Lith FIlm and mottling

[skygzr]

Hi Everyone -

 

I tried making an enlarged negative for the first time last weekend. I had

probelms with smooth areas (like the sky) looking like cottage cheese. The only

reference I found to the problem suggested I use a brush on the emulsion side to

break up the flow.

 

I'm using Arista APHS Premium Halftone Supreme in Dektol 1:9. I develop it in a

tray, and give it continuous rocking agitation, just like paper.

 

I'll try the brush but I wanted to pick the collective brains, first.

[frank.schifano]

Instead of a brush, you can try using your fingers. If you are sensitive to Dektol, the usual caveats apply. Use nitrile or rubber gloves. I'm ok with bare hands and Dektol at 1+2 for normal printing papers, and have been for years. At 1+9 I wouldn't even think about it.

 

Another strategy might be to slip the film into the developer tray emulsion side down and agitate that way for a few seconds before flipping it over. Seems more likely that you'll wet the emulsion evenly that way. Yet another alternative is to pre-wet the film in a tray of water first for the same reason.

[conrad_hoffman]

Lith films are, I think, prone to that problem when developed for continuous tones in Dektol. Try a film developer and choose a dilution that gives you at least a five minute development time.

[larrydressler]

Try HC-110 Dil A

 

Larry

[chris_waller]

I've devved Kodak Ortholith in Ilford PQ Universal with no problems. Slide the film under the dev as quickly as possible and agitate the dish first lengthwise for a few times, then crosswise. Alternate the agitation during development.

[larrydressler]

Chris

 

Were you getting High contrast or normal contrast negatives/positives? I found that your method built up contrast when I wanted midtones.

 

Kevin What did you want for an end result .. A total B&W 2 tone? or did you want mid tones? Over expose underdev for mid tones and a slower dev time with good but not aggresive Agatation helps.... A diluted Dev helps extend the time but not too long Some of the ones I used to make took 5-6 minutes .. Dektol 1-20 also worked....

 

Larry

[chris_waller]

Larry,

 

I was getting normal contrast positives. These were effectively transparent prints for mounting on an illuminated display.

[larrydressler]

Chris

 

Try diluting the dektol more and processing a little longer...

 

Larry

[jay_de_fehr]

Kevin,

 

I get great results using 510-Pyro 1:500 in a tube with one minute initial agitation, one inversion at 10 min, and 20 min total development time @ 70F. I think Andre' de Avillez uses the same technique. I should say that this is for in-camera negatives developed for normal printing contrast. Good luck.

 

Jay