Lith Developers

On this page are formulae for all of the lith developers I could find. Please note that all chemicals should be mixed in the order given and that proper safety procedures should be followed when mixing the formulae. Goggles, a mask and gloves would be regarded as basic precautions.

Michael Gudzinowicz (bg174@FreeNet.Carleton.CA) rather wisely points out that formaldehyde, which is used in many lith formulae, its polymerized form paraformaldehyde and addition products such as the bisulphites, are carcinogenic and should be treated carefully with very good ventilation - preferably in a fume hood.

He offers the advice that instead of using paraformaldehyde, acetone is used. The monomer molecular weight of paraformaldehyde is 30, and that of acetone is 58.08 with a density of 0.788. He suggests therefore, for each gram of paraformaldehyde, substituting 58/(30 * 0.788) = 2.20 ml of acetone. So for 37.5 grams of paraformaldehyde, you'd use 82.5 ml of acetone. He advocates testing this on scrap film with the addition of more acetone if the lith effect does not occur due to the excess of free sulphite.

I'm not sure what effect this has on lith printing rather than lith developing as I am going to stick with paraformaldehyde with care in its use. I'm offering Mike's advice here for those who are concerned about the use of known carcinogens.

This page points to the following lith developers:

A Table Of Additional Lith Developers

What Lith Developers Do

Lith Developers are fairly simple mixtures. Hydroquinone is the developing agent, usually present in a concentration of around 20 grams per litre. The free sulphite level must be very low - less than 2 grams per litre. Since the developer will oxidise quickly, sulphite in the form of an addition product with formaldehyde is frequently used, or formaldehyde, paraformaldehyde or acetone are added to tie up free sulphite. The anti-oxidant properties are retained. The third component is a base, usually carbonate or mixtures of carbonate, hydroxide or borates. The pH is frequently adjusted to a value around 10.

Although lith developers are often thought of as simply high contrast developers, they have a unique property. In the absence of sulphite, the hydroquinone dianon reduces silver and is oxidised to the semiqinone free radical. The semiquinone is a more powerful developing agent than hydroquinone, and it reduces another silver atom and is converted to quinone. Then quinone reacts with hydroquinone to form two semiquinone molecules. They reduce silver, generating two quinones. They react with hydroquinone forming four semiquinone molecules. The rounds of reactions result in an exponential inrease in semiquinone concentration, doubling each time. The addition of sulphite will stop these reactions, since it reacts with the semiquinone and quinone removing the possibility of reaction with hydroquinone to generate more semiquinone.

The semiquinone is generated in the emulsion and remains there with a very short diffusion path. Development starts with grains which have multiple centres. The semiquinone concentration rises as those grains are reduced, and then neighbouring grains are developed which might have just one centre. As the concentration rises a bit more, development spreads explosively (exponential).

What one sees is that development starts slowly in well exposed areas of the film. If a step tablet were used for the exposure, a faint image appears in the well exposed areas. Eventually the developed area reaches a critical density and semiquinone concentration, and then development takes off, and quickly goes to completion in that step. Then as development proceeds, the next step develops fully.

Essentially one has a two phase development. First the formation of a faint image, then rapid completion in areas receiving the most exposure. This results in a film with very little density in areas with little exposure, and an extremely dense image in areas with a bit more exposure. As expected, the contrast increases with development to a miximum after 1 to 3 minutes, and then decreases as the low value faint images are further developed. Unlike developers with moderate sulphite concentrations, development is restricted to the grain and filaments are not formed. If free sulphite is added (20gm/l), filaments are formed and neighbouring grains are rapidly developed. There is no lag phase and significant semiquinone concentrations are not generated. The developer then acts like a typical MQ or PQ high contrast developer.

Having read the material from Richard and Michael about lith developers, I then consulted my copy of Wall "Photographic Facts and Formulas" (reference on my Library Page) and discovered, in addition to two formulae, a note that Hydroquinone deteriorates slowly in air and has good keeping qualities in solution but is very sensitive to cold and should not be used at temperatures below 60 degrees F. It is practically inert at 55 degrees F. I then went to The Focal Encyclopedia of Photography (Desk edition), Focal Press, London, 1969 and discovered a table comparing lith developers. I've modified it slightly and reproduce the modification here. It gives a different version of Kodak D-8 which is a bit inexplicable.

This formula should be used full strength. The normal development time for Reprolith film is given as 2 - 3 minutes. The normal development time for Reprolith Orthochromatic Film is 1 - 3 minutes at 20 degrees C.

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Don't dilute for use with film. The normal development time is 3 minutes at 20 degrees C.

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NOTE: The use of Paraformaldehyde in this formula necessitates careful handling and the use of proper protective equipment (gloves, mask and eye protection).

To Use for Films:

To Use for Lith Printing:

• 300 ml part A
• 900 ml part B
• 100 ml of Old Brown
• 8 litres of water

I also found that at lower levels of dilution the tones were more brown than pink on the Renaissance paper I was using.

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Kodak D-85

To Use with Films:

To Use for Lith Printing:

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Kodak D-85 (two solution version)

To Use with Films:

To Use for Lith Printing:

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Wall's Normal Hydroquinone Developer

To Use with Films:

To Use for Lith Printing:

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Eastman D-9 Hydroquinone - Caustic

Note:
Cold water should always be used when dissolving sodium hydroxide because considerable heat is evolved and if hot water is used the solution will boil violently and may spatter and cause serious burns on the hands or face.

To Use with Films:

To Use for Lith Printing:

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Kodak D-8 Lith Developer

Richard notes that the solution should be stirred thoroughly before use. He also suggests that a less alkaline version which will give nearly as much contrast can be obtained by reducing the amount of Hydroxide to 28 grams per liter. He also wisely notes that one should be very careful mixing the hydroxide as it produces a lot of heat going into solution and can cause boiling and splattering. Hydroxide should only be added to COLD solutions.

To Use with Films:

To Use for Lith Printing:

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Note:
Cold water should always be used when dissolving sodium hydroxide because considerable heat is evolved and if hot water is used the solution will boil violently and may spatter and cause serious burns on the hands or face.

To Use with Films:

To Use for Lith Printing:

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This formula should be used full strength. The normal development time for film is given as 2 minutes..

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This formula should be used diluted 1 +1. The normal development time for film is given as 2 minutes.

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I've got no information about using this developer

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I've no information about dilution but that film should be developed for 2.75 minutes at 20 degrees C.

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