Print-Out-Paper with old Kodabromide - Any way to fix the image?

Wow, some good info since I last logged in.

Ok, so Azo paper is just a silver-chloride paper, and has nothing to do with azo dyes like cibachrome? Any insight on its availability would be welcome, and I'll look into it myself in the meantime.

And PE, thanks for the process tips. I'll try that along side some reversal processing someday; since I'll have both Dektol & a bleach going at the same time, it'll be a good use for the spent chems!

Lodima paper is the closest analog to Kodak Azo paper. They are both similar to Agfa Lupex paper which has not been made for over 50 years, maybe longer.

PE

juan said:

John, what about treating them as I do albumen - wash the print until the water runs clear, then tone in gold or selenium, then fix in a weak alkaline fixer?
juan

Click to expand...

thanks for the suggestions juan !

i don't have any gold toner, and i keep the selenium out of the house
( it scares me ! )
i might dilute my 8% hypo even more .. to 4% and see what happens ...
i think the problem is that the image isn't IN the emulsion, just ontop of it ..

i have a 10% solution of potassium nitrate mixed up and will
soak some paper in it maybe THAT will help ..
if it truly converts the paper to a POP paper i think my problems may be solved ..

John,

You really should try a gold toner on the unfixed image, just as you would traditional POP. There is probably a reason why POP instructions are to tone before fixing, and loss of image density is probably it. Normal developers reduce an entire grain if it has had enough exposure; the light alone isn't producing all that much metallic silver, so you are fixing away what amounts to a discolored silver halide.

The experiment that I mentioned was with a sheet of film, using a negative processed for POP (doubled exposure, 150% developing time) and the (stable) image has a charming, ghostly look when viewed against a black background (sort of like a negative daguerrotype). At this density, scattering makes for a more visible image than absorption does.

It seems that simply reversal processing a paper sun print would give you a nice, black sheet of paper. Virtually all of the silver halide originally in the paper will still be there to be reduced in the redevelopment step, and the small amount removed by the bleach/sulfite treatment would not make a visible difference.

if i tone it and then fix it in a dilute fixer .. will i be able to wax the negative and make
a print from it, or just print through it or will the toned image do something
weird to the receiver paper being contact printed on ? i don't really like doing the hybrid thing with this paper negative,
it darkens the image as you might guess, as the beam goes across ...

Keep in mind that I've never done this - but, a print that is toned before fixing after washing and drying is just like any other print. Therefore, I would think you could wax one and print through it without problems.
juan

So I've recently obtained a large amount of fogged/exposed and totally "worthless" paper. However, it's perfect for this process.

What I've been doing is making contact sheets after I develop negs, and all be damned if it's not the easiest and fastest way to get some kind of look at your pictures. As soon as the negs are dry, put them on a sheet in subdued light, or honestly, room light is fine for a minute... anyways, put it in a contact frame and near a 60+ watt bulb. In 10 minutes you've got a print! And no chemicals, no mess, no cleanup, no NOTHING!



Anyways, this could be a serious boon in a "hybrid" workflow for cataloguing your work quickly and easily. The newish paper I got is much faster at this than the old 50's/60's Kodabromide that I also have. And with a 250 watt photo-flood, well let's just say that you can see the paper change right before your eyes. If you had one of those old fashioned 'movie-lite' bars, you'd have prints in under 30 seconds I think.

Just something to think about; don't throw out that old paper!