problem on color print

[Lee Pong Keung]

Hi all,
I made a color printing by using the Kodak paper and chemical in the water temperature at about 23 C . I first made the solution by following the instruction of the chemical and after a moment I start to print . The developer and bleach-fix were stored in two bottles independently . I then made a test paper and put it into the drum . The test paper was developed for about 2 minutes and then washed by water for a moment . At the time , I put the used developer back into the bottle . After washing , bleach-
fix was used for about 2 minutes and then the solution also put back to its bottle.
The result of the first is sharp and clear though the color is not accurate. I then tred one more with different CYM combination . This time the result was horror! The photo was dark red and with some stains. Even though I used the first tried CYM value , the result was still so unacceptable !!
I want to ask where the problem occurs . Are the solution contaminated ?

Thanks

--
Keung

[Mark harrison]

You could have possibly contaminated it. You don't mention what chemicals
you are using. Also you could have had bad agitation during the
development. I take it you are using a drum, are you using a motor base for
the drum??? Also, in your darkroom, make sure to work in total darkness for
the best results. You also may need to use a stop bath, I have found this
helps greatly. Best of luck to you, color printing is not easy, but its
fun...

Mark
Lee Pong Keung wrote in message <6gac6p$8...@eng-ser1.erg.cuhk.edu.hk>...

[Mark harrison]

[Mark harrison]

[george dykes]

I have had a simular problem in the past,
the result was, in the final washing there were traces of bleachfix left
behind
this will cause the streaks, after loading you tip the drum over
to put in the developer and bleach fix dilution gets on the paper.
wash drum and all was fine. also remember on color neg prints.
if you remove red you just added red to your print. to remove red add red.
another problem i had on red prints was on my enlarger, beseler 23CII
Dicro.
it has a lever to take filters out of the light path, i had accidently
pulled that
so no matter how much red i added it was still red. took a few prints to
figure that
one out.

well good luck hope i helped..
George Dykes

Lee Pong Keung <pkl...@cse.cuhk.edu.hk> wrote in article

[Lee Pong Keung]

Hi Mark,
I use Kodak developer and bleach-fix with hand drum , just agitating by hand. Really,I don't know the chemicals are not reusable . If one part of the developer is just for one photo, then the printing cost is so expensive !! Is the color developer not the same as that B&W developer ? The B&W developer can develope many photo with the same solution. But can't the color one ?
One more , can I use the B&W stop bath for the color printing ?

Thanks

Mark harrison <phot...@netcafe.net> wrote:
> You could have possibly contaminated it. You don't mention what chemicals
> you are using. Also you could have had bad agitation during the
> development. I take it you are using a drum, are you using a motor base for
> the drum??? Also, in your darkroom, make sure to work in total darkness for
> the best results. You also may need to use a stop bath, I have found this
> helps greatly. Best of luck to you, color printing is not easy, but its
> fun...

--
Keung

[Richard Snider]

Lee Pong Keung <pkl...@cse.cuhk.edu.hk> writes:
>Hi all,
> I made a color printing by using the Kodak paper and chemical
>in the water temperature at about 23 C . I first made the solution by
>following the instruction of the chemical and after a moment I start
>to print . The developer and bleach-fix were stored in two bottles
>independently . I then made a test paper and put it into the drum.
>The test paper was developed for about 2 minutes and then washed by
>water for a moment . At the time , I put the used developer back into

>the bottle . After washing , bleach-fix was used for about 2 minutes

>and then the solution also put back to its bottle.
> The result of the first is sharp and clear though the color
>is not accurate. I then tred one more with different CYM combination .
>This time the result was horror! The photo was dark red and with some
>stains. Even though I used the first tried CYM value , the result was
>still so unacceptable !!

Lots of possible things to check here:

I am assuming that 2 mins per solution at 23 C is the correct time
temperature combination for your chemistry, make sure that the
temperature is constant, that is it is the same at the end of processing
as it was when you started.

Was the drum you were using clean (and dry possibly) when you started ?
How about the second time ? Did you rinse it out well and dry it
before processing the next sheets ? Any residue of bleach-fix
laying around in the drum will do terrible things to your print and
your developer as well.

Are you using a prewet ? If not, why not ?

Does your drum leak, assuming you are using a water bath for temp
control, make sure that water bath is not leaking into the drum,
likewise, the chemistry leaking out. This is a sure way to contaminate
your chemistry.

What do white areas on the prints look like ? Is the border created
by the easel good and white, if not, your darkroom is likely not dark
enough or your bleach-fix is no good although, it takes a fairly serious
amount of contamination to mess up the bleach-fix.

Lastly, make sure that you did not mix up the filter pack/settings
as sometimes this gets you.

Good luck
......Rich
xrtll!rsnider

[Lee Pong Keung]

Hi all darkroom fever,
Thanks for your kindly helpful information.
I still have some problem. How to do prewet ? And , is the time of the precess bleach-fix important? In the B&W process , the fix time is as long as possible so that the photo will not turn yellow. Is the same situation in the color print , longer, better ?

Thanks

--
Keung

[Dugphoto]

Hi,

Interesting problem. You printed the first one and it came out ok,given that
the color was off. The second was worse, but with different filter pack and a
retry of the first filter pack was also bad. Consistency a key to color
printing. The procedure for the first to the third print have to be the same:
this means the processing time, the amount of chemical, the chemical
temperature, the type and rate of agitation. A heated drum and motorbase
provide this consistency. Color printing is extremely difficult without them.
Given you check all of these factors and they are consistent, let's examine
some things that may not be consistent. First, color chemicals need to be
replenished. That is, the effect of used chemicals with greatly affect your
print, possibly creating color casts. is that what you mean by red stain?
That it has a red cast. Second, make sure your drum is clean and dry. It's
possible that you did not clean or dry your drum sufficiently after that first
good print. Staining can also be caused by improper or inconsistent agitation
or unbalanced motor base, so you need to look at that too.

[Jean-David Beyer]

Dugphoto wrote:

HEY AOL GUYS! GET WITH THE PROGRAM! LET'S YOU POST ENOUGH OF THE POST TO WHICH YOU
ARE REPLYING SO AS TO ESTABLISH A SUFFICIENT CONTEXT SO THAT YOUR ANSWER CAN BE
UNDERSTOOD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

--
Jean-David Beyer
Shrewsbury, New Jersey