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Thread: Developing Litho film with lower contrast

  1. #11
    Drew Wiley
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    Re: Developing Litho film with lower contrast

    I haven't used Kodalith in decades, but have gotten acceptable results on recent Arista Ortho Litho with a special dilution of HC-110. I should quality that. It was with respect to making black and white internegs from color neg originals in the lab, two step method, where a relative contrast boost was needed in the second stage. I can't imagine myself EVER choosing a lith film for actual shooting; Tech Pan was disappointing enough at that. But I did prove to myself that con-tone images can be made using lith film under controlled circumstances which are clean and free from streaks, blotches, and unwanted fbf.

  2. #12

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    Re: Developing Litho film with lower contrast

    I haven't been able to find mu LC-2 formula. I had a computer crash since I was using it.
    Here are a few you may wish to try.
    The simplest for most is probably HC110 1:100. And don't forget D-23 diluted 1:3 or divided D-23.
    My current favorite is Pyrocat HD.

    A few to think about. I used all of these and more when I started using only lith and x-ray films.

    Beutler

    Metol 1 gm
    Sodium Sulfite 5 gm
    Sodium Carbonate* 5 gm
    Water to make 1 L


    FX-1

    Metol 0.5 gm
    Sodium Sulfite 5.0 gm
    Sodium Carbonate* 2.5 gm
    Water to make 1 L

    * Reduce and/or change accelerator as needed to accomplish desired scale.

    WINDISCH METOL COMPENSATING DEVELOPER

    Warm Water 750 ml
    Metol 2.5 gm
    Sodium Sulfite 25.0 gm
    Cold water to make 1.0 L

    developing time about 25-30 minutes at 68̊F depending on film and personal requirements. Note that the quantities are about 25% of those for D-23.

    Gainer’s Vitamin C Developer

    Sodium Hydroxide 10% solution 17ml
    20 Mule Team Borax 1.5 tsp
    Ascorbic Acid ½ tsp
    Phenidone Solution 2.5 ml
    (Phenidone solutionia 1/4 tsp in 80 mlk denatured or 91% isopropyl alcohol)

    Dissolve in order given.
    Dilute stock solution 1+3 for film.

    At 68̊F use the developing times specified for straight D-76 whith whatever film you are using as a serviceable starting point.
    Last edited by Jim Noel; 10-Jun-2022 at 12:07. Reason: spellng

  3. #13

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    Re: Developing Litho film with lower contrast

    Thanks for sharing Jim! That looks very useful.

  4. #14

    Re: Developing Litho film with lower contrast

    I messed around with a couple different microfilms in a Rollei E110 over the last few years. Tried a few developers with it. POTA, a version of Caffenol CL-CN, Rodinal several ways, Beutler's. The Caffenol probably produced the best range of tones. Others worked though. Wasn't too impressed with POTA from memory. If you are making D23 yourself then give Beutler's a try. You could also go the water bath route.

  5. #15

    Re: Developing Litho film with lower contrast

    There's one more low contrast developer of some repute - Delagi 8 which supposedly "gives better tonal separations with slightly higher contrast than regular Pota":

    Water @38C: 500 ml
    Sodium sulphite: 25 g
    Phenidone: 1.4 g
    Borax: 0.8 g
    0.2% BTZ solution: 15 ml
    Water to make: 1 l

    Use one shot. Process at 20C. Intermittent agitation with initial 20 seconds of agitation followed by 10 seconds every minute thereafter. Normal developing time is 15 minutes (for Kodak Technical Pan at EI:32-64).

    The developer is claimed to give a normal contrast range of 7-10 stops with Tech-Pan.

    It is available pre-mixed: https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/produ..._Delagi_8.html

  6. #16
    ic-racer's Avatar
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    Feb 2007
    Posts
    6,736

    Re: Developing Litho film with lower contrast

    Last batch of high contrast film I tried to use for continuous tone reproduction, I did one of two things with standard developers. One was to dilute the developer over about five tank fills on the Jobo.
    The other was to cool the Jobo to about 15c.

  7. #17

    Join Date
    Feb 2021
    Location
    Alberta
    Posts
    60

    Re: Developing Litho film with lower contrast

    This is excellent. Thanks for the info! I'll be experimenting with these formulas. Just to clarify, does the sodium carbonate increase contrast?

    Quote Originally Posted by Jim Noel View Post
    I haven't been able to find mu LC-2 formula. I had a computer crash since I was using it.
    Here are a few you may wish to try.
    The simplest for most is probably HC110 1:100. And don't forget D-23 diluted 1:3 or divided D-23.
    My current favorite is Pyrocat HD.

    A few to think about. I used all of these and more when I started using only lith and x-ray films.

    Beutler

    Metol 1 gm
    Sodium Sulfite 5 gm
    Sodium Carbonate* 5 gm
    Water to make 1 L


    FX-1

    Metol 0.5 gm
    Sodium Sulfite 5.0 gm
    Sodium Carbonate* 2.5 gm
    Water to make 1 L

    * Reduce and/or change accelerator as needed to accomplish desired scale.

    WINDISCH METOL COMPENSATING DEVELOPER

    Warm Water 750 ml
    Metol 2.5 gm
    Sodium Sulfite 25.0 gm
    Cold water to make 1.0 L

    developing time about 25-30 minutes at 68̊F depending on film and personal requirements. Note that the quantities are about 25% of those for D-23.

    Gainer’s Vitamin C Developer

    Sodium Hydroxide 10% solution 17ml
    20 Mule Team Borax 1.5 tsp
    Ascorbic Acid ½ tsp
    Phenidone Solution 2.5 ml
    (Phenidone solutionia 1/4 tsp in 80 mlk denatured or 91% isopropyl alcohol)

    Dissolve in order given.
    Dilute stock solution 1+3 for film.

    At 68̊F use the developing times specified for straight D-76 whith whatever film you are using as a serviceable starting point.

  8. #18

    Join Date
    Feb 2021
    Location
    Alberta
    Posts
    60

    Re: Developing Litho film with lower contrast

    I actually just found some phenidone at a local camera store! So I'll be giving this a try sometime. Thx for the info!

    Quote Originally Posted by LabRat View Post
    There's a phenidone and metol version... Phenidone uses 1/10 gm, but metol uses 1 gram per liter... Phenidone is considered a safer developing agent and stock stores well... The downside is it is harder to agitate to get an even development with it, but possible following exact instructions (look up Tech Pan + developer tech sheets)... The metol formula is easier to get more even results...

    You only need about a 10th a gram of Phenidone to match a gram of metol for replacement in most all formulas, but a longer developing time with a little less contrast... And a little goes a very long way, so not expensive... And often used for paper developers if you mix...But there are specific mixing instructions to dissolve it in solutions...

    Steve K

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