Is there a good "ultimate guide" to analog printing color negs?

wiltw said:

My own Kodak Color Darkroom Dataguide has 1989 publication date, and a chart on one of its first pages shows

Color Reversal Film: E6
Color Reversal Paper: R3, R3000
Color Negative Film: C41
Color Prints: RA​

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Well as I said I wasn't sure of the exact year but that is a lot different than the mid 80s. I would like to see something showing it was available to the home user in the mid 80s, as was said by someone earlier. It would be helpful for those looking for books to know what years they can use and what they should avoid.

RPC said:

I was asking about RA-4 being available to the home user, not labs.

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Sorry, I don't have any knowledge about RA-4 kits being specifically targeted to home users.

With respect to home users, though, once these materials were out in the real world, the manufacturers would not have been able to keep them out of the hands of determined home processors. I would think that if you had worked in an independently owned minilab, all you'd have to do is ask the owner to sell you some chemicals and paper. Or ask for permission to collect some of the developer "overflow," which to the lab is a waste product, but to a home user is EXACTLY the formulation that they would need per the process specs.

I'm pretty certain that if I had wanted to do some RA-4 home printing in, say 1986, I could have done so without using any of my industry contacts. But I can't be certain since I never tried. As a note, I had intimate knowledge of these processes. Perhaps someone without such background knowledge would not have been able to pull it off - I dunno. Today we are accustomed to free access to the Kodak Z manuals; back then a printed copy had to be bought for something like $150 or so.

RPC said:

I would like to see something showing it was available to the home user in the mid 80s, as was said by someone earlier. It would be helpful for those looking for books to know what years they can use and what they should avoid.

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I would think that just about any good book on the principles of color printing, even from EP-2 days would be useful to someone trying to learn printing. They just have to realize that the current chemical process is different, and they need to go to the Kodak Z manuals, or whatever, for this info.

Now if the book is in the style of a step by step cookbook, then certainly an older book might be useless.

Heck. In terms of RA4 mixing and technique, the Freestyle kits have instructions packed right in the box. It's identical to Kodak RA/RT. Or you can download any of this information. Ring-around color balancing technique hasn't changed in decades, though I never bother with it. Stick with just one type of paper and color film for awhile to learn the basics.After awhile it gets easy. Take it as far as you wish. The films and papers are better than ever.

I have done a little research and found that RA-4 for minilabs was released in 1986 and the original paper was Ektacolor 2001. RA-4 cut-sheet paper for amateur use was not released until 1989 in the states in the form of Kodak Portra, Supra and Ultra papers and in 1990 in the UK. So it seems that RA-4 for home use was not generally available until those times, and seems to more or less reflect my experience. The RA-4 paper at normal temperature takes 45 seconds to process compared to 3 1/2 minutes for EP-2, and were not compatible. The exposure times for early RA-4 papers were much shorter than the EP-2 papers, and are even faster today. A book on EP-2 could be quite problematic for someone who doesn't know it is not the current process, especially if you are looking for an ultimate beginner guide.

RPC said:

I have done a little research and found that RA-4 for minilabs was released in 1986 and the original paper was Ektacolor 2001.

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I reviewed some old company annual publications to confirm dates - it states that our one-hour photofinishing division had expanded to 144 locations in FY 1984. So it looks like we were running RA-4 a couple years prior to what you're coming up with.

I doubt that Henry was wrong - most likely there was earlier paper that he doesn't report on.

Do your sources say specifically the labs in 1984 used RA-4? I recall using one-hour labs back in the early 80s that were running EP-2. I just don't believe RA-4 was used in labs before 1986.

RPC said:

Do your sources say specifically the labs in 1984 used RA-4?

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It doesn't say, as it's more business related. But they tapped me, probably in 1985, as an interrim manager - for perhaps a year - of their equipment refurbishing facility, stripping down, overhauling, and repainting about 45 used systems per year. So I was somewhat familiar with them. All I can say is that I think I would have remembered something as problematic as EP-2 developer.

If you can find historical info on Noritsu System II minilabs, that would confirm things. But this seems to be another of those things that the all-knowing internet seems to have forgotten.

I am just going to trust my sources and leave it at that. Here is a link to my primary source which has a wealth of other film, paper and processing history:

http://www.photomemorabilia.co.uk/Colour_Darkroom/Early_Kodak_CameraFilm.html

Bob Nadler's Color Printing Manual is pretty good and documents a lot of gear (with instruction sheets!) and technique.
Kodak's Bigger and Better Enlarging. And anything by Bob Mitchell.

With drums, if you develop too fast, the fill and drain time is apt to be too large a variable for good consistency. Too long a time risks temp drift inside the drum. So for RA/RT chem I standardize on 2 min dev at 83F.

All you need is the basic information, times, temperatures, replenishment rates and how to change colour balance. A basic level information about errors and build up on that with experience so that you print consistently and accurately. Making mistakes will always serve you positively, no matter how frustrating it may be at the time. Reading about the process will give you that basic nous, but there is nothing to beat experience of the process. Someone else's 'guide', written down is their experience, but may not serve you in the same way. There is no nirvana out there unless you own and operate a fully automated printing set up - but where's the fun in that? Some folk need to stop worrying and just do it. Much the same as driving a car.

With drums, no need to worry about replenishment. It's a major source of inconsistency and contamination risk, and RA4 chem is quite affordable to begin with.