RA-4 Processing problems

[ryan w. radtke]

I have been processing b&w for about 8 years, this is my first trip

over to color processing. I bought a uniroller processer, cheap

because I dont know if Ill like processing color. I have kodak

chemicals, which are brand new. I am using Kodak ultra endura paper.

I have not been using a safe lite, but there are some red leds in the

room. My problem is that my paper keeps turning blue. I can make out

the picture Im trying to print, but its in a blue monotone. no other

colors. Here is the process I use:

Prerinse - 1 min

develp - 1 min

rinse - 30 sec

fix - 1 min

wash - 3 cycles of 30 sec.

 

If anyone can offer any help, I would appricate it.

[neal_wydra1]

What is your starting filter pack and initial temperature? You may want to do a test run with water to see what the fluid temperature is at the beginning and end of the developing step. BTW: I use black electrical tape to cover the leds in my darkroom.

 

Neal Wydra

[ryan w. radtke]

my starting filter pack is 0c 50m 40y. My temp throughout is 75 degrees.

[rowland_mowrey]

Ryan;

 

At normal processing temperature for RA chemistry, the development cycle is:

 

Prewet 30"

 

Develop 45"

 

Stop 30"

 

Bleach-Fix 1'30" - 2'

 

Wash 2'

 

I use 100 degrees F for my process temperature.

 

The wash after development is a NO NO, and the use of only a fix is not right.

 

Ron Mowrey

[don_cooper]

I think you're using times that are too short for processing at 75 deg. Definitely too short on the fix cycle. You say you're using fix, is that bleach/fix? You can check if it's a color pack problem or processing problem by running a completely unexposed piece of paper through the cycle and see if it comes out pure white. If there's any tint after processing it's the developing cycle that's the problem and not a filter pack problem (or it could be bad paper).

[anders_br_the]

Blank out the red LED's.

 

Make sure you don't have contaminated your colour developer with blix.

 

Make sure eventual red safety filter on enlarger is not in the light path.

 

Thats the most obvious pitfalls i can think of from you getting blue prints.

[rowland_mowrey]

Guys;

 

I have the LEDs from my Dichro head, and my Jobo processor on all the time, and have no fog. Maybe I'm lucky, but I believe that a 1' wash after the color developer can cause cyan fog just as Ryan describes. A long wash, well any wash AMOF, will do bad things in the RA process if used after the color developer.

 

Don't use it.

 

Omitting the blix will leave a gray overall cast to the print. The dmin should still be white though.

 

Ron Mowrey

[gee_willikers]

Color paper is nearly as sensetive as color film. Keep all light sources away from it!

 

I operate only in the minilab environment. Do you do such as thing as a control strip before you process your actual prints?

[rowland_mowrey]

Guys;

 

Unlike color film, color paper has a big 'hole' in its spectral sensitivity at about 600 - 650 nm. Therefore, you can use a WR13 or WR10 safelight. Judicious use of red LEDs will not hurt the paper if at a low level. I know this from experiment.

 

The problem here may be the LEDs if too bright, but I doubt it. The wash after the developer is very bad. Rinsing for 1 minute with no antifoggant present will cause fogging of the top 'cyan' layer.

 

It could be several problems. We need to hear more details from Ryan.

 

Ron Mowrey

[dmitry_m]

Ryan,

I agree with the list of most obvious pitfalls from Anders Brathe above. Here is a couple of tests you could run:

 

To make sure it is not enlarger process unexposed piece of paper it should be white. If it is, adjust your filtration pack, if not, try to put unexposed paper strait into fix and see if its white or still have a cast. I have some Agfa Portrait paper that was so fogged that it was blue regardless of what you do :). You also can try to develop a test in full light just to see that developer is strong enough to turn the paper completely black.

Try to switch off the safelights during the development and see if it makes any difference.

 

Anyway don't use red leds, go get yellow ones. They are exactly on the blind spot of color papers. I use 5 yellow leds in a modified torch.

My experience with Kodak Endura shows that it has incorporated developer in its emulsion (at least mine does, it even develops faint image in a tray of distilled water :) and require a lot less time to fully develop.(30 sec at 20C with the other papers need 120 sec).

 

Hope this helps. Don't give up as its just a minor glitches. Believe me, in one month you'll forget the road to the minilab :)

 

DM

[rowland_mowrey]

Dmitry;

 

Kodak Endura paper will not develop any silver image whatsoever at temperatures up to 100 deg F in either water or sodium carbonate solution at pH ~10. OTOH, Kodak B&W papers will develop a good black silver image in alkaline solution. Ilford papers will develop a modest silver image under those same conditions.

 

Color paper contains no developing agent as far as I can determine, but many B&W papers do.

 

Development of an unexposed sheet of paper in the dark will certainly reveal any process induced fog, but development of a sheet in light will only tell if the developer is understrength if one gets anything but a black image.

 

This problem, based on the above process, looks much like processed induced fog caused by the lengthy post wash. No RA paper was designed for this.

 

Ron Mowrey

[dmitry_m]

Ron,

 

my Kodak Supra Endura made in England 00Y031 1621 35 has developer in it and there is no doubt about it. I have seen it developing faint image in water with my own eyes and I consider this as one of the best proofs :) I even did a crazy test to wash this paper for 3 minutes in warm water (my idea was to remove the developer to extend the development and try to decrease contrast), dry it in the dark, expose it, develop it normally. Then it took normal 120 sec at 20C as my other (Agfa Signum, Fuji) papers and the speed increased by almost a stop to get in line with the other papers as well. BTW there was no color casts whatsoever. Unfortunately there was no contrast reduction either. Crazy, isn't it? :)

 

Developing paper in the light is exactly about testing the developer strength. This is very easy to do, but if we are talking about possible cross contamination this may well show up during the test.

 

Ron, for a long time I wanted to ask you, is there a chemical way to decrease the contrast during the development besides lowering the temp, diluting developer and not agitating the tray? All this little tricks only give about 0.5 grade less when I look for a full stop or more. I've search all your messages but did not find the answer. Could you use my e-mail dmitrofanov@softhome.net cause its a bit off topic.

 

Thank you.

DM

[rowland_mowrey]

Dmitry;

 

That is really interesting. My US paper does not do that. But, as I have remarked before, EK products differ based on manufacturing site.

 

The B&W EK papers that I have were made in Brazil, but the color paper I have was made here in Rochester. I cannot imagine the purpose of the developing agent in the paper as in color, addition of a B&W developing agent can lead to color contaminations and other problems.

 

As for lowering contrast, that is hard to do with color paper. It is rather easy to increase it. Color paper has a gamma of about 2.5, and I have been able to increase it by several means.

 

Any method of changing contrast runs the risk of having crossover, and causing variations from batch to batch.

 

Ron Mowrey