Heating lith developer

[Dwayne Martin]

Hi Gang, I’m very aware that every lith print is different from the last but if you heat the developer to speed the process will it produce a similar print only faster? Or does it change the look a bit or even dramatically? I really enjoy making lith prints but I burn hours and hours doing it. I would love to try one of those heated Nova dip tanks….
In my case I’m using Moersch easy lith and fomatone.

Thanks,
D

[andreios]

It depends on paper... with some, like Fomatone, higher temperature influences not just speed but also colour / tone.
I am not sure about NOVA heated tanks - you cannot see what is going on inside, which is crucial for lith printing. But you can use some low-heat heaters underneath your tray (KAISER makes some) or use terrarium heat pads (I do), or a simple water bath (developing tray in a larger tray full of warm/hot water) will do as well...

[agregov]

What papers are you using for Lith? Foma warm tone papers like MG 131 Lith in about 4-5m. Dilution of your chemistry can also affect dev time (more dilution = longer dev times). Have you experimented with different paper and dilutions?