Making negative enlargements with Arista Ortho Litho 2.0

I'm looking to use the Arista Ortho Litho 2.0 film to make enlarged negatives for alternative process printing. The idea being to enlarge a positive sheet and then contact print that back to a negative.

There seems to be a lot of different info out there for this film so I figured I would just jump in and tried using Dektol diltued 1:9, developing the film in trays under dim red safelight. I just did what I would normally do for paper which is agitate it for a minute or two until it looks like it has stopped developing. The results looked pretty decent although they do seem contrasty and possibly lacking shadow detail, although that is just from looking at the film I have yet to try printing one.

A few questions:

1. Is a minute or two long enough to fully develop? I'm seeing some suggestions that this film should be fully developed for 5-6 minutes.
2. Would reducing agitation help hold contrast?
3. Any thoughts on developer dilution with Dektol? Too dilute?

I've also got HC-110 and wondering if I should try using that instead of Dektol. There is a 1:200 dilution recipe on the Massive Dev Chart, it doesn't specify but I assume that would be for exposing the film in-camera.

I realize that Freestyle recommends their own developers for this film but I'd rather start with the ones I use normally and try to get the best results from those. Although if you do have a proven developer/method for making dupes like this then please feel free to suggest it.

There are many threads on this subject and probably as many ways to make enlarged negs as there are photographers. Do a search and if you still need advice, just ask.


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I've done many searches, read many articles/threads and found about 100 different suggestions on how to use this film. I am hoping for some feedback that will help me refine the specific approach I have chosen and I thought that I was fairly specific in my questions.

I'm fine with doing trial and error until I get it right but if someone else has done this I'd like to hear about it.

In my experience, litho film is really contrasty. I used Kodak litho film for a while (and never used Arista litho), and it was like a binary film: it was either clear or black. Very easy to contact on to another sheet for a negative. The results were interesting, but like I said, either clear or black.

mfohl said:

In my experience, litho film is really contrasty. I used Kodak litho film for a while (and never used Arista litho), and it was like a binary film: it was either clear or black. Very easy to contact on to another sheet for a negative. The results were interesting, but like I said, either clear or black.

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That's kind of what I'm seeing just eyeballing the film. There are definitely mid-tones present but there are also a lot of clear/black areas. I think I really should contact print it onto my normal Ilford paper, that will give me a sense of how contrasty it is compared to the original negative.

I am far from being an expert for enlarged negatives but i think that dektol 1:9 is not diluted enough. I would suggest a film developer whose action is longer than a paper developer, hence the possibilty to control the contrast .
Hc 110 or pmk can be good alternatives.

Angelo di Mango said:

I am far from being an expert for enlarged negatives but i think that dektol 1:9 is not diluted enough. I would suggest a film developer whose action is longer than a paper developer, hence the possibilty to control the contrast .
Hc 110 or pmk can be good alternatives.

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I would suggest the opposite to this. Dilute to about 1:4 and develop for two minutes.

You might want to have a look at the Unblinking Eye site and the article entitled "Less is More" It might be of help

pentaxuser

I found that You have a bit more control of contrast with lith film if you reversal process the film. The flash exposure tames the highlights easily and doesn't really mess with the shadows. It takes a few test strips to get the process down but once it's figured out it is pretty reliable and simple. Give it a try if you have the chems available.

I have looked into the reversal processing. I don't have the bleach chemicals handy but it is something I may very well try in the future.

I looked at my film again last night and it's really contrasty. I don't know how it will print but it sure doesn't seem to have a lot of midtones. Thanks for the suggestions everyone, I'm going to do some more experimenting this weekend with dilutions and developing times and will report back.

I was working with this film about 3 weeks ago, its just too contrasty for what I was trying to use it for (enlarging a small section of 4x5 film, onto a 4x5 sheet of this ortho film, contacting it to get a 4x5 negative, and then using that negative in the enlarger for a grainless 11x14 enlargement). But I have used this film a few times in my classes to get images on cyanotypes. Its best to use dilute developer to retain continuous tone, I have used many varied dilutions d76, xtol, dektol, and lpd but always develop by inspection and pull the film out if needed. You can dilute the print developers down quite a bit and still have them work, it just requires more time. experimentation with whatever you have on hand is the best way I think, the stuff is pretty cheap, and there isnt a specific magic developer or dilution combo.

I'll have to look at my notes at home. I was using Ilford PQ 1+14 at one point, for one to two minutes -- still contrasty, but workable. I've also tried very dilute D76, but forget what I was trying to accompish with it or how the results were. I remember it took much longer to develop. Again, I'll have a look later.

In reading what others have posted, I'm most interested in the suggestion of reversal processing.

Here I clipped a piece to test the close focus of a camera I have. This was developed in Perceptol 1+1 for 3 minutes (room temperature). The highlights still went pretty fast, but there is some shadow detail and a good range of midtones -- to my eyes anyway. Scanned raw, no corrections, just inverted.


I'm still looking for other examples I have.

I tried a few more things with Dektol tonight but the results were still way too contrasty, no mid tones at all.

Then I gave HC-110 a shot with MUCH better results. 1:49 in a tray for 3 minutes looks really good, a full range of tones and the shadows don't get blocked up. So I think I'll keep refining things with HC-110 and see where that gets me.

mfohl said:

In my experience, litho film is really contrasty. I used Kodak litho film for a while (and never used Arista litho), and it was like a binary film: it was either clear or black. Very easy to contact on to another sheet for a negative. The results were interesting, but like I said, either clear or black.

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That is normally the case, but special low contrast developers can be used to tame the contrast a quite a bit and to get negatives suitable for alternative process work. The alternative process thread has, from time to time, had considerable discussion about these and about reversal processing of the film. One developer that has been recommended often for the Arista film is below:

LC-1 low contrast film developer
This is Dave Soemarko’s formula for making continuous tone interpositives and duplicate negatives on lithographic film.
Stock solution A
Distilled water (125F) 750 ml
Metol 3 g
Sodium sulfite 60 g
Hydroquinone 3 g
Distilled water to make 1 l
Stock solution B
Sodium bisulfite 10 g
Distilled water to make 1 l
Dilute according to need for use. Typical dilutions are (A:B:water) 2:1:7 or 2:2:6. Using more bisulfite reduces contrast. If development is uneven or nonlinear, use more of Solution A. (For instance, if 2:2:6 gives the right contrast but uneven development, try 4:4:2.) For interpositives, develop 5 to 7 minutes. For a duplicate negative from the interpositive, try diluting 2:0:8 and developing 6 minutes.
Variation (LC-1B):
Distilled water (125F) 750 ml
Metol 4 g
Sodium sulfite 80 g
Hydroquinone 4 g
Sodium bisulfite 20 g
Distilled water to make 1 l
This variation was designed for Arista APH film for both interpositives and negatives. It is similar to LC-1 diluted 2:3:5, but with more sulfite and bisulfite. Dilute between 1:5 and 1:10. Develop 5 to 10 minutes at 75F.
Ref: Siegel, J, “Post-Factory Photography Journal”
James, C, “The Book of Alternative Photographic Processes”

Just an update:

I have been able to get good results making inter-negative enlargements on the Arista Ortho Litho 2.0, using HC-110 diluted 1:49 or greater. I process it in an ilfochrome drum for 5-8 minutes. Still dialing things in on that end.

I contact print the inter-neg back onto Ilford FP4+ and get a copy negative that makes a very nice contact print on silver paper. I think if I overdevelop the copy negative I should be able to get more contrast for alternative processes but I haven't gotten that far yet.

I just got a densitometer so that should help me figure out some of these experiments.

Regards,
Anthony

Why are you using a drum? It can be tray developed under a safelight and pulled as needed. That's one of the great advantages of litho film in my opinion. Of course, do whatever works for you...

I'm using the drum because instead of sitting there agitating a tray the whole time I can be doing other things. Also so I can use the diluted developer one-shot in small quantities.

I do appreciate working with the litho under safelight, especially for making enlargements.