Safelight for RA-4 printing?

Tom Kershaw said:

https://www.fujifilmusa.com/product...rinting_materials/fujiflex_printing_material/

'Designed for Use with RA-4 Chemistry'

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In addition is this also designed for normal enlarger exposures of several seconds and does its sensitivity to light differ from that of other normal RA4 paper I.e. to use Matt's comment> Is the only difference that of being plastic and everything else is the same as Fuji CA or Kodak Endura darkroom RA4 paper?

Thanks

pentaxuser

Donald Qualls said:

Try looking at monocle units. Amazon has those starting just over $100, though I don't know (don't think) those include IR illuminators. Adding a string of IR LEDs powered by a small battery is trivial, though.

Head mounting and sealing the output light against leaks that might fog your materials is left as an exercise...

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You don't need much safe light to handle RA-4 paper... get a wireless remote command to switch on-off the safe light

Focus/frame with the safe light open, use a discarted sheet to prepare the easel. Have your paper safe close to the enlarger. Close safe light and move a sheet to the easel. Expose. Only open the 575nm safe light to move the sheet to the tray or to the processor. If you use a tray then cover it with an opaque board. You only have illuminated the sheet for a two or three seconds while moving the sheet to the tray!

Just use 575nm LEDs, 25 leds for $1.

pentaxuser said:

In addition is this also designed for normal enlarger exposures of several seconds and does its sensitivity to light differ from that of other normal RA4 paper I.e. to use Matt's comment> Is the only difference that of being plastic and everything else is the same as Fuji CA or Kodak Endura darkroom RA4 paper?

Thanks

pentaxuser

Click to expand...

I've not used Fujiflex under an enlarger. My only experience with the paper is from a digital camera file with good results via 'Ag Photolab'. As far as I'm aware however the Fujiflex does operate as a standard RA-4 "paper".

Tom

This thread prompted my experiment this evening of installing a '908' dark green filter - 5"x7" safelight I had in the loft. Using a 15W lamp I could just about make out the sink after a while (possibly 15/20 minutes), outline of the enlarger etc. For practical purposes I would be tempted to install an additional unit if going with this option.

Tom and Bikerider - Fujiflex is a standard RA4 product made by Fuji as part of their Crystal Archive line. It's also called Supergloss. It prints using an enlarger very similarly in terms of color balance and speed, but has a true high gloss, is somewhat richer in DMax and color saturation, probably more permanent due to the residual couplers washing out better, and is distinctly higher priced, being coated on polyester rather than RC paper base. But there's nothing elliptical in my reference to it on this thread. B&H lists it right along with the other Fuji papers in roll sizes (it's not available in cut sheet anymore). It wouldn't make any argumentive difference if I had referred to a $500 roll of the RC paper version instead. I wouldn't want a roll of that fogged by improper safelight application either.

Thanks Drew. That certainly covers the matter for me

pentaxuser