ADOX Vario Classic gives a strange effect when lithening

michael-kielgmxnet · 2010-09-30T08:52:39+00:00

Hallo an alle Mitforent(inn)en, während meiner letzten Duka-Session habe ich auch mal das Adox Vario Classic Barytpapier ausprobiert, genauer gesagt ich hab...

michael-kielgmxnet

Hello to all my fellow forum members, During my last darkroom session, I decided to give ADOX Vario Classic baryta paper a go; to be more precise, I used it to make lith prints. The result was a strange, almost graphic-looking effect (see attachment). I developed the prints in Moersch SE5 at a dilution of 1+20. The attached print was made almost at the end of the darkroom session; the developer was apparently nearing the end of its shelf life. Has anyone else had similar experiences with this paper? Or was it just a coincidence... after all, nothing is really reproducible in lith printing. Best regards, Michael

kessler

Hi Michael, My own lith developer produced a similar effect with the Vario paper. My prints on this paper never turned out ‘colourful’ during development. That only really happens during toning. Best regards, Martin

PhilippeGrunchec

Hello Michael, My own lith developer produced a similar effect with the Vario paper. My prints on this paper never turned out ‘colourful’ during development. That only really happens during toning. Best regards, Martin

Martin, which toning(s) do you recommend?

ultra8

Hello Michael, My own lith developer produced a similar effect with the Vario paper. My prints on this paper never turned out ‘colourful’ during development. That only really happens during toning. Best regards, Martin
Martin, which toning(s) do you recommend?

15 seconds (!) in Moersch Siena and then straight into the bath. In the rinse bath, the toner continues to develop like crazy. This produces lovely reddish-brownish-yellow tones!

Lejko

Hello to all my fellow forum members, During my last darkroom session, I decided to give ADOX Vario Classic baryta paper a go; to be more precise, I used it to make lith prints. The result was a strange, almost graphic-like effect (see attachment). I developed the prints in Moersch SE5 at a dilution of 1+20. The attached print was made almost at the end of the darkroom session; the developer was apparently nearing the end of its shelf life. Has anyone else had similar experiences with this paper? Or was it just a coincidence... after all, nothing is really reproducible in lith printing. Best regards, Michael

Hello Michael, The result is very similar to a non-graded Fomabrom baryta print. To get stronger colours, try toning it with selenium toner. Have fun experimenting! :) Best regards, László

michael-kielgmxnet

Hi Michael, My own lith developer produced a similar effect with the Vario paper. My prints on this paper never turned out ‘colourful’ during development. That only really happens during toning. Best regards, Martin

Well, that’s a relief – I was starting to doubt myself a bit, as I’ve never had a result like this with any other paper before. :rolleyes: The print is actually a bit more colourful than the scan shows, but I think the subdued colouring is just right for the subject. Incidentally, the paper does become a bit more colourful if you perform normal development, bleach it and then re-develop it in heavily diluted lith developer.

MirkoBoeddecker

Vario Classic isn’t easy to expose. We don’t actually recommend it as a lith paper either. You’ll need to buy the Master Kit and use the additives correctly. However, the image shown suggests that the developer has run out. Our easy-to-expose paper is Nuance. I’d always recommend Nuance to beginners. Best regards, Mirko

michael-kielgmxnet

If the Nuance produces results as sharp as the Emacs, then it’s definitely worth recommending :rolleyes: I had a look at the Vario Classic again earlier at Mr Moersch’s gallery. The examples look similar to my print, though not quite as pronounced in terms of grain and texture. I’ll just give it a go with fresh developer next time. The Vario Classic seems to react quite sensitively to used Lith developer, as a print developed immediately afterwards on Adox MCP turned out perfectly fine.

ultra8

With a little practice, you can produce prints with a very distinctive character! Here is the Vario Classic 24x30 in Moersch SE 5, followed by selenium, polysulphite and gold toning:

The grain is naturally visible. For prints with little colour, the MCC may be more suitable, as it produces a much finer-grain finish: