1st LITH printing session...

[stradibarrius]

Tonight I am going to give "lith" printing the first try!!!
I am anxious. I have Rudman' book on lith printing but I have a question.

For 8x10 paper how much developer should i use? I do not want to waste my lith developer but I want to use enough to have a successful session.
I am using Moersch "easy lith" and Foma Variant 123.

If I want to tone in Selenium should I go from the fix in to selenium?

[heart of stone]

For 8x10 I use an 11x14 tray and 1 1/2 to 2 litres of developer. Tried 1 litre in an 8x10 tray and got uneven developement. Have fun!

[Mike Crawford]

If you are starting out with lith, could I suggest that you don't selenium tone just yet. There are so many variables involved in the process, so it may be best to get used to the process first before toning. One major consideration is how lith prints dry down. Usually darker and with a different colour to the one seen when wet. Once that bit of the process has been sorted, then try some toning. Personally I find a paper like Fomatone too orange in the highlights and green in the shadows. A very dilute selenium does help to improve the colour and reduce that nasty green.

[MVNelson]

i agree, I think starting with fairly large quantity of developer allows for longer "learning" sessions without having to start replenishing and stabilizing (which has it's own learning curve). Start with 25-30 ml each of A and B per liter water. Start with 2 1/2 to 3 stops over what would be a normal general print exposure for non -lith. Foma is a great paper to start with cause it kicks in within a reasonable time(about 7-9 min ). It is hard to learn lith if each print takes greater than 20 min before snatch point. Your patience will be worn out! Once you're a master printer and you have a reasonable grasp 20 or even longer may be what you want or need. I wash print after fix for 5 min then in Perma-wash for 3 min the wash 10 min then selenium toner. Expect the prints to get more colorful as the deveolper becomes used. Most import stay loose and have fun. There are controls to learn but you'll learn by experimentation.

Miles

[Mark Fisher]

Mike and Miles are square on. I pretty much always use selenium with Foma, but it is very different than toning conventional prints. Get the lith printing down then play with toning....and never go straight from the fix to the toner. It will stain.

[Dan Henderson]

I use a liter of developer in 8x10 trays without streaking or mottling, and get 6-7 prints per liter, which is enough for a single printing session for me. I am religious about constant, gentle agitation, which may help prevent mottling.

I suggest getting several prints that you like at the wet stage, give them a good wash, and selenium tone 1 or 2, with an untoned reference print in a water tray. After 2 or 3 minutes you should see the green cast of the Foma go nicely neutral.

Then wash and dry all of them and compare the differences.

[mooseontheloose]

Well, I also use 11x14 trays for 9.5x12 paper, but I usually mix up 3-4 litres in one go (I save one liter for later). I find 2 liters a little low for an 11x14 tray. But that's just me. However, my printing sessions are long, anywhere from 4-10 hours, and I find that I get better, consistent results over that time period with a larger amount mixed up. Usually at the halfway point of the session I'll remove one liter of the used developer and add the 'fresh' developer to the mix.

Like the others, I would definitely recommend not start toning until you see the effects of lith development on your prints. Dry down introduces colours that you will not see while the print is wet. You may find that you like the look of untoned prints better than toned. Regardless, have fun!