Morte
Dear fellow photographers,
So far, I have only used Adox Adostab for negatives.
This weekend, I’d like to bathe a batch of baryta prints that have already dried in it and then dry them flat using the wet tape method. As I don’t know if I’ll manage to do it all in one go, my question is:
Does anyone know how long a batch like this will keep in the Jobo bottle? We’re only talking about one, or at most two days.
Also: if I dip the bone-dry prints into the bath and leave them in for about 2 minutes (that’s how I always do it with negatives), do I need to pre-soak them to open the pores or something, or is it fine as it is? Is the soaking time enough to then mount the prints flat onto glass plates?
Many thanks for your advice and help!
Morte
piu58
Adostab is practically the same as Sistan. It has an indefinite shelf life, even when diluted. It can be used right down to the last drop.
There is no need to add dry images; it can also be used as the final watering step. However, the Sistan/Adostab will then become diluted by the water introduced, so it should be replaced after a while.
TR
I imagine your 'partially dried' pictures are a bit warped. You’ll probably need to soak them in water for a while first to soften the material and make it pliable again.
Bonderer
‘Practical’ isn’t always the right word; Sistan leaves yellowish Adostab and reddish residues. What’s more, I had a complete disaster with Adostab – fortunately not on film, but on RC paper. I’d actually only wanted to improve the long-term stability. After drying in the dryer, there were small, pale reddish spots on almost all the photos. I’d made a slightly larger batch at the time so I’d have some photos to show, and ended up having to bin the lot. I then went to the trouble of cropping these faults out of a few photos and sending them in; naturally, I wanted to know what was wrong and why. Unfortunately, those very samples got lost in the post... Since then, no more Adostab – just Sistan. If I can’t get hold of it anymore, we’ll see; perhaps Selen or Goldbad. If it has to be Adostab, test it first on a few unimportant prints to see what happens. Otherwise, Selen or Goldbad – you’re on the safe side with those, though you do have to rinse thoroughly afterwards. You don’t need to do that with Adostab.
Morte
Great, that answers a few questions. It’s always a good idea to try it out first on an ‘unimportant’ print.
What do you think, does it make a difference whether a dry sheet of baryta paper soaks up the Adostab solution, or whether you soak it in plain water first, as then it can’t absorb as much of the solution?
Piu58, that’s how I’d normally do it too: the Adostab treatment at the end of the darkroom process. But as I always work there at night, I wanted to save the final treatment and mounting on glass plates for the daytime – one has to get some sleep at some point, after all. So the only question left is how long such a (dry) sheet should be left in the solution to ‘straighten out’ (as the prints are, of course, quite wavy). By way of comparison: if I place a fresh sheet in the developer for about 90 seconds after exposure, it has become heavy and soft by the time it reaches the stop bath and no longer warps or bends in the bath. Surely that time should be enough, shouldn’t it?
Incidentally, these are 24x30 prints.
Thanks to you all!
sputnik
Why do you put yourself through all this hassle, anyway?
A sheet of baryta paper that’s been processed properly using fresh chemicals – and then properly soaked as well – will easily outlive you. No need for Adostab or any other spot-removing solutions. :)
Morte
It’s quite simple:
I have to wet them anyway, as they aren’t lying flat (I don’t have a drying press, but I prefer the silky sheen you get from air-drying).
And as I want to sell the prints, I want to be on the safe side.
That’s really all there is to it. ;-)
Bonderer
Be sure to soak it thoroughly before applying Adostab; after all, Adostab is meant to work within the silver gelatine layer and not penetrate the paper felt, or at least as little as possible. You shouldn’t soak it again after the treatment, but if you do give it a go, let us know how it went. Best wishes and good luck
piu58
> In practice, it’s not quite the same: Sistan leaves yellowish residues, whilst Adostab leaves reddish ones.
It’s the rhodanide that’s effective. Sistan uses the potassium salt, whilst Adostab uses the ammonium salt.
> If it’s been properly watered, it’ll certainly outlive you with ease.
That depends on the conditions. In a drawer, certainly. Trapped in a frame and exposed to sunlight, things might look a little different. Sistan is not harmful and is easy to handle. It does not alter the tone of the image. There really is no reason not to use it.
Morte
Just a quick update, as I was asked for one earlier:
So, I recently soaked the dry prints in Adostab solution for about 6 minutes (prepared according to the instructions). After this time, they could be rolled out onto glass plates without any trouble and dried perfectly smooth using the adhesive tape method.
I had absolutely no problems with Adostab. There were no stains or other visible residues, and the image tone, as desired, remained unchanged. The loss of liquid due to the dry prints soaking it up is also negligible; I could have soaked numerous more sheets without having to prepare a fresh batch.
Conclusion: I’m satisfied; the process went completely smoothly and required little effort. I’ll do it this way again any time.
