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- Stearman Press SP-445 4x5 Dry Plate Developing Kit
Stearman Press SP-445 4x5 Dry Plate Developing Kit
If you enjoy shooting dry plates in 4" x 5" format, but have limited or no access to a darkroom for tray development, then the Stearman Press SP-445 with dry plate adapters may very well be a liberating tool for you.
I have been using the SP-445 developing tank for longer than I've been selling dry plates. A few months after I started selling dry plates, I contacted Tim Gilbert of Stearman Press to ask if he had any of the left over dry plate adapters from an earlier development project they had undertaken. He sent me a pair of prototypes to test and, after some minor feedback, began selling dry plate adapters for his SP-445.
I now use the SP-445 almost exclusively for developing 4x5 dry plates. It makes developing the plates as convenient as developing a roll of film, at my kitchen sink, without setting up in my darkroom.
For your convenience, Pictoriographica's Online Store now stocks the Rev. 4 SP-445 developing tank with a pair of the 4x5 dry plate adapters.
I have already made the required modification to the lids of these tanks to accommodate dry plates per the description in Stearman Press' listing here: https://shop.stearmanpress.com/products/4x5-plate-holders-pair?_pos=28&_sid=7dba3722e&_ss=r
The stock sheet film holders also come with the tank, so you will be able to use it to develop 4x5 sheet film as well.
9x12 and Quarter-Plate dry plate adapters are available through Stearman Press' website.
Pro-tip:The 4x5 plate adapters will also accommodate two Sixth Plate (6.5x9 or 6x9) dry plates in each adapter.