Developing RA-4

sidearm613 · May 10, 2009

Just a bit of a side question...
While i am not particularly interested yet in RA-4 enlarging, my recently acquired enlarger (thanks mike c!) has a color head and I am looking into Ciba/Ilfochrome processing. I read somewhere that Ilfochrome can be handled under a safelight, is this true? That aside, how exactly does the Ilfochrome process work, keeping in mind that at the moment my darkroom is very much still under construction and being set up mostly for B+W work. And yes, I know that Ilfochrome is ungodly expensive, but I gotta try it!

Thomas Wilson · May 10, 2009

David, I have not processed Cibachromes in many years, and I am no expert, but I think the best way to compare Ciba's to RA-4 is to look at the differences.

Very subtle adjustments of time and color will result in huge changes in RA-4 prints, while obtaining subtle changes in Cibachromes require huge adjustments of time and color. One requires a very soft touch, the other, a sledge hammer.

Color and density adjustments are opposite. If an RA-4 print is too yellow, yellow is added to the filter pack to remove it from the print. If a Cibachrome print is too yellow, yellow is removed from the filter pack or cyan & magenta added to correct the print. Printing Cibachromes is the only time the cyan dial on my enlarger ever leaves "zero."

RA-4 chemistry is pretty mild stuff, diluted that is. Cibachrome chemistry is down right nasty! The first time I saw the "Yellow cloud" rising from my processing tube, I was sure something was going to melt. As it turns out, it was the trap below my kitchen sink. I replaced a few traps before I learned to dump the spent chemistry in a bucket of water before dumping it down the drain.

Contrast can be excessive with Cibachromes, often requiring a mask, or some very artful burning & dodging. I have often found RA-4 prints soft and muted by comparison.

Still, there is no substitute for a Cibachrome. Sometimes I wonder if they have a secret battery compartment.

E76 · May 10, 2009

sidearm613 said:
Just a bit of a side question...
While i am not particularly interested yet in RA-4 enlarging, my recently acquired enlarger (thanks mike c!) has a color head and I am looking into Ciba/Ilfochrome processing. I read somewhere that Ilfochrome can be handled under a safelight, is this true? That aside, how exactly does the Ilfochrome process work, keeping in mind that at the moment my darkroom is very much still under construction and being set up mostly for B+W work. And yes, I know that Ilfochrome is ungodly expensive, but I gotta try it!

Ilfochrome cannot to be handled under a safelight, as it does not have the gap in spectral sensitivity RA-4 paper has. Ilfochrome is processed in a similar 3 step process like B&W paper. The procedure is: 1) Developer, 2) Wash, 3) Bleach, 4) Wash, 5) Fixer, 6) Final Wash.

srs5694 · May 10, 2009

re: RA-4 reversal processing

tiberiustibz said:
The result is a typically high contrast image in need of contrast masking with a visible mottle in the background. I have tried it without much success.

I've tried it a few times, but I'm far from an expert. My success has varied. Some photos seem to produce reasonable results, depending on what you're after; others don't. I'm attaching one of my better results, along with a scan of the original slide. Note that this particular print doesn't suffer from the mottling that's often mentioned as a problem with this process; however, I have seen that mottling in other prints I've tried. I made this print using Fuji CA paper. I'd need to check my notes on processing chemicals; however, the B&W developer was probably either E-72 or DS-14.

The original slide was Velvia 50. Obviously the color accuracy of the print isn't that great. As I recall, when I adjusted for better accuracy in the stones or vegetation, the sky went completely wonky. Since I was just playing with the process, I didn't try all that hard. Nonetheless, I've got this print hung on my wall along with its opposite twin -- a print made from the slide on RA-4 paper with normal RA-4 processing, hence a negative. The sky looks like a Martian sky in that one. I think they make a nice pair; they sort of grew on me after I'd made them both.

sidearm613 · May 11, 2009

Thomas Wilson said:
David, I have not processed Cibachromes in many years, and I am no expert, but I think the best way to compare Ciba's to RA-4 is to look at the differences.

Very subtle adjustments of time and color will result in huge changes in RA-4 prints, while obtaining subtle changes in Cibachromes require huge adjustments of time and color. One requires a very soft touch, the other, a sledge hammer.

Color and density adjustments are opposite. If an RA-4 print is too yellow, yellow is added to the filter pack to remove it from the print. If a Cibachrome print is too yellow, yellow is removed from the filter pack or cyan & magenta added to correct the print. Printing Cibachromes is the only time the cyan dial on my enlarger ever leaves "zero."

RA-4 chemistry is pretty mild stuff, diluted that is. Cibachrome chemistry is down right nasty! The first time I saw the "Yellow cloud" rising from my processing tube, I was sure something was going to melt. As it turns out, it was the trap below my kitchen sink. I replaced a few traps before I learned to dump the spent chemistry in a bucket of water before dumping it down the drain.

Contrast can be excessive with Cibachromes, often requiring a mask, or some very artful burning & dodging. I have often found RA-4 prints soft and muted by comparison.

Still, there is no substitute for a Cibachrome. Sometimes I wonder if they have a secret battery compartment.

Jesus, That yellow clowd won't melt the bathtub over which my trays live, will it? its a really old tub!I guess the biggest problem with Cibachrome is the high cost and the difficulty, at least for me, of finding the darn stuff.

thefizz · May 11, 2009

Regarding a safe light for colour, I use the handy colour safe torch from RH Designs which I find great. I only need to use it when moving the paper from one tray to the next. The rest of the time I'm in darkness.

http://www.rhdesigns.co.uk/darkroom/html/safetorch.html

Developing RA-4

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