Want a VERY high contrast developer for litho film

[bvy]

Any ideas? It could be something off the shelf or something familiar with a different dilution. I basically want the images reduced to blacks and white (full density or clear) or as close to that as I can get. I'm using Arista Ortho Litho film and this is for enlargements (masks). Thanks.

 

[glbeas]

This is from Wikipedia

The original lithographic developer was based upon a low sulfite/bisulfite developer with formaldehyde(added as the powder paraformaldehyde). The very low sulfite, high hydroquinone and high alkalinity encouraged "infectious development"(exposed developing silver halide crystals collided with unexposed silver halide crystals, causing them to also reduce) which enhanced the edge effect in line images. These high energy developers had a short tray life, but when used within their tray life provided consistent usable results.

Modern lithographic developers contain hydrazine compounds, tetrazolium compounds and other amine contrast boosters to increase contrast without relying on the classic hydroquinone-only lithographic developer formulation. The modern formulae are very similar to rapid access developers (except for those additives) and therefore they enjoy long tray life. However, classic lithographic developers using hydroquinone alone suffers very poor tray life and inconsistent results.
".......................................

This is a good example of the early type of lith developer mentioned, from Steve Anchells Darkroom Cookbook third edition.
Ilford ID-13
For line and screen negatives.
Solution A
Water at 125F/52C, 750.0 ml Potassium metabisulfite, 25.0 g Hydroquinone, 25.0 g Potassium bromide, 25.0 g Cold water to make 1.0 liter
Solution B
Sodium hydroxide, 50.0 g Cold water to make 1.0 liter
Mix equal parts of A and B immediately before use. The mixed solution has very poor keep- ing qualities and should be discarded immediately after using.With normal exposures devel- opment is complete in 4 to 41⁄2 minutes at 65F/18C.
Caution: Dissolve the sodium hydroxide in a small volume of water in a separate container before adding it to the solution of the other constituents.

 

[Fritzthecat]

We always used Dektol paper developer when I worked in the print shop.

 

[M Carter]

Just use Lith developer. I don't think anything will give you higher contrast than the developer designed to make litho film 100% black or white. That's exactly what it does, and it's cheap. Arista's liquid work just fine, I use it often for this purpose. Arista and LD-20 are both developers intended for lithographic film, but people discovered their use (highly diluted) for lith printing, so they're often sold with lith printing in mind. Just mix it at the film ratio, not for paper.

Keep in mind Arista's product has formalin (formaldehyde), so wear gloves and consider ventilation (you can develop allergic sensitivity to formalin). LD-20 doesn't, but it's pricier. Lith negs develop faster when the dev is warm, but at room temp it's usually about 5 minutes or less. The stuff exhausts when mixed, so depending on tray size and number of sheets... you'll need to keep an eye on dev times and watch for exhaustion for repeatable results.

 

[David Lyga]

David Lyga says this:

PART A: Take Dektol, full strength.
PART B: Take 30m of Sodium Sulfite, anhy + 20mL of Hydroquinone + 10mL of Sodium Carbonate, mono (washing soda) and mix in WTM one liter.

Simply mix 1 + 1 and you will have contrast untold. - David Lyga

 

[darkroommike]

If you don't mess with Lith developers Kodak D-8 formula will give you lots of contrast, maybe not as much as a lith developer but a little easier to deal with.

 

[bvy]

If you don't mess with Lith developers Kodak D-8 formula will give you lots of contrast, maybe not as much as a lith developer but a little easier to deal with.

Thanks everyone. Yeah would rather not fuss with the more toxic stuff. I'll check it out.