Dektol and Ilford MGIV RC Deluxe

I have a bunch of color negative strips I need to contact print. For immediacy and economy I just bought a packet of Dektol mix (1 quart) and some Ilford MG RC. All I want to do is to get some reference images. I'll only be making two or three contact sheets at any given time, so I want to use the dilution that will be the most economical. Dektol will not be my usual B&W paper developer, and I've never used it before. That's all they had at the only darkroom supply place I could find within 100 miles of where I live (I might be exaggerating by 20 miles or so). In any case, the plan is to dilute as much as possible, use as little as possible to get two or three 8x10 contact sheets done, and dispose of it. Thanks for any suggestions.

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John

I can't remember doing any contact prints of colour negs on normal

B&W paper, but enlargements weren't very good unless you were looking

for huge grain and weird tonal representation. Something to do with

the paper not sensitive to the colour negs in some wavelengths or

something (someone chime in and add the reason.. I'll remember then!)

Kodak make 'Panalure' paper for doing this, which must be handled in

compete darkness. All the 'good' info may not be appropiate, but if

you're contact sheets aren't what you expect, now you know partially

why :)

Thanks, Nigel. I understand the difference between Panalure and

regular B&W paper. I don't care how weird the tonal representation is

for this purpose, I just want to see the composition in the contact

print. \

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OK, Scott. Dektol 1:4 should last me a good long time for just

contact prints. Thanks.

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John

I just printed some color negatives on MG IV in Dektol. They were

medium format. I had to use around grade 4, but the images ended up

looking surprisingly good. I was a bit chagrinned, in fact, since I

typically would have made them with B&W. Anyway, they needed the

added contrast, but were otherwise normal. I always use Dektol with

the fiber base MG, but at 1:3, and two minutes or sometimes three.

The RC stuff gets one minute, so that is why 1:4 is okay with it.