IMFotograph
Hi
I’ve got a few questions.
How long should you actually leave the paper in the developer?
Should you follow the instructions on the developer bottle or the leaflet, or is that something you just have to test out?
Best regards, Frank
MirkoBoeddecker
Hi Frank,
Yes, that’s another thing to test out.
Because: It depends heavily on the age of the paper.
Fresh paper is very resistant to ‘staying in the developer even after the highlights have developed without the base fog increasing’.
The older the paper gets, the shorter this period becomes, and once it’s properly over-exposed, the base fog starts to increase even before development is complete, and you’ll end up with nothing but muddy prints.
In standard developers such as Eukobrom, N113 or PNB, our Classic is fully developed after 90 seconds (at 20°C) and really does need to be taken out.
If you leave it in for too long, it can develop fog without you actually gaining any more detail in the highlights.
Important: the draining time must be factored in!! And please always let it drain properly – especially with baryta paper. By the way, agitating doesn’t help – the developer’s surface adhesion remains the same....
Best regards,
Mirko
Gast
Speaking of fogging, how long do (fresh) papers actually hold up? I once developed some Fomabrom for 8 minutes in N 113 at 20°C and didn’t get the slightest hint of fogging, but I did get a very usable print with good detail in the highlights.
Is Foma particularly good in this respect, or can you expect this from any fresh paper?
Werner
MirkoBoeddecker
Werner,
It depends on the paper and the developer.
N113 is one of the best when it comes to anti-fog, anti-everything, and super-stable performance.
So I’m not surprised that you didn’t get any fog (clogged highlights) at 8 minutes with fresh paper.
You often only notice this in a direct comparison or with a densitometer. So it may well be that there was a slight ‘haze’ after all, but you wouldn’t notice it without making a comparison.
Best regards,
Mirko
