Kodalith Ortho Type 3 2556 Film Question

[IanBarber]

I have been given a box of some Kodalith Ortho Type 3 2556 4x5 film.
Can I use this as regular film and if so, does anyone one know what ISO rating it is.

I did read somewhere that it can be developed in Paper developer under red safelight.

Any information on how to get the best out this film would be appreciated.

Ian

[Greg]

Ortho, so yes it was meant to be used under a red safelight. I've processed it under a Thomas Sodium-Vapor light and under an OC safelight with no fogging or problems. Processed in Kodalith A & B developer, and you get a super high contrast negative with a D-max 3.0+ and a base plus fog density around 0.1. Years ago used 8x10 and 11x14 Kodalith as a "regular film". If I remember correctly, used an ISO of 2 or 3 and was tray processing it in Rodinal 1:100, Don't remember the time but I'd start at 5-7 minutes at 68 degrees. Agitation was continuous.

[IanBarber]

Ortho, so yes it was meant to be used under a red safelight. I've processed it under a Thomas Sodium-Vapor light and under an OC safelight with no fogging or problems. Processed in Kodalith A & B developer, and you get a super high contrast negative with a D-max 3.0+ and a base plus fog density around 0.1. Years ago used 8x10 and 11x14 Kodalith as a "regular film". If I remember correctly, used an ISO of 2 or 3 and was tray processing it in Rodinal 1:100, Don't remember the time but I'd start at 5-7 minutes at 68 degrees. Agitation was continuous.

Greg, you mention processing it in Rodinal. Do you know if it can be processed in Paper developer such as Ilford MG developer or did I read that wrong somewhere.

[Greg]

Greg, you mention processing it in Rodinal. Do you know if it can be processed in Paper developer such as Ilford MG developer or did I read that wrong somewhere.

Worth trying to develop in MG developer, but I'd really dilute the developer more than usual, but then that's an educated guess.

[Vaughn]

It is about half the thickness of regular film (.004" instead of .007"), so the GG registration will be slightly off. Might sag a little more in the film holder.

[Greg]

It is about half the thickness of regular film (.004" instead of .007"), so the GG registration will be slightly off. Might sag a little more in the film holder.

You are correct. Back in the later 1970, we used to photography hand drawn graphs (remember the Radiograph?) with 4x5 2566 Kodalith film on a Polaroid MP4. Sagging film in the horizontal holder was always a problem. We switched to shooting 70mm 2566 just for that reason. Huge benefit was to just process a roll of 70mm film instead of multiple sheets of 2566 in 4x5 hangers. About 2 years ago decided to do film tests to determine the coverage of my lenses. Considered using X-Ray film, but then purchased a stash of outdated 2566 film in 8x10 and 11x14 formats from a State Surplus Store for next than nothing. 2566 film is shot with holders being vertical. Loaded an 11x14 holder with 2566 film and tilted it forward... visibly the film sagged forward by up to 5 mm's.

[Vaughn]

Some research is needed -- there is a developer formula for this stuff somewhere that will give you full tonal range negatives, rather than the high contrast ones the film is designed to make. Paper developers tend to be very active...that is why it is suggested to dilute them down.

Here is a quote from APUG
"A soft working developer is what you want. I use Tetenal Centrabrom S diluted more than recommended and get a good range of tones."

A bunch of formulas here;

https://www.photrio.com/forum/thread.../#post-1294510

[IanBarber]

Thanks for the all the replies, I will do some further investigating

[ArgentixCa]

You can also use this film as a contact-print (or enlarged) inter-negative if you want to get very high contrast results.

I used to develop it in standard paper dev, work it a little in Farmer's Reducer and Chromium Intensifier, and then enlarging the lith-film to get the final results.
It may take a few inter-negatives to obtain the desired results.

A sandwiched positive and negative can get you an interesting line-drawn result, or if sligthly shifted, a kind of 3-D picture.

A lot of darkroom-fun anyway.

Enjoy

[Gary Beasley]

You can soup it in pota type developer and get more reasonable contrast out of it. D23 might be another formula to try.