What lith developer to begin with?

I want to print portraits using the lith technique which is completely new to me. Tim Rudman's book regarding lith just arrived from Amazon and I am reading with great anticipation and expectations.

Also, I just read the thread about lith papers with warmtone papers, especially Fomatone warmtone VC FB papers responding well to this technique.

1) there are several versions of Fomatone Classic VC FB. Which versions would be best for a beginner? Do the different surfaces (glossy, matte etc) or color bases work equally well and it is just personal preference?

2) I want to buy a developer kit first and need some guidance. B&H doesn't have much to chose from so I guess I will be ordering from Freestyle. Would either the Moersch Easylith A&B Lith Printing Paper Developer http://www.freestylephoto.biz/12034-Moersch-Easylith-AandB-Lith-Printing-Paper-Developer-2x100-ml?cat_id=301 or Arista Premium Liquid A&B Lith Developer http://www.freestylephoto.biz/160401-Arista-Premium-Liquid-AandB-Lith-Developer-2-x-1-Quart?cat_id=301 be appropriate?

ymc226 said:

Would either the Moersch Easylith A&B Lith Printing Paper Developer http://www.freestylephoto.biz/12034-Moersch-Easylith-AandB-Lith-Printing-Paper-Developer-2x100-ml?cat_id=301 or Arista Premium Liquid A&B Lith Developer http://www.freestylephoto.biz/160401-Arista-Premium-Liquid-AandB-Lith-Developer-2-x-1-Quart?cat_id=301 be appropriate?

Click to expand...

I am a beginning lith printer and had good results right away with the combination of Moersh Easylith and Fomabrom MG Classic warmtone 131. Colours vary from orange-brown with fresh strong developer (1+1+50) to orange-red with more diluted (1+1+100 or more) or near-exhausted developer. Developing times about 10 minutes, exposure +2 or 3 stops depending on the contrast of the negative. More exposure gives me lower contrast, provided you choose the right snatchpoint.

Get some of the Fomatone MG Classic 131 gloss or 132 mat paper to begin with. I have not used the two developers you mention but either one should be fine.

Just get more than you think you need!!

I started with Moersch EasyLith, and the Foma 131 (glossy) and 132 (matt) papers. Most of the images in (there was a url link here which no longer exists)are made with that combination (and/or with Moersch SE5 lith developer but I saw little difference between the two). I generally exposed 2-3 stops over, and had developing times between 4-10 minutes in warm (25-30C) developer.

As for choosing the papers...I haven't tried them all but I think will a lot will depend on your own personal preferences as to what surfaces you like the most. I prefer matt and chamois best with lith, but for some images I found that glossy worked better, so...again, it will be based on what you are printing and what you like in the final print. Be aware though, that the Foma papers are extremely colourful, which some people don't like. That being said, it's a great paper to start lith with, and once you are comfortable with what you are doing, you can experiment with others.

The Moresh dev reminds me of Nova Lith A B which I started out with, so I would suggest this dev as it works well in my darkroom.

I'd go with either a Moersch SE5 (I only have experience with SE5) or Rollei. They are both formaldehyde free and work pretty similarly. I don't have any experience with Easylith, though.

I recently bought some LD20... any thoughts on that?

LD20 works quite well .... with experimentation you'll soon move away from the printed instructions ... On the same papers I got kind of similar results as with Moersch chems ...

Thanks for all the replies.

I just remembered that I have Ilford Warmtone MG FB that I bought and at that time did not like the tone.

As it is a warmtone paper, does it work with lith printing or will I get more distinctly "lithy" results with the Foma papers?

Also,

How does one warm and keep the developer warm while in the tray. I will work with 8x10, 11x14 and 16x20 trays eventually.

Definitely start with the Foma paper. I use a tray warmer to keep the developer temperature up. You could put the dev tray into another tray holding hot water which can be topped up.

I would like to recommend Ultrafine's lith developer. For the price of 1/2 liter of some types, you get two gallons of really concentrated stuff--enough to last even a frequent lith printer quite a while.

The A+B concentrate is what I'm talking about--$26.50:http://www.ultrafineonline.com/abdeco.html
I am finding it very easy to work with.

ymc226 said:

Thanks for all the replies.

I just remembered that I have Ilford Warmtone MG FB that I bought and at that time did not like the tone.

As it is a warmtone paper, does it work with lith printing or will I get more distinctly "lithy" results with the Foma papers?

Click to expand...

You will get better "lithy" results with the Foma paper. The Ilford warmtone works well with secundary lith development (lith developing after bleaching)