chriwurz Hello, I’ve just had to bin the entire batch from two days of painstaking work in the darkroom. Perhaps someone could help me with an idea as to what might have gone wrong – I can’t explain it myself. Kentmere VC Select RC paper, freshly delivered, developed in Agfa Multicontrast, citric acid stop bath, then fixed for 6 minutes in A300, followed by one to two minutes in ADOSTAB. The prints looked flawless at first, even after drying. Then, one or two days later, suddenly white, streak-like spots, like clouds, appeared on all the prints, some covering areas several centimetres long, others in small dots. As I said, I have no explanation for this phenomenon. I usually work with baryta paper and have never had problems of this kind. RC paper is rather unfamiliar to me. Is there something I haven’t considered? Where do you think the mistake lies? Thanks for your advice. Best regards, Christian
MirkoBoeddecker ...so the first thing that strikes me is: where's the washing system?? Best regards, Mirko
cfb_de ...so the first thing that strikes me is: where’s the washing?I was going to mention that yesterday as well. But then I couldn’t imagine anyone forgetting the washing. Best regards, Franz
chriwurz Hi Mirko, Franz, I’d completely forgotten to mention the washing: 3–4 minutes under running water between the fixing and ADOSTAB. Best wishes, Christian
MirkoBoeddecker Hello Christian, I asked this because your description of the problem could fit this scenario, and because it’s quite possible that people misinterpret how ADOSTAB works. Question: Was the water also at 20 degrees? ADOSTAB is no substitute for proper fixing and washing. It doesn’t work like Lavaquick, for example. On the contrary, if there is any residual silver or fixer left in the print when it enters the ADOSTAB, staining occurs as an indicator of insufficient fixing/washing, similar to what happens with selenium toner. It is therefore quite possible that the prints will already show ‘signs of deterioration’ the very next morning. However, there may be other causes as well. I could take a look at such a fault if you could scan it and upload it to the gallery. We’ve seen the most impossible things here, and we’ve been able to resolve many of them. Best regards, Mirko
chriwurz Hi Mirko, The water was 20 degrees, maybe even a bit warmer. I can’t really imagine that I might not have fixed them properly. As I said: at least 6 minutes, in fresh fixer. As far as I know, the A300 packaging recommends 5–8 minutes. It’s true that ADOSTAB isn’t used for developing anymore, isn’t it? I just let the pictures drip dry over the tray, didn’t wipe them, and laid them out to dry as they were. Thanks for offering to have a look at one of the pictures. Unfortunately, I don’t have a scanner at home. I’ll try from my office; there’s one there. However, I won’t be back there until the middle of next week. So it’ll take a while. Best regards, Christian
