Easy Lith..Help

Hello to all and sorry if this has been covered..

I wanted to give it a shot and try the lith developer. I bought the easy lith that come in two bottles Part A and Part B..

I followed the directions saying to first dilute Part A to 1000ml the Part B to 1000ml. I did that..Then 20ml of the mixed Part A 20 ml of the mixed Part B to 1000 ml to make the solution. At first I though this does not sound right but I followed directions.

Problem..After 15 min of developer I don't see an image at all! I am exposing wide open and I even did an exposure of 2 min. Should I go more than that? The negative is not over or under exposed.The paper was Arista EDU RC and it is new.

What am I doing wrong?

PS The very first time after waiting for so long I dropped a touch of Dektol in the tray and the image came out. Didn't see a difference in values and it much looked like it was developed in Dektol.

Thanks in advance.

I suspect you've over-diluted it. The directions in http://www.freestylephoto.biz/pdf/product_pdfs/moersch/Easy_Lith_Instructions.pdf
show that you just mix 20ml part A, 20ml part B with a liter of water. Try adding less water when you are making the working solution...

I too think you over-diluted it. You don't dilute the dilution. As Anikin said, mix 20ml part A in 500ml of water, mix 20ml part B in 500 ml water, and then mix the two together to get a liter of working solution.

Also, what paper are you using? Not all papers lith. What temperature are you using? Some papers need a higher temperature to appear (faster) -- 5 minutes as opposed to 30 minutes. I generally find that, however long it takes for the first image to appear, if you double the time, that should probably be close to the time it will take to lith properly (depending on the look you are going for of course).

Anyway, let us know if the new dilutions work for you (and with what paper).

Thanks guys..That makes sense and I was suspecting that was the case. I will try it this way and keep you posted.

Thanks much.

Also Temp is a huge factor. If my developer's temp is not raised it can take a while.

Dilution 1+1+20 to 1+1+80 can be used (a+b+water). Paper is very essential. Check out Tim Rudmans site here for the newsletter with an update on papers:
http://www.timrudman.com/mailing_list

So here is the update. I remixed A+B and I am attaching the results. At least I got something this time. The last print of the train the developing time was way to long. Also compare to some sample images on the Moersch site mine are on the grainy side. I don't mind it but I am looking forward to my next bottles and new dilution variations. Is the lith suppose to be exhausted fairly fast once on the tray?

Anyway tell me what you think and thanks in advance.

PS. Colors is a bit flat and off due to scan.

The grain is probably inherent in the paper you are using I use the fiber version of that paper and it is grainy like this. The development times are also longer than any other paper. If you want close to neutral and a little less grain, try Slavich. If you want considerably less grain and more color, try Fomatone. These are the 3 papers I use almost exclusively for lith (except for the Kentmere Warmtone I have stashed away....)

Thanks Mark. I would try it. I believe I have one sheet of Fomatone left. I know the Arista EDU is grainy but haven't use the paper for a while but it makes sense. Any idea how ADOX is? I have some of that and will try as well.

Cheers.
n.

njkphoto said:

Thanks Mark. I would try it. I believe I have one sheet of Fomatone left. I know the Arista EDU is grainy but haven't use the paper for a while but it makes sense. Any idea how ADOX is? I have some of that and will try as well.

Cheers.
n.

Click to expand...

My experience with the Adox MCC paper is that it is more difficult to lith print. I'd advise you to work with the Fomatone papers first until you get good at it and then try other papers.