Cescolite Development Tray Question

[Tin Can]

Thank you sir, may I have another...

You guyS assume all readers are experts

[ic-racer]

If one has ever had a floppy lith print stick to the bottom of the developer tray, dimples or ridges can help get the print up and out of the developer before it is ruined.

[Michael R]

Thank you sir, may I have another...

You guyS assume all readers are experts

Well, think about it. Why give a “newbie” the impression all is lost if it takes a few extra seconds to lift a print off the bottom of a tray, assuming it got stuck, which it won’t, when in fact those few extra seconds make no difference?

It is not the high wire act some make it out to be.

Anyway carry on people.

[Tin Can]

I will

As you will

Well, think about it. Why give a “newbie” the impression all is lost if it takes a few extra seconds to lift a print off the bottom of a tray, assuming it got stuck, which it won’t, when in fact those few extra seconds make no difference?

It is not the high wire act some make it out to be.

Anyway carry on people.

[Renato Tonelli]

I use the dimple-bottom Cescolite trays for printing 8x10 and 11x14. I got them when my cheap, nearly fifty year old trays, were starting to chip and split.
The dimples do help in picking up the prints, maybe better than the grooved ones. In any case, I now prefer them to the other types. Frankly, I’m sur[prised they still make them.

My elderly Kodak Duraflex development trays, originally my father's, are ready to be retired. I'm looking at several options and found the Cescolite dimple-bottom trays interesting. They are more expensive than the Cescolite's flat-bottom trays. Are the dimple-bottom versions intended to prevent negatives from sticking on the bottom during development? Would that be a concern for prints also? I don't tray develop my negatives and I haven't had prints stick to the bottom of the Kodak trays. Trying to understand if there is rationale to spend the extra shells on the dimples?

All feedback and comments are appreciated.

[Drew Wiley]

I should have added that I use the dimpled bottom ones for film development, not paper. But one of the factors in question was "lith" prints, which need to be "snatch" developed rather quickly, where dimples would help. Of course, Michael thinks dimples are just for sake of being cute; but he'd say the same thing about whiskers on kittens.

[John Kasaian]

Dimples, grooves and ridges all accomplish the same advantage. Are dimples worth the extra $$?
If you prefer working with them, yes.
Sorry to hear about the OP's Duraflex trays. Those yellow Kodak trays rocked!

[Daniel Unkefer]

HRU Fixing Step Dental Clips 1 by Nokton48, on Flickr

I use these XRAY Dental Clips I bought on Ebay, to hold down two 4x5 HRU sheets in the Cesco flat bottomed trays, and keep them off the bottom, and keeping them from moving around ( both of which causes scratches!) Here two sheets are in the TD4 Fix. The 8x10 Cesco Flat Bottomed Trays are inexpensive and avaiable from B&H.

Perfect unscratched HRU is the result.

[Fred L]

I use the smooth bottom Cesco trays for platinum and no issues with sticking for me. I use constant agitation and that keeps prints (alt or gelatin silver) from sticking. haven't tray processed film in eons so can't speak to that. ymmv