First time Lith Printing - Let the fun begin!

[Klainmeister]

Alright, so I am going to take a crack at lith printing for the first time ever tonight. Use Foma paper with Arista Lith printing developer--it sez 1:24 part A and B, and no more, so I am assuming you mix the two.

Anywho, I'll post my results as things progress. Hopefully anyone else who is looking to do the same will learn something with me.

Cheers!

 

[mooseontheloose]

Good luck! Hope all goes well on your first attempt!

 

[Klainmeister]

Just got back in from the DR. Need sleep...work tomorrow. I have good news, bad news, and pictures. Stay posted!

 

[Klainmeister]

Okie dokie. Success!

I mixed 4 liters of Arista Lith Developer 1:20 and used Foma Variant. The first exposure I tried was 40 seconds (the original silver print exposure was about 8) and got an ok image after 25 minutes in the developer, then I tried 60 seconds, better, and finally 80 seconds before I got the balance I wanted.

Development is an area that needs to be explored. I ended up putting in hot water to speed up the process since each was taking about 20 minutes before the snatch point. Wtf? Any hints here? Maybe strengthen the solution?

I really like the warm color and sharp grain, it's exactly what I was hoping for. I went ahead and did an 8x10 on 11x14 since I felt confident. Here's a shot:

 

[mooseontheloose]

Your print looks good! I get bored with long development times too, so I ALWAYS use warm developer (usually in the 25-35 C range). It's amazing how a few degrees of temperature can really speed up a process. That being said, I barely have any experience with the Arista Lith (I mostly use Moersch or LD20) so maybe others can chime in here. Of course, everything depends on what you are looking for in terms of colour, grittiness, and lithiness.

I'd also experiment going further than you plan -- after 60 seconds, a stop more exposure would be 120 seconds, then 240, etc. Similarly, try doing multiple (that is, two) prints at the same time in the developer, but snatch one later than the other. You might be surprised at what you like once drydown occurs.

 

[paul_c5x4]

A 20 minute development time is not unusual, but you can increase the strength to reduce the time it takes. However, a lot of the fun stuff (i.e. colours) happens with the weaker dilutions. As mooseontheloose says, increasing the temperature will also reduce the time it takes for an image to appear - I sit my dish on a tray warmer and run at around 32C and development times are usually around 8-15 minutes depending on dilution and formula.

The next thing to try is toning with KRST, gold, sepia, or even copper - Some of the combinations will blow your mind :w00t:

 

[Klainmeister]

The lith bottle is currently sitting in hot water in prep for the print sessions tonight. I will do some selenium and see what happens. oohhhh sooo excited!

 

[Dan Henderson]

I have been having good luck with Arista Lith and Fomatone paper. I use 20ml A + 20ml B + 1 liter of water + 100 to 200 ml of old brown. Like others, I keep my developer at 30 to 35 c and get full development in around 5 minutes, lengthening as the developer matures. Selenium helps my pictures a lot, taking the green out of the shadows, pinking up the highlights and spiking the contrast a bit.

 

[Klainmeister]

Awesome....will try now. Literally taking a second away from printing

 

[Mark Fisher]

Fomabrom/variant takes a very long time in development. If you want faster development, you might try Foma warm tone papers. They are a bit speedier. Also, float your tray in a larger tray of very hot water. I try to start at 40C or so. A tray warmer also works, but electricity in my sink scares me.

I am very impatient (as lith printers go), but I never boost the dilution unless I am looking for more subtle colors.

 

[Klainmeister]

I boosted the chems a bit...I think I should be around 1:15 then did the tray trick you had in mind with a 20x24 tray and put my 11x14 in it with boiling hot water. Helped, but still took up to 15 minutes. I'll try to get some scans soon. This time was VERY grainy. Almost too much so. Might need to make some adjustments.

 

[Bertil]

Not very experienced in lith, just used LD20 in regular dilution (+ "old brown"); also tried Fomabrom Variant and got 20 minutes developing time at 20°C and very, very grainy. 20 minutes just too much!
Got the advice her on APUG to heat up. I changed paper to Fomabrom 131 and at 25°C I got nice developing time like 2-4 minutes and, at least, sometime interesting results (some posted at the Standard Gallery). Have just ordered some Fomabrom 111 graded paper, grade Normal, which they say is nice for lith, haven't tried it yet.
/Bertil