So how do you control contrast in RA-4 printing?

rpavich · Mar 18, 2017

I had a picture of a really nice junk shop that I got on the way back from VA last week. The sun was way low on the horizon with lots of deep shadows and the colors were vibrant.

I just printed a picture of that scene and it looks nothing like it. It's washed out a bit. It's not horrible but it's certainly not what I had envisioned.

So how do I enhance contrast and saturation when printing RA-4?

rpavich · Mar 19, 2017

Greg Davis said:
Is it washed out because you printed too light to retain shadow detail?

I think that's mostly what it was. I happened to download a primer on RA-4 printing and it pointed me in the right direction. It was too light.

I'm working on it now.

darkroommike · Mar 19, 2017

You can increase/reduce contrast with RA-4 with masking, increase contrast (a bit) with extended development. Decrease contrast with flashing. See Kodak's Bigger and Better Enlarging for starters.

rpavich · Mar 19, 2017

darkroommike said:
You can increase/reduce contrast with RA-4 with masking, increase contrast (a bit) with extended development. Decrease contrast with flashing. See Kodak's Bigger and Better Enlarging for starters.

Thank you, I'll do that.

bvy · Mar 19, 2017

You can add hydrogen peroxide to the developer to boost contrast a bit. Caveats are that it does affect color balance (not dramatically) and that it shortens the life of the developer. It should be added just prior to developing, and the developer discarded after.

rpavich · Mar 19, 2017

bvy said:
You can add hydrogen peroxide to the developer to boost contrast a bit. Caveats are that it does affect color balance (not dramatically) and that it shortens the life of the developer. It should be added just prior to developing, and the developer discarded after.

I might try that...thanks.
Mostly it appears that it came done to printing to light (not enough exposure.) I'm also having a devil of a time with my chems. They seem to be getting exhausted very fast.

Prof_Pixel · Mar 19, 2017

bvy said:
You can add hydrogen peroxide to the developer to boost contrast a bit.

An interesting variation on a process that PE and I worked on at Kodak in the mid-70s called RX chemistry. In short, the H2O2 oxidizes color developer on the developed Ag grains in the image.

rpavich · Mar 19, 2017

Prof_Pixel said:
An interesting variation on a process that PE and I worked on at Kodak in the mid-70s called RX chemistry. In short, the H2O2 oxidizes color developer on the developed Ag grains in the image.

So after putting in the H202 is the developer gone? Can it be reused a few times?

Prof_Pixel · Mar 19, 2017

rpavich said:
So after putting in the H202 is the developer gone? Can it be reused a few times?

I'd consider the developer to be single use.

rpavich · Mar 19, 2017

Prof_Pixel said:
I'd consider the developer to be single use.

Thanks.

markbarendt · Mar 19, 2017

Burn and dodge.

rpavich · Mar 19, 2017

Well, it appears that I had two problems going on at the same time.

1.) My exposure wasn't nearly long enough; thus too light on the print.
2.) I forgot that I had to replenish my chems and the first test print or two went fine and then things went south after that. The more I tried the worse it got until I realized that I hadn't replenished my 250ml graduate and I had printed about 15 8x5" test prints.

I replenished and increased the time in the enlarger and got a good result, repeatable.

I hope I don't learn this lesson over again.

Tim Stapp · Mar 19, 2017

rpavich, I've got to admit that I have learned a great deal from you vicariously through your posts here and on Ugly Hedge Hog. Thank You!!! I wish that I had your commitment, time and money to devote to this. I do have the desire, though.

rpavich · Mar 19, 2017

Tim Stapp said:
rpavich, I've got to admit that I have learned a great deal from you vicariously through your posts here and on Ugly Hedge Hog. Thank You!!! I wish that I had your commitment, time and money to devote to this. I do have the desire, though.

Hahaha....I'm just screwed up!

mklw1954 · Mar 19, 2017

What strength hydrogen peroxide and how much is recommended to be added to the developer for different increases in contrast? I use 70ml developer (Kodak Ektacolor RA Developer Replenisher), one-shot, for 8x10 prints in drums.

bvy · Mar 19, 2017

mklw1954 said:
What strength hydrogen peroxide and how much is recommended to be added to the developer for different increases in contrast? I use 70ml developer (Kodak Ektacolor RA Developer Replenisher), one-shot, for 8x10 prints in drums.

2% to 5% is a good place to start. I measure it with a small syringe. Don't expect dramatic changes. It's adds a bit of "pop," but often at the cost of some detail in the shadows and/or highlights.

Prof_Pixel · Mar 19, 2017

mklw1954 said:
What strength hydrogen peroxide and how much is recommended to be added to the developer for different increases in contrast? I use 70ml developer (Kodak Ektacolor RA Developer Replenisher), one-shot, for 8x10 prints in drums.

In https://www.photo.net/discuss/threads/ra-4-encore.116138/ , PE in a message dated 22 Jul 2004 suggests: "I have not used peroxide amplification extensively, but you might want to try 20 ml of 3% H2O2 / liter of developer. That is where I would start." Read through the thread for ideas.

pentaxuser · Mar 19, 2017

I may have misunderstood the problem but if the neg is fine then would it not be simpler to re-print with fresh RA4 chemicals?

pentaxuser

rpavich · Mar 19, 2017

pentaxuser said:
I may have misunderstood the problem but if the neg is fine then would it not be simpler to re-print with fresh RA4 chemicals?

pentaxuser

No, you didn't misunderstand. After fighting this all day I finally figured out what went wrong.

1.) I was printing way too light. That's what started it.

2.) While that was going on and unbeknownst to me my chemicals were depleting and I wasn't replenishing them...which caused another set of problems.

3.) While all this was going on my Jobo magnet let loose and so I had to switch gears to room temp developing while the glue was drying.

In the end, it came down to my lack of good exposure skill and not realizing that I should have been replenishing my chems.

The good thing is that I learned a lot today so it wasn't wasted.

Tim Stapp · Mar 19, 2017

rpavich said:
The good thing is that I learned a lot today so it wasn't wasted.

That my friend, is what I respect you for.

rpavich · Mar 19, 2017

Tim Stapp said:
That my friend, is what I respect you for.

Photo Engineer · Mar 19, 2017

You must master B&W before you go on to color.

PE

So how do you control contrast in RA-4 printing?

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