My first experiences with RA-4 (Color paper processing)
LucianoC
A while back I inquired about RA-4. I have now converted my darkroom over
to RA-4 and I have some info to report.
I started by purchasing :
1 10 litre developer replenisher kit Parts A,B, and C
1 10 litre blix replenisher kit, Parts A and B
1 bottle of developer starter (enough to create 90 litres of working solution)
The starter cannot be purchased in a smaller quantity, but it's cheap.
Here's how I mixed it (based on advise from Kodak) :
To make 1 litre of developer replenisher:
Start with 800 ml Water
Add 50 ml Part A
23.4 ml Part B
50 ml Part C
Add water to make 1 litre.
To make developer working solution (1 litre):
Start with 700 ml Developer Replenisher
Add 25 ml Developer Starter
275 ml Water
This leaves 300ml of developer replenisher. The next time I start this process
I will multiply the developer replenisher recipe by 1.7 to make 1.7l of
developer replenisher, and from that make 1 litre of developer working solution
and 1 litre of developer replenisher.
To make 1 litre of blix replenisher:
Start with 500 ml water
Add 142 ml Part A
200 ml Part B
Add water to make 1 litre.
The blix working solution is full strength replenisher. I made 2 litres of
this mixture, one for working solution, one for replenisher.
Now the processing: I am using an 8x10 print tube by besseler with the deluxe
motor base. I have not tried the 16x20 drum yet. (Maybe later tonight) I am
using the "Pass by method" I am attempting to process at 95 Deg F. Based on the
temperature of the solutions coming out, I think I am really achieving about
93 degF. Based on comparisons to EP-2, I am getting similar density and
contrast at 93 degF.
Timer Step Description
2:00 stopped pre-wet With the motor base plugged into the
gra-lab timer, I put 4 oz of 97 degF
water into the drum.
2:00 start pre-wet Drum now running
1:55 dev-prep Measure out 2 oz of developer
1:40 pre-wet Stop motor base, pour prewet water out of
drum
1:35 dev-prep Pour in Developer
1:30 dev start motor base
1:15 blix-prep Measure out 2 oz blix
0:55 dev Stop motor base, pour out developer
into container
0:50 blix-prep Pour blix into drum
0:45 blix Start motor base
0:00 blix Pour out blix into container
Now wash for 3 minutes, I then put my "keepers" into c-41 stabilizer for
30 seconds.
Now as you can see, it is a prettt action packed process, but it beats the
boredom of EP-2s 3.5 minute developer step. I find that getting a good test
print for a custom job is far less tedious when the turnaround time is so
drastically reduced.
Replenishment:
I am collecting the used chemicals and replenishing them at the following
rates: Developer 8ml per 8x10, Blix 11ml per 8x10. These are the starting
rates recommended by kodak, time will tell if they can be improved on.
Storage:
I am told that the shelf life of the chemicals in working strength is very
long. The documentation on this stuff, is still a bit hard to find. I have
a few photocopied pages and they don't mention it. However, as anti social
as it my be, I have been storing my developers with freon (dust off) in the
bottles, and they have always had very long (Like almost a year) life, with
excellent results, and hardly any discoloration. I imagine if I continue the
practice with this stuff, I have nothing to worry about.
Conclusion:
Preliminary results are very good. More to follow as I get further in to it.
One thing is for certain, replenishing these chemicals makes them a lot
cheaper pre print than using one and tossing.
More to follow.
Please feel free to pass along your experiences, I'd like to compare notes.
Chuck Luciano
ch...@csn.org
LucianoC
>
> A while back I inquired about RA-4. I have now converted my darkroom over
>to RA-4 and I have some info to report.
Here is a quick followup to my previous posting.
I have now decided to _RAISE_ my temperature to 100degF (BATH) for and effective
95degF (Passby temperature). I did this for two reasons, one is I always feel
better about using the recommended temperature. The second reason is now I can
use the same water bath temp for prints as I use for negatives. This is great
since I sometimes interleave, i.e. make prints while my negatives dry.
This weekend, I made ~40 prints. The results are excellent! The best part is
that given the amount of time I had to work with, I'd have done 1/3 this amount
using EP-2.
I have now run the 16x20 drum, again no problem a little more drain/refill time
is needed but the results were excellent.
I guess what I am trying to say is, "RA-4 I love you!!".
Chuck Luciano
ch...@csn.org