RA-4 processing: Reasons NOT to pre-soak?

[B.J.Scharp]

Hi, I'm getting into colour printing in the darkroom, and I was wondering if there are any reasons NOT to do a pre-soak of the paper before putting it in the developer.

Advantage is obviously that the paper is at processing temperature when development starts, so it stays more stable during processing.

I've got a four-slot Nova processor, so adding the pre-soak bath (at the correct temperature) is easy, but I was wondering if there are any disadvantages I'm not thinking of.

 

[sevo]

Well, it is not specified. And in general, RA-4 is designed to be very uncritical regarding temperature and processing times - I would not bend over to "improve" something as safe and simple as that...

 

[x-ray]

It may or may not change results but you're saturating the emulsion with water that has to be displaced by the developer. I probably wouldn't do it.

 

[joeswe]

Its not part of the original RA-4 process, but then the original RA-4 process was not designed for tray development or slot or drum processors. Pre-soak can help avoid uniformity problems with drum development of RA-4. With a slot processor my suggestion would be to use DEV, STOP, BLIX and only add pre-soak if you encounter any problems with uniformity of your results. Also, I don't think the Nova instructions call for any presoak. Take care not to cause any cross contamination, this is the biggest risk with slot processors, do not fill the slots to high with processing solution (follow instructions). A small splash of blix can ruin a whole batch of developer in fractions of a second.

 

[B.J.Scharp]

Thanks for the replies. I saw several guides on youtube et al that mentioned it, hence the question, but as mentioned, the manuals for the RA-4 kits I've been able to find don't mention it, so I'll leave it out for now.

 

[mwoenv]

Read Kodak publication J39 which indicates which processes should and should not include pre-soaking. It doesn't explain why though.

I use a drum on a roller base and pre-soak per the J39 recommendation. In addition to helping bring the paper to the developing temperature, the pre-soak removes a dye on the paper (light blue in color, using Fuji Crystal Archive Type II paper). I use Kodak Ektacolor chemicals and the results are great.