Mixing brands of ra-4 chemicals - a no-go?

[Dino Joe]

I've been using the Arista RA-4 chemical kit from FreestylePhoto. I'm almost done with the developer, but still have a good amount of the blix. The only Arista chemicals I can find on the internet are in the full chemical kit, and I can't buy the developer individually. Would buying another brand of ra-4 developer be compatible with the Arista chemicals, or do I need to bite the bullet and invest in a whole new brand altogether?

 

[Tom Kershaw]

Another brand of developer should work fine, although there are differences in mixing instructions etc.

 

[AgX]

RA-4 developer should work. but in general I would be cautious with combining baths from different manufacturers or even kits. In E-6 for instance had been kits were baths could not be exchanged.

 

[koraks]

I don't see a problem with replacing the developer with another brand and keep using the Arista blix.

If you want to insure against possible incompatibilities (although I cannot think of any), use an acetic acid stop bath between the developer and the blix. This is good practice anyway to extend the service life of the blix.

 

[Tom Kershaw]

If you want to insure against possible incompatibilities (although I cannot think of any), use an acetic acid stop bath between the developer and the blix. This is good practice anyway to extend the service life of the blix.

This is very good advice. Blix seems very long lasting if not contaminated with too much developer.

 

[foc]

In RA4 it is the developer that is the most important, regarding temp etc.
While I never used a home kit, I have used RA4 commercially for 30 years and have swapped between Fuji and Champion replenisher no problem (despite what Fuji said).
Blix is fairly bullet proof.

 

[DREW WILEY]

I've found Arista to be fully interchangeable with Kodak RA/Rt as well as Silver Pixel (also offered by Freestyle), even with respect to the separate A,B,C etc concentrates.