Efke B&W Positive Paper - Developers?

Colin Corneau · Jun 23, 2009

All

I've ordered a pack of 8x10 positive B&W paper for a specific project. From past experience I know this paper is very very contrasty.

The best luck I've had with it is with Dektol 1:6. But I've heard chat that some film developers can work well to reduce the extreme contrast with this paper.

True? If so, which ones and dilutions? Many thanks for all guidance.

Colin

Thomas Bertilsson · Jun 23, 2009

Colin,

Zonal Pro warmtone would be really good, probably, because it's a very low contrast and soft working warm tone developer. Supposedly it's nothing more than Ansco 120 (not 130) that you could mix at home with the right tools.
Perhaps Kodak Selectol Soft would be appropriate too? Dektol really is a developer that produces a lot of contrast.
If you'd like to try it out some time, Amidol could be good as well, as it exhibits what I think is the longest tonal scale I've ever been able to produce with Fotokemika Emaks paper. Just stunningly deep and rich blacks and beautiful highlight modulation right at the top end.

- Thomas

Ian Grant · Jun 23, 2009

ID-3/D165 is the equivalent of Selectol Soft / Adaptol and will tame the contrast for you.

Ian

Colin Corneau · Jun 23, 2009

Thanks fellers. Any of these products is a mail-order for me, and considering it's little more than a month until I need to do this, I'd best get hopping.

Thomas Bertilsson · Jun 23, 2009

Colin, I have a bottle of the Zonal Pro. I'd send it to you if it wasn't a problem shipping it... Liquids are no-no at the post office. UPS maybe... Want me to look?

Colin Corneau · Jun 23, 2009

Very generous of you, Thomas -- I already ordered some from Freestyle.

You see how seriously I take your recommendation? You say it, it happens. 8^)

I also got a few packs of the Selectol Soft, a product I've never tried. I'll give it a whirl with the paper, as well as some of the 3-grade paper I've got kicking around. It should be a fun experiment -- I'm using an old Korona View 8x10 with a brass lens to make 8x10 portraits at the Folk music festival at the end of July. It's got no shutter or aperture -- figure the old 'removing the lens cap' shutter would be a good fit for a paper that's about EI-6.

Jim Noel · Jun 23, 2009

film developers, are less active than are paper developers. diluted paper developers are used by many when desiring to lower the contrast of lith films. Dilute film developers work much better since their activity is less to begin with that of paper developers. I frequently use D76 diluted one to three or one to five with Lith film which has been exposed in camera. Other film developers work well also. I have been more successful for many years using film developers for this purpose rather than paper developers.
I have had the same success using film developers with positive papers.

Colin Corneau · Jun 24, 2009

Interesting, Jim, since I seem to recall someone using Diafine with this paper (although it's a 2 part developer IIRC, and I don't know how they reconciled that with using it as a paper developer.)

pcyco · Jun 24, 2009

hallo

i dont kow if it helps

but rodinal should also work well with paper

analog gretings

thomas

Efke B&W Positive Paper - Developers?

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