Lith prints, some from digital origins

avandesande · Oct 13, 2023

(Moderator note - this thread was split off of this one here: https://www.photrio.com/forum/threads/diy-31-megapixel-enlarger.197305)

I've been doing lith printing almost exclusively. I have developed a one-shot approach with just a touch of warmth, color, infectious development and grain. It doesn't look 'lithy' but nobody would mistake it for a inkjet print.

radiant · Oct 13, 2023

avandesande said:
I've been doing lith printing almost exclusively. I have developed a one-shot approach with just a touch of warmth, color, infectious development and grain. It doesn't look 'lithy' but nobody would mistake it for a inkjet print.

Beautiful! It looks lith to me for sure.

What do you mean by one-shot? Infectious development refers to lith but it isn't?

(Few of my liths from film negative http://kuvau.tuu.fi/storey/ and http://kuvau.tuu.fi/birds/ )

avandesande · Oct 13, 2023

Thanks!
One shot means you only use it for developing one print. I have a crock pot to heat it in while I expose and a tray warmer. This way you can get a consistent result... lithy but not too much. I also add benzotriazole and use higher concentrations to keep the color and grain from going too crazy. I use Arista lith developer which is really inexpensive but am doing trials with home made Ansco 70 to see if I can go without formaldehyde. Since it is one shot I don't care about tray life.
Also, keep in mind the print above is only 5x7. It would look a lot less grainy 8x10 or 11x14

radiant · Oct 13, 2023

avandesande said:
Thanks!
One shot means you only use it for developing one print. I have a crock pot to heat it in while I expose and a tray warmer. This way you can get a consistent result... lithy but not too much. I also add benzotriazole and use higher concentrations to keep the color and grain from going too crazy. I use Arista lith developer which is really inexpensive but am doing trials with home made Ansco 70 to see if I can go without formaldehyde. Since it is one shot I don't care about tray life.
Also, keep in mind the print above is only 5x7. It would look a lot less grainy 8x10 or 11x14

Very very cool! (or should I say hot

I really love lith but hate the developing time. It seems to be around 10 minutes per print and that starts to get boring after few prints.

koraks · Oct 13, 2023

radiant said:
Very very cool! (or should I say hot

I really love lith but hate the developing time. It seems to be around 10 minutes per print and that starts to get boring after few prints.

When I did lith, I configured the developer to get the job done in a minute or two. Worked just fine, but agitation becomes more critical. And of course you need to tailor the developer to be fast and still lith. It's a bit like driving a car with one foot heavily on the accelerator with the other on the brake.

avandesande · Oct 13, 2023

No reason to wait so long, using heat my development times are down to 3-4 minutes. You could try Foma Classic which is very fast even without heat. It is very flexible you can get many different colors and looks from it. It even responds to multigrade filters, the attached print was Foma Classic with 3.5 filter.

radiant · Oct 14, 2023

avandesande said:
No reason to wait so long, using heat my development times are down to 3-4 minutes. You could try Foma Classic which is very fast even without heat. It is very flexible you can get many different colors and looks from it. It even responds to multigrade filters, the attached print was Foma Classic with 3.5 filter.

Great to hear. I find it difficult to change process I know well, or can achieve what I want. Also having to heat or maintain developer temperature is extra hassle I don't want. I wish there was some easy and relatively cheap tray warmer solution..

And that is a very good looking lith print!

I think we are a bit off-topic here, maybe Koraks can consider splitting the lith discussion from this thread.

koraks · Oct 14, 2023

radiant said:
I think we are a bit off-topic here, maybe Koraks can consider splitting the lith discussion from this thread.

Done!

And yes, it's a great print for sure.

removedacct3 · Oct 14, 2023

avandesande said:
am doing trials with home made Ansco 70 to see if I can go without formaldehyde. Since it is one shot I don't care about tray life ..

I am also using ANSCO 70 for lith printing, but I am struggling to get repeatable results. Looking forward to your successes! And please consider sharing your secret ...

Dennis S · Oct 14, 2023

What I use to keep my lith tray warm is a heater that is used to ferment wine. It wraps around the tray and does well with keeping the lith warm which helps developing the prints quicker. I use mostly Moersch lith or even Arista lith as that is easier to obtain from the stores.

infrar3d · Oct 15, 2023

Dennis S said:
What I use to keep my lith tray warm is a heater that is used to ferment wine.

How much does a heater like that cost? I'm using a cheap heating pad, but it doesn't work great.

Dennis S · Oct 15, 2023

infrar3d said:
How much does a heater like that cost? I'm using a cheap heating pad, but it doesn't work great.

$ 40 CND and has an adjustable control on it. Wine making shops have a large selection of heaters that are durable and safe around liquids.

radiant · Oct 16, 2023

I just realised that I have this "heating cable" for keeping pipes above 0 celcius and the cable gets pretty hot. I could just wrap around that cable around my tray and attach it with tape or zipties.

Dwayne Martin · Oct 26, 2023

Ive been developing lith one shot for the better part of a year now and I'm not going back to the old way. I can develop a 11x14 print with only 300 ml. I almost never waste any paper this way and I can make nearly identical prints. I season the whole batch first, usually 1200 ml with a little OB and a piece of junk paper for a while while I set up the enlarger. I use an automatic tray rocker that was meant for a laboratory, it also heats the tray. Then I pour it back into the pitcher and use it 300 to 400 ml at a time.

Prest_400 · Oct 26, 2023

The results looks really nice! As the photo instructor I once discussed with, it's hard to really define a concrete Lith look as there are many variations.

I started with One shot, using Moersch. I tend to do very diluted (For a 8x10", 4+4+400) and at 35C it's still 10-15 min to snatch point with the Efke Emaks and Orwo paper I like. However only have done a couple prints and need to test more. I don't add OB because it does lengthen the development significantly.

I would love a lab tray rocker. When doing larger prints, diluted developer and very long times, I have even started a parallel RC workprint session and do semi-stand. I haven't moved from Easy Lith as developer but did a session of 3 prints of which the first two developed quite responsive, the second reproduced the first print, which looked very nice (Efke Emaks) without needing to season the developer. There is some old sealed LD20 but I might reserve that for a big project next year.

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