Paper developing. Am I missing a wash?

MenacingTourist · Jun 30, 2006

With help from APUG members I am finally ready to make some prints in the teeny bathroom. I have a nagging feeling I'm missing a step in the process. Here's what I have:

Developer (Dektol)
Stop bath (Kodak)
Fix (Kodak rapid fix without hardener)
Hypo (kodak)
Wash (holding tray)
Final Wash

Maybe I'm thinking of Selenium toning. For that I need to re-soak in water then tone, correct? I'd read the package but don't have it in front of me. I also thought I'd ask now rather than at 2am when I realize I need help and no one's online

Thanks,

Alan.

Gerald Koch · Jun 30, 2006

Fixer and hypo are the same thing. Do you mean hypo clearing agent?

mikeg · Jun 30, 2006

What sort of paper are you using? If it's RC paper then there is no need for a hypo clearing stage. Just wash for 5 or 10 minutes and you'll be fine.

Mike

blansky · Jun 30, 2006

Do yourself a favor and get rid of the Kodak Stop Bath and get the Ilford Odorless stuff.

Michael

MenacingTourist · Jun 30, 2006

Gerald: I meant hypo clearing agent.
Mikeg: I'm using RC paper. It was cheap and will provide plenty of thrills while I figure the rest out. Good to know about not needing the hypo clear when using RC paper.
Blansky: I'll try the oderless stuff as soon as I burn through the kodak stuff. Will it still feel like a darkroom without the smell of fixer? Granted it will be dark.

Thanks for the info.

Gerald Koch · Jun 30, 2006

If you are using RC paper you really don't need the stop bath. Just a few seconds in plain water and then into the fixer. There's no fibre base to hold developer so their is little or no developer carryover into the fixer.

srs5694 · Jun 30, 2006

Also, with RC paper it's my understanding that you should not use a holding bath; go straight from the fixer to the final wash. The reason is that prolonged immersion in fluids causes water to seep into the paper, which causes damage.

blansky · Jun 30, 2006

If you're going to selenium tone you only need to wash RC for 2-5 minutes then tone. Warm tone RC will change color a bit but regular RC will only maybe darken the blacks a little and perhaps make it slightly more contrasty.

After toning for 5 minutes at probably 1:9 wash again for 2-5 min and you're done.

Michael

Stoo Batchelor · Jun 30, 2006

MenacingTourist said:
MenacingTourist said:

I also thought I'd ask now rather than at 2am when I realize I need help and no one's online

Thanks,

Alan.

Click to expand...

Ah!

It may be 2am where you are but some of us will be sitting in broad daylight and having a cuppa.

I'm sure there will be someone to answer your question at anytime of the day in your part of the world.

Good luck with your printing and looking forward to seeing your prints Alan

Regards

Stoo

glennfromwy · Jul 1, 2006

Because prolonged wet time will case the plastic paper coating to delaninate, at the corners mostly, I try to work as fast as possible with RC papers. Develop, stop and fix as usual. Then, a 30 second rinse and into the clearing agent for 30 seconds. Then, another 30 second rinse and into the toner. When toned to your liking, another 30 second rinse, 30 seconds in the clearing agent, 2 minute wash, squeegee both sides and set out to dry. You will still see some corner separation but minimal. fast is the name of the game unless you want to do a lot of trimming.

Jim Jones · Jul 1, 2006

With RC paper I rinse for a minute or two after the fixer and then let prints accululate in a holding bath until many prints are ready for the final wash in several changes of water. The prolonged time in the holding bath and final wash can leach out the brightners in the paper, and cause the prints to warp somewhat as they dry. The warping is O.K., since the best prints get dry mounted and the others don't really matter.

dancqu · Jul 1, 2006

MenacingTourist said:
...I am finally ready to make
some prints in the teeny bathroom.

Little space for print processing. Some use rotary
processing for that reason. I found intriguing the
very small volumes of chemistry required and
that the little amount used could be tossed
after one use; one-shot usage.

So, I adapted the rotary method to tray processing. For
tray purposes solution volumes are some where between
the minimums and maximums used with the rotary method.
Developers and fixers are used some what more dilute than
usual for good mileage from the chemistry. No stop is
required and a single dilute fix yields archival results.
As with rotary and it's one tube, only one tray is
needed for processing. That tray and the hold
tray serve for print washing by transfer.

If you've more room for processing and a few prints
to put through use three trays. Put enough developer
in the first tray to handle an expected number of prints.
Use the fixer one-shot very dilute. Hold in the third tray.
If interested PM and I'll fill in a few details. Dan

Paper developing. Am I missing a wash?

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