RA4 Problem

Hello all,

I wonder if anybody has a view on a strange problem I've encountered.

Last night, I was happily printing away (RA4 in a nova slot at 35 degrees) and produced quite a few decent prints using Fuji cut sheets (UK version) and the Kodak chemicals. However, after twenty or so normal prints with good colour, each piece of paper started to emerge from the blix lightly brown, with the edges of the paper a darker shader of brown.

If anybody has any ideas about what might have caused this peculiar change then I'd be most grateful. My only theory so far is that a tiny amount of the blix might have got into the developer and contaminated it, but thought I'd ask here before chucking it away as I only mixed the chemistry a couple of weeks ago.

Thank you advance!

Generally, blix in the developer causes a greenish fog first. To get where you are would require quite a lot.

Try a re-blix to see if your blix is exhausted. Or, check your prints for retained silver or hypo.

PE

Ah! Most interesting. Thank you very much, I'll discard half the blix and top it up with fresh supplies to see if that does the job.

Many thanks.

Do you replenish the bleach/fix as well as the developer. In my 12x16 Nova I use 100cc of developer per every 80sq ins of paper processed. For Blix I use 150cc for the same area of paper. If you see lighter particles floating in the blix then it is almost certain that the blix is exhausted. It may be accompanied by a smell of 'bad eggs' or hydrogen sulphide..

What PE said. That's almost always due to pooped blix.

This thread has resurfaced I see! Well, I played around with it for quite a while before getting fed up with the slot. Every print had a problem with murky stains of one kind or another.

I tried out the same chemicals in trays and it worked fine. I then recalled my durst printo back into action and all those odd problems have disappeared. It does a wonderful job.

Now I've just run out of cut sheet Fuji so have to decide whether to go with nice Kodak paper but have to chop it up and store it, or stick with the easy Fuji sheets. Decisions...

Let us know if you go for the Fuji cut sheets or Kodak roll paper. I want to try the Kodak rolls (which cost a good deal less and I have heard great things about the paper), but wonder if the time cutting is worth it. My darkroom time is already limited. Anybody come up with an easy, consistent paper cutting scheme?