Historical context
Lith printing is a darkroom technique, not a separate chemistry kit: you heavily overexpose a chloro-bromide silver gelatin paper, then develop it in a very dilute, special developer and pull the print from the dish before development finishes. The result can be warm, coloured highlights with deep, grainy shadows. We have not found a source that names who first worked this way or when, so no inventor or year is given. Tim Rudman's writing, which the maker Fotospeed reproduces in its instructions, is the standard modern reference.
What it is and how it differs
- It relies on infectious development. In a lith developer the dark tones develop faster, and the darker they become the faster they develop, until the rate accelerates almost explosively (Fotospeed, after Rudman).
- Rudman's first rule: image colour and contrast follow the grain size of the paper, which depends on how far development has gone. His second: highlights are controlled by exposure and shadows by development, that is the snatch point.
- It has nothing to do with printing from lith negatives, as Fotospeed stresses.
- Papers must be suitable. Moersch defines "lithable" papers as chloro-bromide emulsions without built-in development accelerators such as phenidone.
Materials and chemistry
You need a lith developer (a two-part kit such as Moersch Special Edition 5 or Fotospeed LD20), a suitable paper, a dish deep enough for constant movement, a safelight torch, and normal stop bath and fixer. Rudman notes that standard stop bath and fixer can be used.
Papers
Moersch's June 2025 guide ranks papers by how well they lith. Its examples include Fomatone 131 and 132 and Forte Warmtone emulsions for the best colour, and Kentmere Kentona and Fotospeed Lith for less colour. It marks Ilford Multigrade Warmtone and Bergger Prestige VCCB as difficult. It also notes that Fomatone made after December 2022 stopped lithing, and that two named batches were lithable again from April 2025. Batches change, so test any paper before committing a box.
Moersch's quick test: sprinkle the B solution on a strip under room light. Nothing after 2 to 3 minutes, or only pink or brown traces, means the paper is worth trying; sudden black means an accelerator is present and the paper is unsuitable.
Developer dilutions
| Developer | Starting point (from the maker) |
|---|---|
| Fotospeed LD20 | Part A 1+14 and part B 1+14 with water, then mixed; increase to 19 or 24 parts of water or more for a stronger effect |
| Fotospeed LD20, with sulphite | 1 part 10% sodium sulphite stock, 1 part A, 1 part B, 16 parts water (adjustable between 4 and 20 parts) |
| Moersch Special Edition 5 | Quantities refer to a solution diluted 1+4; take 100 to 200 ml out for regeneration before adding additive D; 25 to 50 ml D |
Moersch's guide prints one of its stock quantities in a way that looks like a typo, so follow the guide supplied with your kit for the full recipe. Fotospeed's sulphite stock: dissolve 50 g anhydrous sodium sulphite in 300 ml warm water and make up to 500 ml with cold water. It keeps badly, so store it in an airtight bottle. Fotospeed adds potassium bromide (50 g in 500 ml water, 1 part) to shift the colour from pinky-sepia to yellow-sepia; this roughly doubles development time, to around 25 minutes at 1+1+1+1+16.
We have not included home-brewed lith formulas such as the D-85 given in Rudman's introduction, because it uses paraformaldehyde and we hold no hazard source for it. Follow the kit or reference instructions.
Safety
Lith developers contain hydroquinone, which is suspected of causing cancer (H351) and genetic defects (H341), is harmful if swallowed (H302), causes serious eye damage (H318) and may cause an allergic skin reaction (H317) under CLP. Many lith developers also contain formaldehyde, which may cause cancer (H350) and is fatal if inhaled (H330); Moersch states its formula omits it. Read the SDS for your own developer, wear gloves and eye protection, and ventilate the room.
| Chemical | Hazards |
|---|---|
| HydroquinoneDanger | Suspected of causing cancer.; Suspected of causing genetic defects.; Harmful if swallowed.; Causes serious eye damage.; May cause an allergic skin reaction.; Very toxic to aquatic life. |
| FormaldehydeDanger | May cause cancer.; Suspected of causing genetic defects.; Fatal if inhaled.; Harmful if swallowed.; Causes severe skin burns and eye damage.; May cause an allergic skin reaction.; Corrosive to the respiratory tract. |
| Sodium sulfite (anhydrous) | Not classified as hazardous |
| Potassium bromideWarning | Causes serious eye irritation. |
| Acetic acidDanger | Flammable liquid and vapour.; Causes severe skin burns and eye damage. |
| Sodium seleniteDanger | Toxic if inhaled.; Fatal if swallowed.; May cause an allergic skin reaction.; Toxic to aquatic life with long lasting effects.; Contact with acids liberates toxic gas. |
Classifications from the European Chemicals Agency (official EU classification where one exists, otherwise the one agreed by REACH registrants or most often notified). Read the safety data sheet that comes with your chemicals, and dispose of them in line with local regulations.
Sodium selenite, used by selenium toners, is fatal if swallowed (H300) and toxic if inhaled (H331); read the toner's SDS. Rudman warns that exposure and development times are long, so take extra care with safelights. Ask your local environmental protection officer how to dispose of used developer, as Maco advises for photographic chemistry.
Procedure
- Test a paper. Use Moersch's strip test above, then a trial print.
- Expose heavily. Rudman: 2 or 3 stops over is a good start; find a normal strip time for the mid tones and add 2 stops. Fotospeed: overexposure of two or more stops is essential, and if mid or light tones are weak at the snatch point, increase exposure by 50% or 100%.
- Develop at 20 °C. Moersch: the normal temperature is 20 °C, below 18 °C is unsuitable, and 25 °C saves about 40% of the time. Keep the print moving, emulsion up, fully submerged.
- Wait. Moersch says the image appears between 2 and 4 minutes, with a Fomatone development time of about 6 minutes. Fotospeed says development can take 5 to 25 minutes. Constant agitation matters; never leave a print face down.
- Snatch. Watch the shadows with a safelight torch. When dark tones start to accelerate, slide the print straight into the stop bath without draining it (Fotospeed, Moersch).
- Fix and wash normally. Fotospeed suggests soaking in 3% acetic acid and rewashing if scum marks appear.
- Tone if you wish. Moersch says lith prints accept selenium or gold toning readily; some papers benefit from a short, strong selenium bath.
Controlling the result
Change one variable at a time and keep notes, as Fotospeed advises.
| Change | Effect (Moersch) |
|---|---|
| More solution A | Harder, more colourful, grainier, slower, shorter working life |
| More solution B | Softer, less colourful, faster, longer working life |
| More bromide | Delays the lith effect and needs more light |
| More light with a longer exposure | Warmer highlights and mid tones, softer gradation |
Further tips from the makers:
- Fresh developer often gives the least interesting results. Fotospeed suggests adding old, brown developer at 1:4; Moersch notes that results may not be reproducible until about the third print.
- Working life depends on dilution, the ratio of A to B, how much it has been used, the exposed surface and regeneration. Moersch warns that quoted working lives are very misleading.
- Regeneration is needed at least above 1+15 dilution. Moersch suggests topping up with working solution of the same dilution, using half the bromide, at about 10% of the initial quantity.
- Flashing. Fotospeed notes you can flash the room light very briefly near the snatch point to judge progress, because light tones appear so slowly that the print will not fog in that time. Use this with care.
- Two-bath development. Moersch describes a first developer with high bromide for highlights, then a second without bromide or sulphite for the shadows, for high-contrast negatives.
Troubleshooting
| Problem | Cause | Remedy (maker) |
|---|---|---|
| Black specks ("pepper fog") | Oxidised hydroquinone fogging grains early | Add sodium sulphite and/or potassium bromide (Fotospeed) |
| Flat, grey blacks | Too much sulphite | Reduce it; aim for a mid-point (Fotospeed) |
| Blank sheet after 5 minutes | Developer too dilute | Start stronger (Fotospeed) |
| Very long times, snowballing | High dilution, high bromide | Use a lower dilution, expose more (Moersch) |
| Patterns | Print left still | Agitate constantly (Fotospeed) |
Developer failing is normal: Moersch says to regenerate from the third to fifth print, and that a working solution turning yellow to amber needs regeneration.
Further reading
Tim Rudman, The Master Photographer's Lith Printing Course, ISBN 1-902538-02-1, the book Moersch recommends for the mechanism.
Sources
- Moersch Special Edition 5 lith update, June 2025, Moersch
- Fotospeed LD20 lith printing instructions, Fotospeed, courtesy of Tim Rudman
- Lith printing: an introduction, Tim Rudman
- Hydroquinone substance information, ECHA
- Sodium selenite substance information, ECHA
- Formaldehyde substance information, ECHA
- Rollei Black Magic manual (disposal advice), Maco Photo Products