ra4 chemicals for room temperature processing

[Robert Choi]

Could anyone who has the experience of using the tetenal or any other ra4 chemicals that allow room temperature processing ,so I can use a tray instea d of a drum.

In particular I am also looking for a dealer of this kind of chemical in western canada.

thanks in advance

Robert

[Peter Olsson]

I have only used room temperature color chemicals, for tray processing. I'm not very experienced in color printing but it seems to me as if the new Tetenal kit is better to work with than the brand I tried first (Photocolor Printmaster RA4). At least for me the Tetenal looks cleaner after a few hours in the darkroom whereas the other brand produced some sludge. However, it could have been an air-leak in the container that had made the Printmaster chemicals to get old to fast, I don't know. The Tetenal is a new formula which is said to last very long. I have some bottles left of the chemicals I used one and a half month ago and according to Tetenal I can use the same, already mixed, chemicals within 12 weeks. I will try that. The concentrate will of course last even longer. I use antioxidant spray (the kind that makes the bottle feel very cool once sprayed) to make the chemicals last longer.

I cannot compare to "body-temperature" color RA4 chemicals since I haven't used it but at least the prints looks more to my taste then when I send them away to a lab. The biggest problem is to get the filtering right because the light in the darkroom fools me to make the final prints either too magenta or to yellow. It is only when I'm back in daylight that I see that.

[Adam D. DeKraker]

I have used Beseler's version of the room temperature RA4 chemicals and they seem to work fine. When I compair prints made from these chemicals with prints made in a Kreonite roller transport system, they look identical. Two things to be aware of, though.....the stuff stinks, as does all color chemistry. Bleach-Fix is nasty, especially in an open tray in the dark! Make sure the room is well ventilated. Secondly, I discovered that the chemicals will rip the enamel right off a bath tub.....no kidding. I think it's the bleach-fix, not the developer. Be careful of over agitation.