1) Is there any downside (other than smell) to using alkaline fixers with modern emulsions? What about older-style emulsions?
There can be if a stop bath isn't used there's a greater risk of dichroic fogging particularly with prints.
2) When developing older-style emulsions (such as the Efke films) can I just add a hardener to an alkaline fixer, or are there other things to be aware of?
To use a hardener a fixer must be acidic and have additional buffering to help maintain that pH, The difference between Ilford Rapid Fixer and Hypam is additional buffering in the latter allows an optional hardener to be used.
3) Does anybody have hardener suggestions for adding to an alkaline fixer? Commercial products would be preferred, but I am curious about home-made formulas.
As above
4) I can't tell from the PF site in what situations one would use TF-4 vs TF-5 and vice-versa, can anyone shed light on this?
5) I know that it is recommended by Steve Ancell to do away with acid stop bath when using alkaline fixer, but what about HCA? Is it necessary?
Can't help with Q4. You don't need to use a stop bath with any fixer for film processing provided you give a good wash/rinse instead, there's a long thread about this.
For printing though a stop bath is advised because carry over is more considerable and dichroic fogging from un-neutralise developer in fibre based papers is an issue. While a water rinse instead would be possible with FB papers it would need to be.
A HCA has two functions with an acid fixer it has a pH of around 8 so is midly alkali which aids washing but the sulphite also helps remove residual silver thiosulpate complexes particularly in Fibre based papers. So can still be beneficial, but it really depends on your fixing regime.
6) How bad is the smell of TF-4, and does it linger? If I am developing in a small apartment, am I likely to upset my wife? To give a personal gauge, I like the smell of stop bath and acid fixers, but really hate the smell of bleach. !
With the alkaline fixers I've used there's sometimes been a very slight smell of ammonia, just detectable once diluted, this goes with use as a little stop bath gets carried over into the fixer. Ammonia is't as sharp a smell as the Chlorine given off by Sodium Hypchlorite bleach.
Some alkaline fixers are barely alkaline, in use they may have a pH in the 6 - 7 region which technically is on the acidic side of neutral, others may start higher hence the free ammonia.
Fixers like Ilford Rapid fixer and Hypam have a pH of 5.2 to 5.4 that's not significantly acidic when you realise lack coffee has a pH of 5, Ciric acid 2.2 (2%) and Acetic acid stop bath 2.9.
I've not used a hardening fixer with EFKE/Adox films for a few years now, they were in fact the first of the modern thin coat films rather than old style emulsions. EFKE have now hardened the emulsions slightly so they are very significantly better than when I first used them in the early 1970's.
You may want to keep using them with an acid fixer, alternatively you can use a hardening stop bath or a developer like Pyrocat HD which has a tanning (hardening) action during development.
Ian
