Fujichrome type 34 print paper

[thisismyname09]

After a bit of a hiatus, I'm trying to get back into my darkroom more. I've got a stash of stuff that needs to get used. Among that stash is around 250 sheets of Fujichrome Type 34 paper, for making prints directly from slides, which I obtained from Ian C of APUG a few years ago. Since the chemicals are long discontinued, I've only played around with cross processing and the like, but I think I want to attempt to tackle getting some usable images out of the stuff. I especially want to be able to print something from the two rolls of kodachrome I shot last year.

I very vaguely recall something being said about the possibility of reproducing the developers for this process here on APUG, though I may very well be mistaken. I'm planning on going about my own research and experimentation, but I figured it would be well worth asking the experts here. Any ideas?

 

[Mike Wilde]

I have notes on how to reversal print on colour paper using standard RA4 process chems for the second developer, and blix stages.

I DIY mix a first developer, with a thiocyanate component, I seem to recall, to ensure a good reversal.

I develop for on the order of 2' 20C regualr agitaion in the absolute darkness in a tray, and rinse well in a well refreshed water bath before popping the lights on for a good optical re-exposure.
I then feed the wet grey looking print into the standard ra-4 chems for standard processing times.

You get to tell from looking at the grey result of the first developers action at the optical re-exposure stage if you have got the exposure right under the enlarger.
If wrong; too light or dark; you can abort then, and start again.

I have notes of the full process, but they are not at hand at the moment.

It works ok with regular RA-4 paper, but extremely well with Ektachrome Radiance, a paper designed for prints from transparencies. I beleive it should work fine for the type 34 you have also.

If mixing from scratch for a first developer does not turn you off, send me a PM and I will dig up my notesd and send them/post them.

 

[Ian C]

Fujichrome Type 34 was processed in the same chemistry as Ektachrome 22 and 23 papers. The kits were sold by Kodak, Unicolor, and possibly others. Possibly this information might help you determine an appropriate process.

A properly chosen transparency printed on Fujichrome Type 34 Super Glossy looked at least as good as any Cibachrome/Ilforchrome print I’ve ever seen. My 120 Kodachromes really sparkled on Type 34 SG.

 

[Mike Wilde]

So if it is the same as 22 and 23 it might need benzyl alcohol in the colour developer. Try to see what sort of colour saturation you get before going that route from standard RA-4.

I have notes somewhere from when I was trialing some old ep/2 type colour paper ( See , this is a theme. I make notes, but locating them later... I tend to paste test prints into a spiral bound notebook, and write the filtration and processing steps on them if the steps were other than 'standard').
Development times for the colour develoepr were longer ewith EP/2 process as well. All of my old EP/2 paper that was gifted to me now has a marked yellow cast, so I have not pursued this experimentation any further.

As to reversal first developer: I was wrong on the thiocyanate. That must have been when I was goofing in making DIY slides with tmax 100 and pan F film stocks.

This reverasl before RA-4 b&w first developer (likely from Ron Mowray, but my notes are not explicit on the source) goes as follows:

per litre:

water , deionized or destilled about 750mL , microwaved to about 52C
pinch of sodium silfite from a 45g quantity
3 g of metol, stir (sometimes for a while, until all is dissolved)
balance of the 45g of sodium sulfite (stir til dissolved)
6g of hydroquinone (needles dissove quickly)
160g sodium carbonate, monohydrate ( takes a good bit of stirring to dissolve, may need more that 160g if your carbonate is not monohydrate)
sodium chloride 125mL of 2% solution ( ie disslove 2g NaCl into iL distilled, and then store the rest or toss after drawing off 125mL)
water to 1L

Let stand a minimum of 2 days to allow the hydroquinone to morph into it's sulfonate form.

use at 2' 20C 1:3 dilution as first developer for papers like Supra III

My processing sequence is :

2' FD total darkness, mostly constant agitation (what else is there to do unless you are doing this in a daylight tube?)
15" stop bath, b&w paper strength, with indicator, still in the dark if in trays
45" running water into tray wash. Turn lights on in this stage; it is necessary for the optical re-exposure. There are chemical reversal agents, bu not for my use when sloshing prints in trays, thank you.
Then conventional RA-4 processing.

Adjust density by varying exposure time or aperture. If correcting colour cast by changing filtration, the exposure adjustment are even more important that when printing conventional RA-4.

Good luck with your experimentation.

 

[thisismyname09]

Thanks very much!
It looks like I may have to take a visit (place an order, rather) to the formulary; The only developing agents I have are ascorbic acid and phenidone. I may try using those two, but I doubt it working well, as I remember reading something about how phenidone can react with the couplers and form dye, albeit in very small amounts. Getting dye in the first developer cannot be good for the final image.

 

[Mike Wilde]

It might be worth a trial.

For black and white work the traditional substitution is 1/10th the weight of phenidone as is called for in metol.

I keep my phenidone in a stock solution of (heated in double boiler to dissolve the phenidone, and then kept as cool in a dark temperature stable place for a number of years) propylene glycol, so as more esily measure out precisely small amounts.