Attention Fellow Lith Printers: Advice Needed

[Dan Henderson]

I have been using Fotospeed LD20 lith developer because I like the salmony colors that I can get on Foma 131 paper. I need to order more developer this weekend, but as you may know, Fotospeed is currently testing developer from a new supplier, and the product will not be back on Freestyle's shelf for about 2 months.

So my dilemma is to find a lith developer that produces similar color to Fotospeed. Rollei Vintage produces a very weak color for me, so is not an option. Moersch lith developer has been recommended and I am considering ordering some, but it seems pretty expensive relative to the other developers on the market. Arista Premium lith developer is more economical, but I don't know its characteristics...does it produce warm highlight and midtone colors?

Any insight will be greatly appreciated.
Thanks,
Dan

 

[Rich Ullsmith]

Hi Dan. I'm sure there will be disagreement with this, but . . .I have not found any difference between any lith developer that cannot be compensated for with additives and dilutions. I.e., the source of color is in the emulsion, not in the pan.

It sure saves time if you have a developer-paper combination that you like. But I have found nothing with LD20 that I can't get with Naccolith or Kodalith. Takes time playing around with dilution and sulfite/bromide. I'm interested to hear what others have to say.

 

[mooseontheloose]

Dan,

My developer of choice was Moersch, as I started lith printing while living in France and it was the easiest, if not only, developer I could get my hands on at that time. However, just recently, I started using the LD20 that I picked up while in the States and I found that the colours with the Foma 132 and 131 papers were more sandy, as opposed to the true salmony colours I was getting with Moersch. Of course, the strength of the dilution and the ripeness of the developer had a lot to do with that, but overall that was what I was getting. Moersch is more pricey, but I find I could get a lot more prints through it than the Fotospeed developer (almost double). However, my experience with lith printing is still somewhat limited, so please take that into consideration.