It has nothing to do with "smell". When someone becomes sensitized to something, it only takes extremely small amounts to restart the problem.
Yeah, one could formulate their own brew, but with the potential risk of even more overall exposure. I suspect the offending agents in standard
Kodak RA/RT concentrates are basically special additives supplementary to the primary working ingredients, probably having preservative qualities. But those kinds of extra ingredients might very well be what makes the Kodak version, or its direct clones, more reliable than generic formulations.
At least in my experience, it has become my standard of dependability.
Hi guys
Not wishing to highjack the thread but you seem to be talking about RA4 at room temperature. I know there use to be kits around that work that way but had the impression that they have been discontinued. Are there still kits available?
I still use Kodak rapid color processor model 11. It's fast and nothing to wash when you're done. With the fancy Thomas safelights, I can get around fine.Guys, I have done color print processing in trays since the '50s!!!!! (P122 back then) and have had no problems except for aerial oxidation. I use them today at 20C (70F).
PE
Thanks. I haven't done any colour work for a long time but might give it a go again at some point.I don't believe the kits are still available but they were expensive and did not give the best results. The Kodak RA-RT Developer/Replenisher mentioned earlier is reasonably priced and gives excellent results and can be used at typical room temperatures (68-75F) and higher, and so can the Kodak RA-4 Bleach-Fix. I use them in trays, which I much prefer to the hassle of drums.
I have had no problems re-using the developer once or twice, unlike the OP. If fresh, it can be stored when well sealed in glass or good plastic for many months.
I have been developing C41 film and making prints from the negatives for the past 26 years so I think I can speak with a degree of experience. (I'm still learning though.) I have always used Kodak Ektacolour 20 ltr kits for my RA4 developer and the equivalent for the blix. (With a stop bath used in between) I have always used a 12"x16" NOVA deep-tank processor for the dev, stop and blix stages and have never EVER experienced the developer 'going off even when I don't change the developer for several months. I only do that to clean out the tanks of any accumulated sludge. Actually the stop bath section is usually the worst.
At the end of the session the chemicals are replenished at a ratio of 10cc per every 80sq ins of paper (a 10"x8" sheet) so on and so forth. Sometimes if the carry over from one bath to another is greater, I just replenish up to the mark on the tank. I then replace the floating lids which reduces the exposed area of the chemicals to virtually nil. But I also cover the top of the processor with plastic film (called cling film in UK)
These NOVA processors in the size I use take just under 2 litres of chemical each and when I make up a new batch of chemicals I also make enough to give me a few sessions with spare chemicals for replenishment.
It makes no difference if you over replenish but does if you don't replenish at all.
All pre-mixed developer is stored in 500cc bottles and when needed, decanted out into 100cc bottles for use after each session. Stay away from plastic containers, no matter how thick the walls are they will allow oxygen to permeate in the developer. Like one other reply metal containers, even stainless steel is best not used.
As for chemical decomposition, I think there is more risk of the liquid concentrates decomposing before the diluted solutions are expired.
I have also found that with C41 developer, mixing all the concentrate and again storing them in glass bottles (500cc and 100cc) ready to use when needed, means I can expect to be able to finish the whole quantity before it 'goes off'
I still use Kodak rapid color processor model 11. It's fast and nothing to wash when you're done. With the fancy Thomas safelights, I can get around fine.
I have a heater for mine (95F), I usually develop for around a minute, seems to develop to completion in about 45 seconds so if I go over time I don't get worried. I've always used a stop bath, quick 20 second or so, then blix 1 min. Final wash with running water (95 F, mixing valve).
So, question is how long does it take to fully develop, and blix in a tray at 20 F.?? Model 11 is from fiber base CP-5 days. Can I process at room temp?
I also have a nice Jobo, but for 11 x 14 on down I use the Model 11. So much less to clean up.
Best Regards, Mike
P.S. For me nothing is as easy and cheap as RA-4. Inkjet printers stink, and then there's the whole scanning fun.
Question: I just bought an Unicolor drum for my 11x14" print developments. How do you guys use this drum with approx. 130 ml of developer solution? Just adding the solution and shaking it for the needed time depending on the temperature? Can the solution spill out of the drum while doing this (I only see on the picture that it has an opening lid to fill and empty the tank, so I am wondering)?
Don't stir or shake, but roll (rotate), with a change of direction every now and then. There are manual roller bases avaialable (Jobo) or it should not be do difficult to build your own. Some people simply roll the drum on a table. But you have to do it in a way that keeps the drum level, so the solution is not flowing to one end of the drum only, which would lead to uneven development. IDK the Unicolor drums but the Jobo drums are sealed with a cap, so nothing should spill. They have a small beaker-like container inside the lid into which you pour the solution while the drum is in upright position. Then you put on the cap. As soon as you lay down the drum in horizontal position, the solution flows into the drum proper and gets into contact with the paper.
Check the Kodak pdf on RA-4 drum processing, it contains valuable information.
The Unicolor drums have two flat edges on either side that serve both as a stand for pouring in the chemicals, and a stop for rolling it to and fro. When you pour in the chemicals in the amounts prescribed by the manufacturer (120ml for an 11x14 drum), theoretically, the developer shouldn't come in contact with the print while the drum is upright/in the pour position. Once you start rolling it, keep it level and in motion.Question: I just bought an Unicolor drum for my 11x14" print developments. How do you guys use this drum with approx. 130 ml of developer solution? Just adding the solution and shaking it for the needed time depending on the temperature? Can the solution spill out of the drum while doing this (I only see on the picture that it has an opening lid to fill and empty the tank, so I am wondering)?
Yes, load it in complete darkness. They can leak if the O-ring in the lid is worn or not situated right. I've had slow drips with chemicals but never a light leak.Thanks for the info and referring to the Kodak paper. Does anybody have information how to handle the Unicolor drum? I suspect as shown in the Kodak paper that the handling of the drum has to be done in the dark (meaning that the open lid can let in light in opposite to film development bins)?
Yes, load it in complete darkness. They can leak if the O-ring in the lid is worn or not situated right. I've had slow drips with chemicals but never a light leak.
I have the Unicolor instruction somewhere. Required reading, I think. I'll try to post them later (I'm not at home).
Thanks for sharing your experience - regarding my initial post, do you think the developer was still okay even after usage in an open tray for > 5 hours, and the magenta cast just came from a change in pH as discussed earlier? The RA-4 manual mentions that the developer won't last in an open tray for more than 4 hours of usage.
Interesting part here in this discussion is that there are very contradicting reports how the RA-4 developer can be used. I bought the Arista RA-4 developer kit - it might also depend which RA-4 developer (and Blix) are used. I have no experience with the original Kodak RA-4 chemicals.
To store the chemicals in glass containers makes sense, I am going to do this from now on as I do it with my C-41 chemicals for color film development.
I cannot say because I have never use an open tray to dev RA4. but I am thinking along the lines of cross contamination between the dev and blix before the developing stage that will produce odd discoloration. I think, like B&W development if an exhausted or oxidised developer is used you simply loose contrast and density. But you may have to consider that the 3 colour layers in RA4 paper may develop at different speeds and the magenta one develops quicker than the others. Put simply I don't know except to say I would never do RA4 in an open dish - there are just too many things that can go wrong.
I'm just thinking that Magenta colouration is also possible with exposure to light but not from the enlarger, does the discolouration extend into both the edges (borders) and the subject?
Exposure to light gives a bluish not a magenta cast.
I could see in the tray (it was fairly dark but I was still able to see the development) that the cast developed in the development tray, not in the stop or in the Blix bath. I did not have this issue at all when I used the developer fresh the first day. It only happened after storing it in a bottle over night, adding it into the cleaned tray the next morning. I can also exclude undesired exposure to light when using the paper under my enlarger.
Who told you this? It is wrong. I have experienced these pink/magenta borders just a couple of days ago, when I managed to fog a couple of sheets by leaving the paper safe open and switching on LED light in the DR. Where did you get your paper from? Is it fresh material from a sealed box, in other words, can you rule out that the box/bag has been opened by someone (e.g., previous owner) and the paper got partially fogged?
You are telling us that you could see the paper in the tray and in the same paragraph telling us you can rule out undesired exposure? If you had any light at all in you "dakroom" and it was so bright that you could make out the picture or the paper in the tray than you definitely HAD "undesired expsoure".
RA4 paper has to be handled in total darkness, I repeat, absolute, total darkness. RA4 paper is very sensitive and the only form of safelight that is allowable, is a very, very dim sodium vapour safelight. See the Kodak instructions. If anything nowadays papers are even faster then the papers in the days when the Kodak pdf was written. And btw, you should have put it face down in the tray in the first place. I am not saying this is 100% the reason for your pink border problem, but it is something you have to address, because it will compromise image quality.
Only if the light is predominantly yellow.Exposure to light gives a bluish not a magenta cast.
Guys, I have done color print processing in trays since the '50s!!!!! (P122 back then) and have had no problems except for aerial oxidation. I use them today at 20C (70F).
PE
RA4 paper has to be handled in total darkness. Absolute, total darkness. RA4 paper is very sensitive and the only form of safelight that is allowable, is a very, very dim sodium vapour safelight. See the Kodak instructions. If anything, nowadays' papers are even faster then the papers in the days when the Kodak pdf was written. And btw, you should have put it face down in the tray in the first place. I am not saying this is 100% the reason for your pink border problem, but it is something you have to address, because it will compromise image quality.
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