NOTE: I’m considering formulating a simplified formula for ModernLith and selling an easy to mix and use kit that is suitable for most modern papers. If you’re interested in this, please complete this linked survey

I’d like to introduce the formula for EXJ7 or the better named “ModernLith”. This is the first lith developer formula that I’ve been happy with for every modern paper I’ve tried. It gives typical lith results, but in some ways can be even better, especially with further modification depending on the paper being used. The one downfall is that it’s actually rather boring for the few lithable papers I’ve tried. For instance Fomatone Classic 133 is definitely lithy, but not greatly noteworthy and without the snap that normal lith developers give with it. Older lith papers are also boring. Kodabrome II RC lacks the typical variety of color and tends to be lower contrast. However, with modern papers, it’s great. Typical variety of lith colors depending on paper type, fairly resistant to uneven development, true infectious blacks that come up in the tray, and a very nice split between highlights and shadows for higher contrast (ie, less exposure) prints. That all being said, this is designed for lith printing, NOT for “lith” super high contrast line development. The concepts could potentially be applied for that purpose, but that’s not what I’m aiming for.

Recommended Papers

This is not an exhaustive list of papers that will work, but these are the papers I recommend when starting out with this process. Just like normal lith printing, some papers will react poorly or with problems, and some with great results, and each paper is quite unique. A full descriptive list is further down below. These are just papers I’d recommend if you’re shopping for new paper for lithing.

Ilford MGV RC — This was the paper most used in testing the various formulations. It can give some pepper fogging, but is capable of a full range of contrast, infectious development occurs very obviously, and it can yield pink highlights and cooler blacks, or brown highlights and cool brown blacks depending on exact developer composition. Note that if using a hot developer it can produce some strange yellow border staining which can’t be prevented with additional bromide nor benzotriazole. Thus I recommend only slightly warmed developer, or room temperature for this paper

Fomaspeed 133 RC— Trends toward cooler tones and can go olive colored in some cases. Works best in MOD2 formula and can go extremely cold with benzotriazole.

Arista.EDU Ultra FB — Works especially well in the MOD2 formula and with benzotriazole substituted. Gives very cool blacks and somewhat warm highlights. The benzotriazole substitution seems to reduce grain levels to be more reasonable. In addition this is one of the cheapest FB papers on the market. The RC version behaves quite similarly. Best suited for high key subjects, as blacks tend to form a “wave” of development which can be ugly with low key subjects with large areas of blacks and shadows.

Working Solution Formula

10ml of hydroquinone 10% solution in propelyne glycol (1g of hydroquinone)

10ml ascorbic acid 8% solution in propelyne glycol (0.8g of ascorbic acid.. Can also be substituted most likely with ascorbic acid salts)

4ml of 20% sodium sulfite solution (0.8g sodium sulfite) — can be in the range of 3-6ml

60ml potassium oxalate 10% solution (6g potassium oxalate)

4ml potassium bromide 10% solution (0.4g potassium bromide)

Add to 940ml of water, rinsing the containers to ensure all glycol solutions are mixed in

60ml sodium carbonate 20% solution (12g sodium carbonate) — probably ~10 or 11g potassium carbonate is actually recommended here, significantly easier to dissolve. 20% for sodium carbonate is almost the solubility limit

UPDATE: In some limited tests, I’ve had similar tray life improvements, and better overall results by using a small amount of potassium oxate, such as just 10ml. This may be due to oxalate functioning as a chelating agent so that random metal ions such as iron and copper present in my tap water do not attack the ascorbic acid. If my theory is correct, then only a small amount us needed and the contaminates are responsible for the anti-fogging action, potentially iodide. However using much iodide requires very long fixing times and can cause strange border staining on some papers. Thus, I recommend at this point a less well tested solution that seems to work better. Instead only use 10ml of the oxalate solution and 10ml of benzotriazole. If warmer tones are desired though, try adding 1-3g of sodium chloride (uniodized table salt) instead of the benzotriazole. Note excess chloride can cause yellow staining on some papers, similar to iodide.

Use as a typical lith developer with exposure varying contrast and development time determining shadow depth/black level. All papers should be rinsed under running water before development!!

Substitution: Potassium Oxalate can be substituted with ~10-20ml of 0.1% benzotriazole. However, tray life will be measurably worse (~1 hour in my case) and tones will be significantly colder and 0.5-2 stops of exposure will need to be added to match the same contrast level, and development will be maybe 50% longer. It also has a less “organic” midtone contrast, but can actually be a quite desirable look if cold tones are what you’re after. I’m unsure if ascorbic acid is even required with benzotriazole. Regardless, if midtones develop too quickly despite varying exposure levels, a small addition of benzotriazole may cure it, though you may also lose some highlight detail

Note that a 1/4 teaspoon of very fine powdered ascorbic acid weighs ~1.3g in my testing (1.1g according to manufacturer). If you do not want to deal with the long process of dissolving ascorbic acid in glycol, simply add a 1/4 teaspoon to 130ml of water to make a short lived 10% solution and then throw it out when you’re done with your printing session.