Amidol, pink staining and rapid fixer

[Jarin Blaschke]

Hi:

I presently use Amidol with an Ammonium Thiosulfate fixer. Silver Chloride prints come out of the fix pink, but the pink slowly departs during the long wash. Ilford Galerie, however, is stained irretrievably. I know that switching to Sodium Thiosulfate will fix this, but the idea of a 10 minute fix rather than a 1 minute fix is very unattractive. You also have to use lot of the stuff, spend more money, it's longer to dissolve a mass of dry crystals, rather than a jug of the 60% ammonium Thio. lasting me 4-6 months. Having the entire chemical cycle of a print take 3-4 minutes with a rapid fixer is really wonderful.

Now, I am habitually making an alkaline fixer akin to TF-3. This is left over from something I read about more effective washing. I don;t know how true that is. Anyway, if I made it neutral, or slightly acid, might this fix the pink problem? Is residual Amidol being reactivated in an alkaline fix perhaps? I want to test a small array of modern enlargement papers in amidol vs. a conventional print developer, and the rapid flow of a 1 minute fix would be much preferred!

Jarin

 

[juan]

It sounds as though you are using the Chinese amidol. I’ve never found a way to eliminate the pink except the longer fixing and longer wash. You could try filtering the amidol through diatomaceous earth (sold at pool supply stores in the US as DE powder), but in my experience, that takes longer than the thiosulfate fix.

 

[Jarin Blaschke]

It sounds as though you are using the Chinese amidol. I’ve never found a way to eliminate the pink except the longer fixing and longer wash. You could try filtering the amidol through diatomaceous earth (sold at pool supply stores in the US as DE powder), but in my experience, that takes longer than the thiosulfate fix.

Actually, I am not. It’s the English stuff from Artcraft.

J

 

[juan]

That’s interesting. I never got pink from Artcraft amidol. I hope someone has an answer.

 

[Jarin Blaschke]

That’s interesting. I never got pink from Artcraft amidol. I hope someone has an answer.

What fixer did you use with it?

I'm trying amidol with a mildly acid fixer now (4g/L citric acid). It is not avoiding the pink, but maybe it's a bit less now? The fumes are at least a lot less, now that it's not alkaline.

J