RA-4 paper development

So far, I only have done a couple of sessions of color printing, and I am unsure what I am doing is best or advisable, but so far has been mostly successful

The Bellini kit is for 5L. though I prepared only what was needed for 1L of each (beside the stabilizer)

I store all chemicals in collapsible bottles so they do not contain air, to limit oxidation.

The stabilizer should be used “fresh” for each 1 minute wash step, so I dump it every single time I use it.

I am developing using a 8x10 drum for cibachrome.

I am using Fujicolor Crystal Archive paper. I will try the “DP2” version of this paper soon, because this was the only one available with a non-glossy finish at my lab’s shop.

The process that works best is a bit different form the official datasheet as I have inconsistent results if I do not use a stop bath between dev and blix.

The stop bath I use for black and white works fine here it seems. It is citric acid stop bath.

It is important to control the pH of the stop bath to make sure it is effective at killing the reducing action of the developer. I am currently using Bellini ECOSTOP, a citric acid (odorless) stop bath.

In the future I may get one with a pH indicator dye. Bellini makes one they call INDEXSTOP, and Foma makes one called FOMACITRO. They change their color when their pH is off spec.

1. Pre-wet 30-ish seconds (this washes off the anti-halo blue dye, and swell the emulsion to allow the developer to work evenly)
2. Dev 45 seconds
3. Stop 45 sec
4. Blix 45 sec
5. Wash 1 min water
6. Stab 1 minute with fresh stab (Dump it)
7. Repeat stab step 2 or 3 times
8. Pull paper out of tank
9. Squeegee against wall

Alternatively, can wash the print in a tray of running water then use the stabilizer. I prefer to wash in the drum.

Color should be judged only on dry print as dry down effect is supposed to be strong. You can use a hair drier on the picture currently stuck against the wall. I use a cheap old cardboard whiteboard for now.

The Blix and Dev that was used I have (for now) simply put back in the bottle. I will need to watch for degradation of the results.

I will update this page once I get more experience with this.