier to come by.
Its interesting that all the special extra-fine-grain developers of the
1930s and 1940's, including 777, fell out of use once decently fine grain
film became available.


--
---
Richard Knoppow
Los Angeles, CA, USA

"Lew" wrote in message
...
The "panthermic" refers to the fact that the developer
works equally well over a wide range of temperatures with
adjusted development times. You'll get a copy of the
original data sheet if you buy some 777 from BPI.
-Lew
"Richard Knoppow" wrote in
message
nk.net...


You are right that I mis-stated that Harvey said the
developer needed no temperature correction.
Most developers work over a very wide temperature range.
The original advertising for 777 stated it worked over the
range of 65F to 90F. The instructions gave temperature
corrections for the time. Nearly any developer will work
over this range. I suspect that Harvey added something to
reduce swelling at high temperatures. For many years 65F was
the standard processing temperature. Around the late 1930's
it was increased to 68F to speed up processing and because
emulsion hardening in manufacturing had progressed enough to
eliminate problems from softening at relatively low
temperatures. Developers of the time intended for tropical
use usually had some Sodium sulfate added to reduce swelling
and also to slow the developer down. I don't know if Harvey
used sulfate or something else.


--
---
Richard Knoppow
Los Angeles, CA, USA

"Nicholas O. Lindan" wrote in message news:A8w%f.1893
"Richard Knoppow" wrote
Developers of the time intended for tropical use usually had some Sodium
sulfate added to reduce swelling and also to slow the developer down. I
don't know if Harvey used sulfate or something else.
Alum? [potassium] aluminium sulfate.

If the developer could be slightly acid? Though I remember
that I once remembered something about isolectric pH...

"Nicholas O. Lindan" wrote in message
nk.net...
"Nicholas O. Lindan" wrote in message
news:A8w%f.1893
"Richard Knoppow" wrote
Developers of the time intended for tropical use usually
had some Sodium sulfate added to reduce swelling and
also to slow the developer down. I don't know if Harvey
used sulfate or something else.
Alum? [potassium] aluminium sulfate.

If the developer could be slightly acid? Though I
remember
that I once remembered something about isolectric pH...
Its not acid but may be quite low pH. Metol and
p-phenylenediamine will work at low pH, metol will work even
in slightly acid solutions but is very low energy there.
D-25 is an example of a very low pH developer with a target
pH of 7.0.

I don't think this is the secret of Harvey's.

"Nicholas O. Lindan" wrote in message
nk.net...
"Richard Knoppow" wrote

Developers of the time intended for tropical use usually
had some Sodium sulfate added to reduce swelling and also
to slow the developer down. I don't know if Harvey used
sulfate or something else.

Alum? [potassium] aluminium sulfate.
Not white alum. Alum is not compatible with developers.
For one thing it is an active hardener only in fairly acid
solution, that's one reason fixers are acid.
Rodinal also was sold as a good tropical developer
despite its rather high pH because it can be diluted a great
deal. The dilution limits swelling and makes it work slowly
enough to give reasonable times at high temperatures.
Films of the 1930's had emulsions that would probably
melt at 90F or not much above. Modern B&W films are hardened
about like color films and will take 100F processing
temperatures.


--
---
Richard Knoppow
Los Angeles, CA, USA