Time and Temperature charts for paper development.

[Grandpa Ron]

I am trying do some contact printing with my 4x5 view camera and an old Kodak contact printer.

The paper developer says 1-2 minutes at 68 degrees. This time of year I am lucky to get the house cooled to 74 degrees.

I have lots of information on temp vs. time for film development, but where do I find information on the temp vs. time for paper.

I am using grade 3 paper, I starts with 68@ water/developer mix but even with an ice cube in the tray, the lowest temp I can maintain is about 72 -74 degrees. I want a bit of contrast so I bought grade 3 but the prints have far more contrast that expected.

This is the classic bathroom set up, nothing permanent.

 

[chris]

You don’t have to worry too much about time and temperature for development of B&W paper. Unlike film, paper development is usually carried out to completion, ie to the point where no further development occurs. Just watch the print under safe lighting and remove it from the developer once no further darkening of the image is seen.

 

[IanG]

If the developer temperature drops too low 18ºC ir lower there can be a severe effect on developer behaviour, 25ºC is about the maximum before you'll see an and increase in base fog, 74ºF is just over 23ºC.

At lower temperatures Metol inMQ developers drops significantly in activity and contrast will shift and it's difficult to get good blacks.

Ian

 

[Derrel]

you should be A-OK at 74°F, with a development time of around 90 seconds being a good one in my experience. I personally think that 60 seconds is too short a time, and a slight but subtle improvement in the blacks occurs with a 90 second development. One thing: you must be absolutely sure that your safelight does not fog your paper... you can look around for ways to test this yourself.

 

[terri]

You don't mention the paper manufacturer, but there are usually data sheets tucked in the box that can give development guidelines. The better ones even include filter guidelines for contrast (though you won't need that here, with a grade 3 paper).

But take a look to see what the data sheet suggests. I agree with the comments about not sweating too much over developer temps, since paper is generally more forgiving than film and you have the advantage of working under a safe light. Once you get good results, consistency is your goal.

 

[Derrel]

consistency, yes. In my experience the best way is to develop face down in the tray, and to go strictly by time. If you develop face up there is a great
temptation to "yank" the print.

 

[webestang64]

I do all my printing at room temp (68-72) and a development time of 90 seconds. Only thing I change is the dilution factor to have cool or warm prints (I use Ethol LPD).

 

[Tim Tucker 2]

I'm in agreement with what has already been said, but I know that it's also difficult to judge as you look for the results and naturally seek to control density in the print by how long you leave it in the developer.

But it's really like film in that it's the initial exposure to light that determines the outcome, all you need from there is a rough idea of how long development should be and you can gauge exposure to that. As a rule of thumb I would expose then develop to the 68 deg times and if the print is blocked then choose the exposure, (assuming a step wedge), that is just a little too dense and reduce development time by around 10%. Then you know that you are not under-exposing so adjust exposure and development to suit.