Fuji Hunt Print Xpress RA4 stop bath?

Edward_S · Sep 26, 2011

Apologies if this is 'dumb stop bath question of the week'...

I've just got a Fuji Hunt Print Xpress RA4 5-litre kit. It explains in detail how to make up the developer and bleach fix, but doesn't list stop bath anywhere in the processing steps (unlike the instructions that come with the Tetenal Colortec RA4 kit which explicitly mention a stop bath).

So should I use a stop bath (I would normally), or is there some reason why a stop bath shouldn't be used with the Fuji Hunt kit? All advice gratefully received!

Thanks,

Edward.

darkroom_rookie · Sep 26, 2011

Just use 1:4 diluted white vinegar one-shot. Cheap and easily available. Does the kit have 3-part developer and 2-part bleachfix?

P.S. Wish I were in London now! South London, to be more precise... Silverprint comes to mind, among other things...

Edward_S · Sep 26, 2011

Yes, it's three-part developer and two-part bleach fix, so fairly standard stuff I assume.

pentaxuser · Sep 26, 2011

I'd simply use a standard stop bath such as Kodak or Fotospeed. White vinegar might be OK but might have other ingredients as well which not be so good.

One of the cheapest stopbaths is the Kodak one. As you live in London, pop into Silverprint and stock up on all things analogue. I can think of few if any retailers which have a better stock or are more knowledgeable.

pentaxuser

L Gebhardt · Sep 27, 2011

1.5% acetic acid is what I use. So add 15ml of glacial acetic acid to a liter of water.

Edward_S · Oct 29, 2011

I thought I'd add a brief update to this thread. Since I had more of the Fuji chemicals than I was likely to need, and could therefore experiment a bit, I decided to live dangerously and do without the stop bath. So far I have been delighted with the results. Bright, crisp colours, quicker without an intermediate bath between developer and blix, and lower volume of chemicals to dispose of afterwards.

Bob-D659 · Oct 29, 2011

Do not use your local malt vinegar, it's great on chips, but..................

hka · Oct 30, 2011

I never used a stop bath for RA4.

Edward_S · Oct 30, 2011

hka said:
I never used a stop bath for RA4.

That's interesting. There was some discussion in another thread about Kodak RA4 chemicals where people seemed to be recommending a stop bath. Certainly the Fuji Hunt instructions say pre-wet and stop bath for drum processing, but neither for tray processing.

Bob-D659 · Oct 30, 2011

I use a 30 sec stop and a 30 sec water rinse after it when drum processing, works perfectly for me.

The stop is to prevent streaking when the blix hits the paper unevenly.

Fuji Hunt Print Xpress RA4 stop bath?

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