Processing With Cibachrome
For the Cibachrome-A II process, use only Cibachrome Process P-30 chemicals. The earlier Cibachrome materials used Process P-12 chemicals. While you might still see those chemicals in a store, they cannot be used with the new paper.
Process P-30 consists of three chemicals — developer, bleach, and fixer. These are mixed from six components, five of them liquid. All the chemicals can be mixed using tap water from 68° to 84°; but for dissolving the powdered bleach chemical, use warm water from 75° to 86°. Stir the bleach until all the powder is dissolved and the solution clears — about three minutes. Once you have all three chemicals mixed, bring them to a standard temperature or let them stand till they reach a uniform room temperature. Then proceed using one of the following timetables, depending on the temperature of the chemicals:
|
68° |
72° |
75° |
79° |
84° | ||||||
|
Develop |
4 min. |
3V2 min. |
3 min. |
2V2 min. |
2 min. | |||||
|
Rinse |
30 sec. |
30 sec. |
30 sec. |
30 sec. |
30 sec. | |||||
|
Bleach |
4 min. |
3Vi min. |
3 min. |
2V2 min. |
2 min. | |||||
|
Fix |
4 min. |
3V£ min. |
3 min. |
2V2 min. |
2 min. | |||||
|
Wash |
4 min. |
3Va min. |
3 min. |
2V2 min. |
Processing Time |
16'/^ min. |
14% min. |
12Va min. |
IOV2 min. |
9 min* |
*To ensure even processing at 84°, use a 30-second water pre-soak at 84°. Cibachrome also recommends a 30-second water pre-soak for processing 16x20 prints at all temperatures.
*To ensure even processing at 84°, use a 30-second water pre-soak at 84°. Cibachrome also recommends a 30-second water pre-soak for processing 16x20 prints at all temperatures.
Reaction between the Cibachrome bleach and fix baths can produce an odor that you may notice as you pour the fixer into the drum. If you find this bothersome, add a 30-second rinse time between these two steps. This will eliminate the odor.
You can use any processing drum with Cibachrome materials. Ilford makes the Cibachrome Drum, which is a smooth-walled drum that loads vertically. It features a clever system where one chemical goes in the top while the other is draining out the bottom. In addition, they also make two Cibachrome cylinders that use interchangeable tops on 8x10 and 11x14 drums. They also make a larger drum for processing 16x20 prints.
Regardless of the drum you use, you must heed the following warning: The Cibachrome instructions stress that you should use the followitig minimum volumes of chemistry:
|
For Drums with Maximum Print Size: |
Use This Amount of Chemical: |
|
8x10 |
2V2 oz (75 ml) |
|
11x14 |
5 oz (150 ml) |
|
16x20 |
8V2 oz (250 ml) |
Cibachrome stresses that even if the instructions that came with your particular drum state that you need less chemistry to process a print — say, 2 oz or IV2 oz for some smooth-walled drums — you should still use the minimum volumes listed above.
While wet, a Cibachrome print has a red-magenta tint. To judge its color properly, squeegee off the excess moisture, and dry the print. You can use a hair blower to speed drying, but keep the blower moving to avoid overheating any area of the print. As you dry the print with a hair blower, you may be taken aback by the tendency of the print to curl rather drastically. Don't worry. When the print is completely dry, it will flatten very nicely.
Also be careful. When the Cibachrome print is moist, its emulsion is fragile, so handle the print gently. Like any print made on reversal paper, the borders of the dried print are black. If you handle the print roughly, you may find that pieces of the yellow and magenta dye layers at the very edge of the print tend to flake off. This will reveal the bright bottom cyan layer, which can be distracting. If there are some cyan areas exposed, you can always either trim them off by cutting off the border, or color in the area with a black alcohol-base magic marker.
Once you have a dry print, compare it to the Ring-around and to the original transparency. If it needs adjustment, change the filtration as indicated on the Ring-around, and make additional prints until you zero-in on the "perfect" print. As already noted, filtration is a relatively easy procedure with Cibachrome.
One final point here. When you compare your print with the original slide, don't simply hold the slide up to a bright light. Rather, place a white sheet of paper or cardboard a few inches behind the slide and view it by light reflected up from this white surface. This procedure provides a more accurate basis for comparing the slide with your print. Use this method with chromogenic dye prints, as well.
Re-Using Cibachrome Chemicals.
We mentioned earlier that you can cut the cost of processing slightly by using a replenishment system to extend the useful capacity of the processing chemicals in Cibachrome Process P-30. To do this, you use full-strength fresh chemicals for your first print, and then for the second print use a portion of the used chemical augmented with fresh chemicals. For 8x10 prints where you are using 75 ml of each chemical, you re-use 35 ml and add a fresh 40 ml. Then on the next print, you use 35 ml of that second 75 ml, and add another fresh 40 ml. Using this method you can almost double the capacity of the system. You'll be able to process 24 prints from one liter of chemistry rather than 13. For 11x14 prints which require 150 ml of chemical, you keep 75 ml and add 75 ml of fresh chemical each time. For 16x20 prints that require 250 ml, you use 125 ml over again, and add 125 ml of fresh chemicals.
Given the high cost of Cibachrome materials, we definitely recommend this approach.
Continue reading here: Contact Printing Color Negatives
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