Kodak 1A vs. 1 Safelight Filters

I see that Kodak has just discontinued it's 1A safelight filter (Light Red) and that leaves me to choose 1(Red) is there much a a diffrence in the dakrness of the 1 vs. the 1A? Thanks

Patrick

Also- Do the amber filters work on black and white paper? I had an old heavily rusted safelight given to me with a yellow filter and wondered what it may have been used for.

Ektagraphic said:

I see that Kodak has just discontinued it's 1A safelight filter (Light Red) and that leaves me to choose 1(Red) is there much a a diffrence in the dakrness of the 1 vs. the 1A? Thanks

Patrick

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Ektagraphic said:

Also- Do the amber filters work on black and white paper? I had an old heavily rusted safelight given to me with a yellow filter and wondered what it may have been used for.

Click to expand...

Patrick:

Kodak's Technical Information Data Sheet # TI0845 (Reissued 07-99)
entitled "KODAK Safelight Filters" might help :

http://wwwcaen.kodak.com/global/en/professional/support/techPubs/ti0845/ti0845.pdf

By the way, in case you don't have it, here is a link to most of Kodak's Technical Publications:

http://wwwcaen.kodak.com/global/en/professional/support/databanks/filmDatabankIndex.jhtml?pq-path=13700/14472

The Safelight information is under the Reference/Miscellaneous tab.

The 1 is darker than the 1A and it takes a little longer for your eyes to adjust to it. I use both OC(amber) and 1A(light red) with 25W bulbs, pointed at the ceiling, in my darkroom. Both have tested safe for VC papers.

The 1 is quite Darker. But possibly only for now is the 1A discontinued. According to the Kodak rep for my area, one of the safelight filter machines that was nearly 100 years old broke down. The 1A was harder to make so it could only be made with this machine. As of right now, Kodak will try to make the 1A with the other machines and will decide if it is worth it to manufacture the filter again but until then they have left it labeled as discontinued.

Why wait for Kodak to make new ones when so many are available used in great condition? I bought 2 10x12 1A filters for 15 bucks a few years back. Still using them.

I have only ever used the dark red, I see no use for OC other than brightness. I use materials that are affected by OC, another deciding factor. Some papers require red only, so do ortho materials, which I use lots of both.

ralnphot said:

I have only ever used the dark red, I see no use for OC other than brightness. I use materials that are affected by OC, another deciding factor. Some papers require red only, so do ortho materials, which I use lots of both.

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Exactly! Many Eastern European papers require a dark-red filter for example. The term 'safelight' is misleading; 'darkroom light' would be more appropriate. Light-red filters must be used with extreme caution, because they fog many papers. OC is OK for most VC papers but not all.

Many darkroom workers struggle to get snappy B&W pictures and blame their materials, equipment or technique for they battle-ship gray results. All they are lacking is proper safelight. One is well advised to conduct a safelight test to determine for how long an existing safelight provides safe conditions.

Try this:

http://www.waybeyondmonochrome.com/WBM2/TOC_files/SafelightTestEd2.pdf

Testing is indeed wise. Depending on the material I can switch filters from OC to 1A or even 1 when needed. OC for VC papers, 1A for ortho and 1 for some of the eastern European papers. The filters are easy to switch with the Kodak Model D 10x12 units I have.

Wade D said:

Testing is indeed wise. Depending on the material I can switch filters from OC to 1A or even 1 when needed. OC for VC papers, 1A for ortho and 1 for some of the eastern European papers. The filters are easy to switch with the Kodak Model D 10x12 units I have.

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True, but I got used to the dark-red filter. It's the 'safest' of the bunch, and I just stuck to it.

You can't use OC because??

If you need red now I have used #27, which I think is similar to 1A based on the spectrum.

ic-racer said:

You can't use OC because?? ...

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Unfortunately, spectral transmission charts don't tell the whole story (or we often overlook that transmission close to zero is not equal to zero). For example, take a typical photographic paper and a red laser pointer (let's say Ilford MGIV-RC and any laser pointer). Now, take a look at the specs:

http://www.ilfordphoto.com/Webfiles/2006130200232336.pdf

http://www.sourcingmap.com/5mw-red-laser-pointer-dark-blue-version-p-1243.html

The laser pointer has a very narrow band of about 650 nm. The Ilford data sheet only doesn't reach that far, but even at 550 nm its sensitivity is much reduced and it should be insensitive to exposure by the laser pointer. Ilford tells us that the paper has no sensitivity at this wavelength, otherwise, the OC filter would not work with MGIV-RC.

Now the experiment:

In the darkroom, point the laser pointer at the paper for 1, 2, 4, 8s from a distance of about arm's length. There should be no exposure, right? You will unfortunately see, that even the 1-s exposure left a trace.

So much for data sheets. The point is, filters are not perfect and paper never has no sensitivity. Given sufficient light intensity and time, almost any light source will fog photographic paper. Hence the recommended safelight test.

Safelight filters are not 'safe', they just protect for a given time. Move the paper too close or expose for too long and the paper is fogged, data sheet or not.