Alan, the answer to your question can be found in the horse's mouth:...I've never printed on RC papers. However, I've recently taken a liking to Ilford RC MGWT Pearl and I know wet time should be minimized with RC papers. I can spend 2-3 hours in the darkroom, especially when working toward a final print, and following the fixer I toss the prints into a holding bath of water until I'm finished. Is it okay to leave RC paper in water for that long?...
IMO RC papers are best processed individually to completion, not batched like FB papers. The recommended processing cycle for Ilford RC papers is so short that this is practical to do - read the processing instructions in the Ilford paper data sheet if you haven't already done that.
If I might make a suggestion, it would be a good idea to start a thread on this subject in the Postcard Exchange sub-forum. Alternatively, you could start a thread on this subject in this sub-forum.I feel like this question somewhat depends on what specifically you're doing: One off prints vs small copy vs larger batch runs as far as risk management goes.
If I push my luck and spoil 1 in 100 prints that I made in 1/10th the time as a batch vs what it would have taken to do each end-to-end individually, then I would be less annoyed at it than if I had been careless and spoiled a one off print that I had forgotten in a wash tank.
Personally I'm aiming to start my first real darkroom printing 'project' later this year that would require dozens of copies of a few images, and I'm on the fence with how best to process things.
For my small 4x5 print project I am thinking that the logical process would be to do a large batch of exposures, then take my box of exposed sheets over for wet processing all in one go, rather than flipping back and forth between dry and wet work. Sounds sensible in my head, but I'm left wondering just how large of a batch it makes sense to push things with.
Dev tank time and agitation feel like they're the only real time critical points, while all the other stages seem like it isn't really going to matter how much I fudge their timings as long as I'm not forgetting them there for ages and had hit at least min-time for fix and wash. Am I setting myself up for more of a headache than I might be expecting with this idea? [Planning to use Ilford Multigrade RC Pearl with Ilford chemistry, so nothing that seems too outlandish or uncommon.]
I missed that - yes, that is definitely a problem, and likely to make it difficult to easily wash the prints properly.I feel like everyone here is glazing over you leaving them in a stagnant water bath after the fixer. Surely that is just a bath of dilute fixer by the end, isn't it?
I missed that - yes, that is definitely a problem, and likely to make it difficult to easily wash the prints properly.
I wolden't leave them overnight because, it may start to delaminate but, a few hours is fine.Other than some photography classes in college back in the early 70's, I've never printed on RC papers. However, I've recently taken a liking to Ilford RC MGWT Pearl and I know wet time should be minimized with RC papers. I can spend 2-3 hours in the darkroom, especially when working toward a final print, and following the fixer I toss the prints into a holding bath of water until I'm finished. Is it okay to leave RC paper in water for that long? How do you all handle these papers?
My experience as well.I wolden't leave them overnight because, it may start to delaminate but, a few hours is fine.
From a student college course that was my experience also. That now constitutes a defined United Nations response of a German, Canadian and a JockMy experience as well.
I feel like everyone here is glazing over you leaving them in a stagnant water bath after the fixer. Surely that is just a bath of dilute fixer by the end, isn't it?
Pardon me for being dense, but....... So you guys are saying, if you take a (RC) print out of the Fix, and put it in a tray of water, for 2 hours, and then wash it later; that print will require more washing than a print that comes from the fix and then is washed (right away) in a couple changes of water for 2-10 minutes.?I missed that - yes, that is definitely a problem, and likely to make it difficult to easily wash the prints properly.
No, not really.Pardon me for being dense, but....... So you guys are saying, if you take a (RC) print out of the Fix, and put it in a tray of water, for 2 hours, and then wash it later; that print will require more washing than a print that comes from the fix and then is washed (right away) in a couple changes of water for 2-10 minutes.?
Thank You
Check the link to Ilford's recommendation in post #6 above:... So you guys are saying, if you take a (RC) print out of the Fix, and put it in a tray of water, for 2 hours, and then wash it later; that print will require more washing than a print that comes from the fix and then is washed (right away) in a couple changes of water for 2-10 minutes.?
Thank You
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