arespencer
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I need to make 20 post to DM them or figure out how to get access to reply in that classified post lol
You should be able to contact one of the moderators to forego the 20 post minimum to DM a member
I've very specifically verified this with FUJIFILM (also because it keeps being brought up by people who are concerned about it) and it's really a non-issue. You don't get sensitized by doing RA4 in open trays. Keep in mind that the chemicals in developer and blix solutions are not volatile; they do not go airborne under normal process conditions (unless you actually boil the solutions).you'll be exposing yourself to more chemical vapors
You should be able to contact one of the moderators to forego the 20 post minimum to DM a member- they just have to confirm you are real and not a scammer.
Where in California are you? I like to print RA 4 as well. I have a roller transport processor and I buy my chemistry “Silverprint” from Freestyle.
Thanks; yes, that's accurate; it's explained here: https://www.photrio.com/forum/threads/how-the-classifieds-section-works-read-this-first.204146/
@arespencer I've done the check @btaylor mentioned and have enabled your PM access. You can now post replies in the Classifieds section and you can initiate private conversations with other forum members. Hope this helps!
Also, cool to hear you're into color darkroom printing! There seems to be some (modest) growth in this practice, which is quite exciting to see. There are several ways to do color printing at home; the simplest is just using trays and room temperature chemistry, very much like B&W printing. I've done it that way for years until I ran into a processor (well, a few...) I also tried drums, but never liked the workflow; I felt I spent too much time drying drums.
I do RA4 in drums, and have up to 30X40 inch print capacity. I recommend at least learning on that route before going out an investing a lot of money on any automated system requiring replenishment and more complex maintenance. I do not recommend open trays because you'll be exposing yourself to more chemical vapors. I know, I know... certain people will claim they've been doing it that way for years with no health issues, and then suddenly, Whameee - they become sensitized and can never do it again. Regardless, make sure your darkroom has good ventilation drawing the air away from you and into the exterior ducting itself.
You'll need a decent colorhead and some kind of waterbath to keep the solutions at constant predictable temperature. I recommend the Silver Pixel kits which Freestyle LA sells, which performs identically to former Kodak Ra/Rt kits (I gave up on so-called "room temp" chemistry long ago).
Paper is the bigger problem. The cut sheet Crystal Archive paper which they sell is fine for learning purposes; but later on you might want to try the much wider range of Fuji papers which comes in roll version only.
You'll also discover you get much different results depending on whether you're shooting a low contrast film like Portra 160, or alas, something like Kodak Gold, versus a higher contrast more cleanly saturated film like Ektar 100. But RA4 procedure itself is fairly easy to learn, provided you're working with reasonably fresh chemistry and paper which isn't outdated.
I only print small, so most of the time an old Durst RCP20 and otherwise a 30cm Durst Printo. If it needs to be bigger, I print inkjet. 11x14" prints can go through a 12" processor which makes everything a little easier to handle. Keep in mind that the Ecoline 56 takes 7.5lt of developer and 8lt of blix. Of course 50+cm width is where serious use (as opposed to amateur printing) starts, which is why Colenta probably doesn't make anything smaller.What processor are you currently using? I think long term I would love to weight the option of a Colenta Ecoline 56. I’m pretty much just looking to make prints at 11x14 size to scan for final digital or print output for the most part. But I’m curious what that machine actually cost and what it cost to run it and what the day to day maintenance looks like etc.
I do RA4 with the Bellini kit, room temp in an 8x10 cibachtome drum that I just roll around by hand. The drum cost me £10 on eBay in a bundle with some other bits. If you've not done much RA4 yet, you don't need to spend big money to test it out. Paper is the most expensive bit.
Koraks - don't argue with me (although I am borderline sensitive to RA4 chem myself) but with those lab owners I've known who couldn't even enter into the same parts of the facility where RA4 was being done, despite true industrial ventilation. Sensitization can build up slowly and surreptitiously. I'm not in the least bit swayed by what the chemical manufacturers and marketers might state; I've heard that kind of poo-pooing over and over again in relation to the industries I was deeply involved with. Many of those "perfectly harmless" chemicals being promoted are now internationally banned due to proven hazards. I don't want to scare color darkroom practitioners, of whom I include myself, but there is one mantra which should always apply : "Better safe than sorry".
You are correct about cross-sensitization or pre-sensitization. I discussed this with PE a number of years ago. But realize that our homes and work environments are filled with all kinds of synthetic pollutants which factor in that manner. I was particularly susceptible because my office shared ventilation with warehouses spaces containing outgassing plywood and treated wooden mouldings. After retirement, and getting away from that environment, I'm less sensitive to RA4 than I once was, but still need to be careful. That's why I do the actual development outdoors, on a portable drum cart. And that's why I didn't install a superb condition 50-inch wide Kreonite RA4 roller transport machine, even though it was offered to me for free. I also sold off my 20-inch Thermaphot roller-transport machine for the same reason.
withI don't want to scare color darkroom practitioners
but then, what happens is this:poo-pooing over and over again
It's wise to be cautious, but I wouldn't waste too much time & energy on this supposed problem. Don't drink the developer. Don't bathe in it. Otherwise you'll be fine.I certainly will be wanting to make sure I have a setup that doesn’t blast me with tons of exposure to chems.
You need to position those devices below an effective fume hood ventilating to the outside. That should be part of your installation plan. Common sense, whether or not the smell is noticable. My backup indoor big drum roller machine has an air-pulling trough above and behind it, connected to a duct which feeds into my main sinkroom fume hood. That in turn is ducted to a big industrial variable-speed squirrel-cage fan on the outside of the building. (Air is more efficient pulled than pushed; and having the fan outside the building is also a lot
quieter). But that's just a backup.
So far, all my big color processing, both RA4 and formerly Ciba, has been done outdoors in mild weather. Starting out, prior to having a serious dedicated darkroom, I did Ciba processing on the counter of a spare bathroom, with an ordinary fan plugged in at one end, and an open window the other direction.
But the nature of this has inherently restricted my large color printing to minimize chemical exposure. I've had some good shows, but was never able to dovetail with offers to market my work in quantity. Makes no difference - I've always been more interested in the sheer qualitative and esthetic side of it than the monetary. I would have had to quit my regular career and take quite a gamble to change the game. There was far more money to be had opening my own industrial paint business, and I had superb partnering opportunities. But if I had, I'd undoubtedly be dead long before now, just like many others working with just too many "harmless chemicals"- which were in fact downright nasty during that era.
Roller transport machines are fabulous, I have a little Durst RCP-20 like Koraks. I'm planning on using it for years to come, so.....I never let it sit with chemistry in the machine. I always plan for 30 minutes setup and 30 minutes emptying and clean up, washing and flushing everything. I figure I need to run at least 8-10 prints, which is a pretty standard run. I also use for making black and white rc prints. This machine requires washing the prints and drying separately.
I have the Ilfospeed dryer, takes a minute to warm up, then 15 seconds to dry an 8x10.
Tubes are cheap and work great. Ra-4 is so fast you just need a set of rollers. Pre warm rinse, 1 minute warm developer, (I use a quick stop) 1 minute blix, wash 1 minute, dry.
Before I bought a processor I'd buy a dryer. Much higher gloss, instant feedback on your workflow.
I standardize on 2 min Dev and Blix step at 30C (83F), which does a better job minimizing the fill and drain factor than a mere 1 min apiece. Consistency is important when using drums. Intermediate Stop and Rinse phases can be briefer.
In terms of larger roller transport machines, by far the greatest utility expense is going to be the dryer module. These need 240V, but can be detached, with the prints simply air dried.
Basic test strips dry very quickly using an ordinary hair dryer. With smaller desktop processors (up to 20 inch width capacity) the energy wattage demands are much less.
Another issue with big machines is that they need a lot of chemical volume, which needs to be constantly monitored and replenished. That gets expensive unless you actually use them constantly. And you'd want to standardize on more affordable Fuji-Hunt chemistry in
larger initial quantities. My own intermittent style of printing always seems to end up with some unused chemistry which goes bad, even though I only mix enough at a time to cover a daily session. The smaller Part B developer component is the most susceptible, and I can't find that sold by itself. Fuji has "mono" type developer, which allegedly simplifies that issue, but their Blix is said to go bad prematurely if you don't consume it rapidly enough - not ideal for small volume printmakers. I often make big prints, but not in high volume.
There still seems to be a service and parts option for Thermaphot, but not for Fujimoto. The only Colenta machines I've seen are big industrial ones, priced more like 40K than 4K. But this is a good time to dive in, while RA4 supplies are still highly in demand and in production.
I sure like the outcome better than inkjet - especially when direct optically enlarged. It can be more nuanced and better detailed. And RA4 materials are now considerably more affordable than classic fiber-based black and white papers.
I’m based in LA but live just south of LA a little bit, but I’m in LA every week. Which roller transport system do you use? I would love to setup a darkroom at home to not have to pay and commute to a rental darkroom all the time, and only print during their open hours, since I’d love the option to print from 7pm-11pm
But I’m not exactly sure how deep I want to go into building and maintaining a darkroom. I work in the commercial photo world so I’m in a position where I could almost just go all in on a small colenta and build out a pretty proper darkroom but don’t know if I’m fully there there yet. But when I look at older roller systems that cost $5k that seem like they could be a constant expensive pain to maintain I feel like I’d rather just go in on a colenta system (if they cost what I think they cost).
So I’m sorta in this spot where I’d either go all in on a pretty legit darkroom or just keep it barebones and continue to use rental darkrooms mostly and have something cheap at home that I can run on a whim easily and knock out some contact sheets or a couple prints here and there. Like a jobo CPP2 or even trays.
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