next step for paper???

here's the set up for the question...

i am making a 4x5/5x7 pinhole. i'm planning on playing with efke possitive paper, and i'm planning to use zonal pro warmtone for a developer.

so, i haven't developed paper in over 10 years, and i only did it a few times back then. can someone point me in the directions of good instructions in either written form or youtube type video? i'm dying to play around with this stuff but am unsure of the next step or the specific stuff i need.

thanks

hi jake

jason brunner, one of the moderators here
has done a series of videos on youtube ...
he also has a dvd for sale on his website that might
be helpful

http://www.jasonbrunner.com/dvd.html

one thing to remember about efke positive paper is that it is quite "contrasty"
i have never used it, or the developer you plan on using, but you might experiment
with your developer very dilute, and if that doesn't work as well as you need ..
mix some exhausted developer in with your fresh to "season" it so your prints
will not be as "contrasty"
i often make paper negatives, and the developer i use is ansco130 sold in a kit through the photograper's formulary ..
it lasts a very long time, and exhausted mixed with fresh does very good for paper negatives .. i also
use a water bath and a second bath of fresh and less dilute developer to boost development a little bit if needed.
the thing to remember about using paper instead of film is that it is *very* addictive

have fun + good luck!

john

ps, post your trials and results in the paper negative group

You need to use a fairly diluted developer to keep the contrast from getting too high. Dektol 1:2 worked fine for me.

I don't think my printing video would be particularly useful for this scenario as it concentrates on printing from a negative. This process, if I understand it right, uses the camera for correct exposure, and then the paper is simply developed. I am not thoroughly familiar with the characteristics of positive paper or the exact best kind of development needed, but as I understand it, you would use a regular B&W paper developing process under safelight, and control contrast through the exposure, and length and strength of development. The general procedure is using trays to develop, stop, fix, and wash, in that order. The times for stop, fix and wash should be standard to the chems and paper. The developing times will have to be determined according to the exposure, developer, developer and dilution you choose, so there will be some trial and error there to arrive at what you will be happy with. Specific developer, developing, and dilution recommendations will best come from someone with more experience with this paper than me.

Jake, I've found in working with this paper that adequate preflashing is essential in getting good midtones and shadow detail. Otherwise the results look very litho-esque.

So, what's "adequate" in terms of preflashing; especially if you haven't done this before? I'll describe my setup for you: a type S11 light bulb (120vac, standard base, 7.5 watts, round frosted white), in a metal soup can housing, with a 3mm aperture for light to escape, thus acting as a fairly point source of light. Suspended 30 inches above the work surface in the darkroom. My standard paper negatives (Arista's grade 2, available from Freestyle) get 10 seconds preflash. The Efke direct positive paper worked best for me with preflash times around 25-30 seconds.

I rate this paper with an Exposure Index of around 2 in bright daylight. I haven't characterised the reciprocity effects of this paper, but it seems to exhibit noticable reciprocity, more so than grade 2 paper. So my working Exposure Index of 2 is only valid for bright daylight exposures. Under different light you'd want to do more calibration tests. In fact, using this paper seems to be one continuous process of testing. But the results can be fun.

The developers I've used for the Efke paper is Agfa Neutol WA, diluted 1:15, or Ilford Universal Paper developer, diluted 1:15.

~Joe

PS: My avatar image is a self portrait, managed with a homemade black foamcore nested box camera, binocular object lens and the Efke paper.

joe, what have you used for a stop bath and fixer?

BimmerJake said:

joe, what have you used for a stop bath and fixer?

Click to expand...

Kodak indicator stop bath, at recommended dilution for 30 seconds, and Kodak Rapid Fixer for 2 minutes at recommended dilution. IOW, I find no special stop bath or fixing requirements with this paper.

~Joe

that's what i was wondering, i was thinking about just getting freestyle's arista for cheap stop and fix.

thanks

BimmerJake said:

i was thinking about just getting freestyle's arista for cheap stop and fix.

thanks

Click to expand...

That's what I use for my film and paper. It works just as well as any other stop and fix (as far as I know ), and I get a discount on it since my college's bookstore sells it