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Sarah. #1 looks like it was snatched too early to get the full lith effect. There are mainly midtones and highlights showing here. Infectious development needed a little longer and I assume that's what you did with #2? Were both prints developed for the same amount of time? If so, it could be that the devloper needed to be seasoned, and that's what your first print did. Typically, and I say that loosely, unless you use some 'old brown' in the developer, it can take a few prints to get the lith color and density you want. When starting from a fresh mixed dev, it can take up to 3 or 4 attempts until I get the color I want. Again, that can vary too.

The color aspect is usually changed by more time in the developer. Again, this needs more experimentation I find with FOMA paper, you can unlock more colors by diluting the developer further, and leaving the print in longer, and therefore a longer time will elapse before 'snatchpoint' is reached. You will need to document and test this out though only changing one thing at a time, and making notes as you go.

Andrew is right on the money.

And keep in mind that the colors change as the developer ages. Color also changes based on the amount of exposure you give (and subsequently contrast changes also), which is why you really want consistent negatives with lith printing, if you're looking for a uniform look.
One way to get around the problems that 'aging' of the working solution presents is to mix a very large volume of developer. If you for instance use one liter of the Fotospeed LD40, you get maybe three or four prints (8x10) out of it. If you mix an entire gallon (3.8 liters or so) you get four times the capacity and the changes of the developer are slower to appear.

Thank you Andrew and Thomas!
I just realised I diluted the developer more for the first print...( I was never very good at math). About the same time for exposure but the one with more colour was in the bath longer. I do add old brown but to be honest I don't know exactly how much your are supposed to use?
I'll defenitely follow Thomas advice to mix more at a time!
"OK, I think I'm starting to get the hang of contrast in Lithprinting..." who was I trying to kid?
- Sarah

Andrew's advice about taking notes is priceless. A day well spent in the darkroom is to test. It's exhausting, but what you want to do is figure out what you can do with one single negative. Try different dilutions, temperatures, exposure times, working solution volumes, etc. And do take notes. One good way of doing it is to write, in pencil, on the reverse side of your photo paper, before you expose it, what the aperture and exposure time is. That helps you complete the notes and sort it all out. When your printing session is over and the prints are washed and dry, you can write the rest of your notes on the back of the prints. It gives you a quick reference to a look that you like.

Soon you'll notice that you remember better what you wrote down, and if you continue using Fomatone paper and Fotospeed developer, you'll develop a 'sense' of how to treat a certain negative.

And whether you get 'the hang of contrast in lithprinting...' or not, it's the prints that matter, and you consistently come up with great results.
Look at the work of Mayfair710. She has claimed to me, numerous times, that she has no idea what she's doing. I don't believe it for a second, but you can take one piece of advice with you from that statement - all the technical mumbo jumbo in the world can never replace talent. And you have gobs of talent.

You'll get the hang of it pretty quickly sara. Remember, NOTES are your friend when it comes to getting consistency and repeatability.

As for old brown. What I do is keep about 300 or 400ml of old lith devleoper after each printing session in a jug. When I mix up the next batch, I'll add in some more.

If I'm printing on 8x10 paper, I usually mix up Moersch SE-5 this way... 50ml of Part A, to 700ml of water, and 50ml of Part B, to 700ml of water. Then I'll add in 100ml, but no more than 150ml of old brown. The old brown takes the edge off the developer thereby seasoning it ready for use. Again, this is what works for me, you need to work out your own dilutions and mixes to suit your workflow and printing requirements. As per Thomas, I use a tray larger than the print size I am developing. Firstly so that the larger volume of developer keeps active longer and slowing down the print to print differences, but more importantly, so that flow marks at the print borders do not develop more due to fact they get more developer flow in smaller trays.... Again, I stress, take notes and once you get what you are after, it can be repeated as best it can be with lith. To me, having some potential for variations is part of the appeal of lith, but you want to get to a point where you can control as many of the variables and know what will happen as you change and evolve the process to your vision.

Just to put in how I would approach it.....and all the info is great so far.
A lot of people add a little old brown. I add a lot. Like 500 ml out of a total of 1.5L. I would also try diluting the active solution by about 2x of what the manufacturer recommends. This will be slow, but the result should be more colorful. Once you have something that has good blacks, you could also consider toning with Selenium . I've never tried that paper in selenium, but it is pretty amazing all the different colors you can get out of selenium with some papers.

Good luck -- Mark

Thanks Mark, I will try that and keep notes!
I have tried selenium wiht Foma and it works well but I have yet to tone a Lith print. Depending on the summer weather I might post the result soon...

-Sarah