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Old 14th October 2015, 09:00 PM
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Rob Archer Rob Archer is offline
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Default Anyone lith printing?

I'm just getting back into doing some lith printing after a gap of a few years. I'm using Fotospeed Lith developer and I've got about 50 sheets of Kentona left, which i know liths well. I've also just been given (!) an unopened box of Kentmere Art Classic. My problem is that it won't last forever. What current papers work well for lith? I know some of the Foma papers are supposed to be good but which ones?
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Old 14th October 2015, 10:10 PM
paulc paulc is offline
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I've tried the new(ish) Adox MC110 and Ilford's Art 300 - Both produced worked OK, but I haven't used any of the recent batches.

With the papers that generally don't work with lith developers, most of them produce interesting results when overexposed, developed in a regular developer, bleached back, and redeveloped in a lith bath. Depending on the bleach used, the resulting colours can vary considerably.
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Old 14th October 2015, 10:26 PM
alexmuir alexmuir is offline
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I recently found a copy of Tim Rudmans book in a charity shop. It was one of the ones that specialise in books. Anyway, it has made me think about trying lith work. I hope to do so in the next few weeks.
Alex
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Old 15th October 2015, 07:57 AM
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Hi Rob,

I used to do quite a lot of Lith, and I found that several of the Foma fibre papers worked well in Fotospeed dev. However, a couple of years ago there were some emulsion changes that meant that some of the best papers didn't actually undergo infectious development properly - they produced "lithy" colours, but the normal lith controls for contrast and exposure didn't work. I believe that the emulsions have been changed again and do now lith properly, but I haven't had the chance to check.

Some of the Slavich FB papers also lith, giving a really gritty look, which suits some negs well. The trick with these seems to be that they need washing *before* they go into the dev for proper infectious development to occur.

However, the best source of information is Tim Rudman himself - I'd suggest subscribing to his mailing list (http://www.timrudman.com/mailing_list) and then you can download his latest summary of the available materials.

Good luck!

Andrew
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Old 16th October 2015, 02:07 PM
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I envy you being the owner of a whole box of Art Classic. A friend gave me 2 sheets and I've not yet been brave enough to try it!

As has been said, Tim Rudman's mailing list is the best way to keep abreast of the comings and goings around suitable papers. I believe the Foma papers are back on track now. Alongside Fomatone, I have enjoyed playing with Nature. It's a bit more subtle than Fomatone, which can be quite orange. That said, lithed Fomatone split tones nicely with selenium and gold.

If you don't already have one, I can recommend an RH Designs darkroom torch. They're invaluable for monitoring infectious development and deciding when to snatch the print.
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Old 20th October 2015, 11:41 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Rob Archer View Post
[...]
I know some of the Foma papers are supposed to be good but which ones?
some people reported over the net that Foma papers are a bit "delicated" for lith printing - the same paper bur different lot number can make a difference. Tim Rudman's newsletter is a great resource to avoid this problem.
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Old 22nd October 2015, 12:17 PM
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HI Rob,
I've done a fair bit of lith work over the last few years, even attended one of Tim Rudman's excellent workshops.
I've documented my experiences using various papers and processes on my site. Here's a link which pulls out all the chemical lith posts: http://real-photographs.co.uk/category/chem-lith/
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Old 13th December 2015, 08:06 PM
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Well, I've tried the old paper I was given. The bad news is that it's too badly fogged for most 'ordinary' use. The good news is that it liths beautifully!

Since my original post the same guy has found a couple more boxes of paper - one of Kentona (original pre-Harman stuff) and one of Kentmere Bromide (G3). The Kentona is lightly fogged but, like the Art Classic, liths ok. I haven't had time to test the Bromide. Anyone here tried it in lith developer?
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Old 14th December 2015, 07:56 AM
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Well, I do lith printing (much more than regular bw printing).
As for foma papers - FRESH batches of Fomatone MG Class 131 and 132 now lith very well and consistently even between batches, almost as good as the old ones and react well with the lith developer and any additives.
You can confirm the batch numbers when buying against Tim Rudmans mailing list.
One more good source of lith materials and knowledge is Wolfgang Moersch in Germany.
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Old 14th December 2015, 12:06 PM
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Hi Rob,
I’ve been doing a bit of lith recently, printing on 30 year old Agfa Record Rapid developed in LD20. You are lucky with the Kentmere papers, Kentona is wonderful in lith, Bromide I’m not so sure about. I think it will be a bit subdued compared with the emulsion on Kentona. Good luck.
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