[pure-silver] Re: Avoiding pinholes on lith
- From: Peter De Smidt <pdesmidt@xxxxxxx>
- To: pure-silver@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Sun, 10 Oct 2004 21:10:48 -0500
J. Stewart wrote:
>I've tried everything I know to avoid pinholes on lith. I'm developing in
>different developers (paper developers as well as lith developers) at fairly
>concentrated levels (1+1 or full strength). I'm not using acid stop (I let
>them rinse in plain water), and I'm using alkaline fix. I let the lith film
>sit emulsion side up in the developer tray and am very careful when agitating
>the file-- sometimes merely rocking the tray. I wash the films vertically in a
>flow-thru washer. I'm using Arista Lith 4x5.
>I get sometimes hundreds of very tiny specks on the densest parts of the film
>(where they are most obvious). None are over the size of a pinhead. The number
>of specks is highly variable, suggesting it's not due to a manufacturing
>defect.. or maybe it is).
>
>Is there something about using lith that others can share to help me solve
>this problem?
>
>Jim
>
>
>
>
You might try a less alkaline developer. Paper developers often use
carbonate, and lith developers often use sodium hydroxide, as
accelerators. You might try a developer with a lower ph, such as one
produced with sodium metaborate or borax. If I remember correctly, Uncle
Dick had a problem with pinholes with xray film. He switched to a less
alkaline developer, which greatly reduced the problem. Hopefully, U.D.
can confirm.
-Peter De Smidt
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