Lith developer for FILM

[gattu marrudu]

Hi,
I am trying to reprint an old project, which involves making intra-negatives with lith film.
In 1996, when I first printed this project, I used Ilfolith Contact film and Ornano (Italian brand) Lith S3 developer, and I could get blacks and whites like on reprographic film. Now I cannot find either product, so I tried Adox ORT25 or Maco Genius Print film with Tetenal Dokumol undiluted or a home-brewed DuPont LD-2. Contrast is normal though.

Maybe I can still find some Ornano Lith developer, but I am wondering if I am using the right film.
I am also wondering if I should try the Kodak D-85 formula, apparently the highest-contrast one.
The problem is that the formula I found on Unblinkingeye:
http://unblinkingeye.com/Articles/LithDev/lithdev.html
is totally different to the one found on Digitaltruth:
http://www.digitaltruth.com/data/kodak_d85.php

the fact is that I should order one bottle here, one bag of chemicals there, a pack of film somewhere else (I live in Italy), without even knowing if I am going the right direction.

Can anybody shed some lith?

gm

 

[rwboyer]

May want to try some Kodak D-19.

RB

 

[gattu marrudu]

May want to try some Kodak D-19.

RB

According to Dead Link Removed , "Kodak D-19 and D-11 developers are also useful for this purpose but are not capable of as high contrast as the Litho-type developer [i.e. the A-B type]". I actually need the highest contrast possible.

gm

 

[richard ide]

Lith film has mostly been replaced with high contrast rapid access film. I would try locally and see if you can find a graphic arts house which still uses film in an imagesetter. Try to scrounge a bit of film and chemistry to test. When I switched from lith to rapid access; the film would deliver a very high contrast image in just about any developer of the dektol variety.

Edit: From black Dmax of 4+ to Dmin of 0+ base fog over a range of about 1.5 f stops or less. Base fog really non existent.

 

[gattu marrudu]

Yeah, I started asking around today but most print houses have thrown that material away years ago. Maybe a traditional stamp maker would have some...

 

[Mike Wilde]

Home brew is the best option, but buying the paraformaldehyde or formaldehyde most call for may be a challenge depending on where you live. They have in A a whack of Hydroquinone, almost equal quanity of K Bromide, a bit of sulfite, and B of K ofr Na Hydroxide.

 

[Lowell Huff]

We still manufacture Lith A & B developer. The film is available from Freestyle Photo Supply. When you process Lith film with lith developer the result is high contrast. You can us a continous tone developer to flatten the curve.

 

[gattu marrudu]

No luck with the printhouses & stamp makers in town , they already dumped their lith material ages ago.
I have a bottle of 40% formaldehyde, but does it work like paraformaldehyde? In which proportion?
thanks
gm

 

[dancqu]

An Easy Home Brew

Three ingredients:
Sodium sulfite, sodium carbonate, and hydroquinone.
I've used those three for a lith paper developer with
good results. Keep sulfite levels to a fraction of the
amount of hydroquinone. You'll need to experiment.
As a starting point ratios of the above in the order
mentioned would be, 1:4:2. Tray develop. Dan

For film and off-the-shelf chemistry:
www.valleylitho.com

 

[hayri]

I'm seacrhing Lith Film Roll and Lith A+B Developer for graphic arts. How can ı found it.

 

[gattu marrudu]

I'm seacrhing Lith Film Roll and Lith A+B Developer for graphic arts. How can ı found it.

If you need line art development you need an A+B developer. I used Lith S3 from Ornano, an Italian brand, but I don't know the formula and I don't know who else produces similar developers. If you want to go home made, this is a quite exhaustive list of formulas: http://unblinkingeye.com/Articles/LithDev/lithdev.html
Also check out the lith/ortho section on Digitaltruth: http://www.digitaltruth.com/data.php?doc=filmdevs

Kodak D-85 is supposedly a line art developer.

However, recently hard dot film has replaced the older lith and rapid access films, with crisper results and higher contrast range: http://www.kpgraphics.com/white_papers/archive/RaHrdDot.asp

gm

 

[hayri]

thanks