Characteristics and Applications

CURRENT INFORMATION SUMMARY

NovemberMarch 20001998 •• CISI-1446

Supplementary Information on

KODAK EKTAMAX RA Professional Paper

KODAK EKTAMAX RA Professional Paper uses colored dyes to form black-and-white images in prints made from color and black-and-white negatives. It is designed for processing in KODAK EKTACOLOR RA Chemicals for Process RA-4 along with color negative papers.

The information in this publication supplements the information provided in the instruction sheet and in KODAK Publication No. G-22, KODAK EKTAMAX RA Professional Paper.

Suggested uses for EKTAMAX RA Professional Paper include intermediate applications for graphics reproduction, displays, real-estate brochures, publications, press releases, and portrait proofs. The paper may also be acceptable for other applications in which long-term display and keeping are not required. In applications that require archival or long-term keeping or complete image neutrality, a traditional black-and-white paper is a better choice.

STORAGE AND HANDLING

Store unexposed paper at 13°C (55°F) or lower in the original sealed package. High temperatures or high humidity may produced undesirable photographic changes. Storage of unexposed paper at room temperature will produce a hue shift over time (see “Effects of Storage Conditions”).

Avoid moisture condensation by removing the package from cold storage the day before printing.

Handle paper carefully by the edges. The paper is packaged with the emulsion side of all sheets facing in the same direction. For complete light and moisture protection, use the inner bag and the two-part cardboard box to store the paper.

EXPOSURE RECOMMENDATIONS

The spectral sensitivity and printing speed of KODAK EKTAMAX RA Professional Paper are designed to be the same as those of KODAK PROFESSIONAL PORTRA, SUPRA, and ULTRA Papers. Therefore, printing EKTAMAX RA Paper should be very similar to printing KODAK PROFESSIONAL Papers. If you are printing color negatives and have a balance setup for those color papers, you can use that setup for EKTAMAX RA Paper. An adjustment of filtration from that balance will not change the

hue of EKTAMAX RA Paper, but it will cause a change in contrast.

If you are printing black-and-white negatives onto EKTAMAX RA Paper, two methods can provide suitable results:

•Put a piece of processed D-min from KODAK PROFESSIONAL PORTRA Film in the exposing beam along with the filters you normally use to print color negatives.

•To the filtration that you use to print color negatives, add 35 units of magenta and 65 units of yellow filtration to simulate a piece of film D-min.

If you do not have any processed D-min from PROFESSIONAL PORTRA Film or a starting filter pack, a filter pack of 80M + 110Y is a reasonable starting point.

LATENT-IMAGE KEEPING

You should not notice shifts in the latent image with keeping times from 1 minute to 24 hours. Therefore, you do not need to change your printing procedures to compensate for latent-image shifts under normal temperature and handling conditions. (If shifts do occur, you can minimize their effect by keeping the time between exposure and processing the same for all paper.)

IMAGE HUE

The term “hue” usually doesn’t apply to untoned black-and-white papers. However, this paper can exhibit slight variations in hue because it uses colored dyes to form images. When we use the term “hue” in this publication, we are referring to the image tone (or image-tone neutrality) of prints. We will use hue interchangeably with image tone to describe images that vary slightly from neutral.

Those who view prints on this paper expect them to appear neutral. Therefore, viewers are more sensitive to hue variations in prints on EKTAMAX RA Paper than they are to hue variations in color prints.

The most likely contributor to hue variations is the color quality of the viewing light. However, improper storage conditions and some processing problems can also cause variations in hue. (The references to hue in the following sections are based on tests made in the school-finishing and commercial markets.)