Beginner in colour processing RA-4
Tony DeGroot
I am a photograper who is trying to break into the world of colour darkroom
photo processing. Although I have been developing and printing black and white
for sometime now, I know very little about colour. I have recently purchased
the enlarger , motorized agitator and colour analyzer. After buying the required
chemicals to process colour prints, I soon realized that all the literature and
information I had is out of date since they only talked about Ektaprint 2
processing and not RA-4.
The Chemicals I have include:
Ektacolor RA developer replenisher RT Parts A, B, & C.
Ekltacolor Starter
Ektacolor Prime bleach-fix replenisher
Ektacolor Prime stabilizer & replenisher
Ektacolor Supra II paper.
The Kodak Color Darkroom DATAGUIDE is rather vague on the subject. My first
questions are:
1. Where does the Ektacolor Prime stabilizer & replenisher fit in the process?
2. For stop bath, can I use the same stop bath as for black & white?
If anyone can give some advice I would really appreciate it.
Mark Huth
could make them work. You will also need some form of tempering bath to
either preheat the chemicals above the process temperature and use a "drift
by" process, or a water bath like a Jobo CPE or better for constant
temperature processing.
If you want to use Kodak chemicals, get the 1 gallon size of Ektacolor RA
Developer/RA-4, and the one gallon Ektacolor RA Bleach/Fix. These are
designed for one-shot or tray processing where replinishment is not practical.
I use them all the time with good results. They can be mixed in smaller
quantities with some care.
There are other manufacturers that make RA-4 chemicals. Tetenal/Jobo/Beseler
make a variety of RA-4 chemicals, including ones that are designed for ambient
temperature processing. I have heard good things about them, but have not
used them.
Mark Huth
PhotoControls