Arista Ortho Litho 2 in Caffenol

Pioneer · Nov 9, 2021

Has anyone here tried use one of the Caffenol formulas to develop Arista Ortho Litho film? If so, what were your results and do you have a developing time to start with?

revdoc · Nov 10, 2021

I've used Caffenol LC+C quite a lot in the past couple of months. (I think that's what it's called, but there's no Bureau of Caffenol Nomenclature to enforce standards.)

250ml consists of 1/4 tsp ascorbic acid, 3/4 tsp sodium carbonate monohydrate, and 1.5 tsp Starbucks instant. I give it 3 minutes at 20C, with continuous agitation, in a tray. Bear in mind that my end point is a VDB print; for a silver print, you'd develop less.

The coffee matters. Some coffees fog the film; some coffees gave me a weak result (but maybe for SG, you want that.)

I should also add that I rate this film at 1.5 ISO. That's been the only way of getting shadow detail.

Pioneer · Nov 10, 2021

revdoc said:
I've used Caffenol LC+C quite a lot in the past couple of months. (I think that's what it's called, but there's no Bureau of Caffenol Nomenclature to enforce standards.)

250ml consists of 1/4 tsp ascorbic acid, 3/4 tsp sodium carbonate monohydrate, and 1.5 tsp Starbucks instant. I give it 3 minutes at 20C, with continuous agitation, in a tray. Bear in mind that my end point is a VDB print; for a silver print, you'd develop less.

The coffee matters. Some coffees fog the film; some coffees gave me a weak result (but maybe for SG, you want that.)

I should also add that I rate this film at 1.5 ISO. That's been the only way of getting shadow detail.

Thanks. I'll give that a try for a start and see what I end up with.

Pioneer · Nov 10, 2021

Just finished developing in Caffenol. Arista Ortho Litho 2.0. Exposed at EI 1.5. Negatives look usable.

My process is pretty relaxed right now, I use Sumatra coffee beans. Brewed 4 tablespoons of ground beans in 4 cups of water. Let it sit on the hot plate for about 35m (had other things I was trying to get done.) This made approximately 700 ml of strong coffee. Mixed in 5 teaspoons of Sodium Carbonate (unknown brand) and mixed well. Added ice to bring temp down to 75F. Used 500ml of the mix to develop the film in a tray for 4 minutes. Normal stop for 30s (vinegar solution) and normal fix 2m (Photo Formulary TF-5). Washed using Ilford 3 step wash routine. Hung to dry.

Will try to get a contact sheet printed tomorrow.

Pioneer · Nov 15, 2021

Wanderlust Travelwide 4x5 Camera - Schneider Krueznach Angulon 90/6.8
Arista Ortho Litho 2.0 Film - Exposure Index ISO 1.5
Caffenol Developer (Brew of 4 Tablespoons of ground Sumatra beans in 4 cups water mixed with 5 level tablespoons of Sodium Carbonate. Add water/Ice to cool to 74F after mixing in the Sodium Carbonate and to make up to 1 liter of solution.)
4 minutes in 500ml Caffenol @ 74F. Agitate continuously in tray.
Negative scanned in two passes on Epson V500 and merged in Photoshop. No changes to scan beyond photomerge.

Some developing artifacts but overall there is very good detail in these negative with good tonal distribution. In particular the Rock Formation photograph shows several patches of sunlight coming through the overcast which increases the contrast yet the results appear workable. I am looking forward to contact printing these negatives to see how they work out but that will not happen for a few more days.

CRITTENDON RANCH -

ROCK FORMATION -

Craig75 · Nov 15, 2021

That's excellent effort. Nailed it immediately

Pioneer · Nov 15, 2021

Thanks.

Not exactly immediately but it did come together faster than I anticipated. The two example above were negative 13 and 14. The others turned out but were at first very contrasty (I dropped out the Vitamin C), then very thin , (I increased the temperature of the solution.) I am still seeing some problems with development consistency in the negatives, especially out on the edges. This could be temperature related so I think I'll drop the temperature and increase the time on my next try.

grainyvision · Nov 15, 2021

I imagine the biggest problem with development of the film in caffenol is that it is extremely susceptible to uneven development. Also you will likely be stuck at lower speeds

Pioneer · Nov 15, 2021

Probably. I figured I would try some of your methods in coordination with the Caffenol to help speed things up a little when I get more reliable development.

gone · Nov 15, 2021

Well, that worked! Great, I'll bet the prints will be very nice. A dozen negs to get things going is really pretty fast. Oh, I know, it probably didn't feel fast when you were doing it, but it is.

Pioneer · Nov 15, 2021

Thanks momus. I am looking forward to a lot more "playing around" with this film and developer. Fortunately, unlike some of my other experiments, in this case the materials are easy to get and very inexpensive. A win-win.

Pioneer · Nov 16, 2021

Another from the same outing. This one was much later in the afternoon and required an 18 second exposure at f/1.5. Staining/fogging in the center which may be related to solution temperature during development.

Wanderlust Travelwide 4x5 Camera - Schneider Krueznach Angulon 90/6.8
Arista Ortho Litho 2.0 Film - Exposure Index ISO 1.5
Caffenol Developer (Brew of 4 Tablespoons of ground Sumatra beans in 4 cups water mixed with 5 level tablespoons of Sodium Carbonate. Add water/Ice to cool to 74F after mixing in the Sodium Carbonate and to make up to 1 liter of solution.)
4 minutes in 500ml Caffenol @ 74F. Agitate continuously in tray.
Negative scanned in two passes on Epson V500 and merged in Photoshop. Some cleanup of dust specks and cat hairs and a small slider adjustment to reduce contrast a little.

Canyon Stream

Pioneer · Nov 20, 2021

For those who may have some coffee and Kodalith lying about.

This is some pretty old Kodak Ortho Litho film exposed at EI-1.5 and then developed in a soup of Caffenol consisting of 4 cups water brewed with 4 tablespoons of ground Sumatra beans then mixed with 5 tablespoons of Sodium Carbonate. I brought the mix to a full liter using ice cubes and water to help drop the temp to 69F. I then agitated continuously in a tray of 500ml of the above described solution for 5 miutes and 15 seconds.

Cement Tools -

This is the best of the 4 sheets I exposed. Perhaps due to the age of the film it seems very sensitive to staining but it does work in Caffenol. I am also experiencing some light leaks on the edges, probably caused by pulling the darkslide all the way out on the old film holders I am using. Although the Arista Ortho Litho is much easier to with I will not be turning down any old Kodak Litho film that people may want to get rid of since it is certainly usable with this solution.

Arista Ortho Litho 2 in Caffenol

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