Four papers side by side. |
There
is not a great deal I can add to what I have already written about
Eukobrom AC. I was not expecting
to show you a set of FB prints so soon after my first use of this new
developer. The questions I still have need a good amount of time to
pass.
A
partial answer to one question is that the developer will keep for at
least three days after dilution. As long as it is bottled at the end
of each session when being used in a tray. A litre of 1+9 strength so
far has produced twenty images of mixed sizes. According to Tetenal
you should get about 1,353 prints of 30 x 24 cm out of each 250 ml of
concentrated developer. Which works out at about 54 prints per 100 ml
diluted at 1+9. Obviously in practice this will vary depending on
dilution, paper and conditions of use.
While
I was developing the FB images I did notice that different papers
could take up to sixty seconds before they started to show any signs
that the paper had been exposed and a further sixty to complete the
process. Knowing when the increase in images appearance is down to
reduced developer activity will take time to discover.
Ilford cooltone fibre base paper |
I
chose three makes of FB paper: Ilford cooltone, warmtone and natural
- all gloss, Fomatone MG classic chamois 542 mat and Adox MCC
gloss. All the papers were exposed at grade three but unlike their RC
brothers the exposure time had to be adjusted as some of the papers
required a lot less light. Again the tones had good separation, rich
blacks and clear whites.
Of
the three Ilford papers the natural paper took on a cool tone, where
as the cooltone took on a warmish tone. This could be the first
indication that the developer is depleting. If this is the case then
it is exhibiting the same traits as those traditionally produced. The
slight colour change indicating that the silver has not been fully
developed. I have written about the changes of colour you can expect
from exhausting developer in another article.
When
it come to pushing or pulling the print (This is where you over
expose the paper then pull it from the developer when it has reached
full development before the suggested time for full development.) I
have so far kept to standard use.
Adox MCC fibre paper |
If
you have not tried it yet give it a try. If you have used it let us
know - always interested in what others think.