Could you give me some help with chemicals, please?

[nuno campos]

Hi,

I am just starting with processing and printing, I am in a budget, I have some questions and I really could use some help.

I am going to buy my chemicals in a shop near by because they have some good prices and I can choose between some Kodak, Ilford, Agfa, and Foma chemicals.

After some readings I decided to start with Xtol and Fomapan 200, and the Foma stop bath (it is the least expensive). I have some questions about the fixer and the paper developer.

Fixer) I have the following options: Fomafix, Agfa Agefix and Ilford Rapid Fixer. The first is less expensive, the last one more expensive.
Any suggestion?
From what I know, they do not have any hardener, so I do not need any hypo clearing, right? Or should I use any hypo clearing anyway?

Paper developer) options: Ilford Multigrade, Ilford Universal; Fomatol LQN, Agfa Multicontrast, Agfa Neutol (warm or neutral) and Fortespeed (warm or neutral).
I will use Foma Multicontrast RC paper (Fomatone or Fomaspeed) because it is inexpensive.
Is there any developer that you recommend or that I should avoid?

Other question: I will have to stock the chemicals. Can I use glass wine bottles with cork taps? Or should I use plastic taps?

Thanks,

Nuno.

 

[Ole]

Either will work, and just about as well. With most RC papers it makes very little difference which developer you use.

I prefer ammonium thiosulfate ("rapid") fixers myself - the Fomafix will be just fine.

Hypo clearing is not necessary if you're using rapid fixer and RC paper. I don't use it with FB papers either...

Wine bottles are OK for storage. Corks are difficult to insert and remove, a sliced-down plastic "cork" is easier. I came across some bottles of really good wine with glass props, the empties were immediately adopted for darkroom use. Just remember which bottle is wine and which is fixer - fix tastes AWFUL!

 

[DieHipsterDie]

Never liked storing chemistry in glass. Heck of a mess to clean up when you drop one and it breaks.

Go rumage through your neighbors recycling bins for juice and soda bottles.

 

[Nick Zentena]

I like Agfa Multicontrast. Lasts forever. Good yield. Nothing wrong with it.

 

[Alan9940]

Many say that the "old style" films like Foma and Efke have softer emulsions that require a hardening fix. Don't know one way of the other, but I have personal experience with apparent softness of some of these film emulsions so I'd probably recommend any one of the good rapid (ammonium thiosulfate) fixers for these films. High tech films like TMax and Delta apparently have hardener built into the emulsion.

For paper developer I'd recommend sticking with one of the multicontrast types for this style of paper. I've personally used Ilford Mutigrade paper developer with Mutigrade FB for many years; never had any complaints.

Good luck!

 

[Neal]

Dear Nuno,

If every penny counts, start cheap. All the products will work. As noted above, with RC paper there is no need for hypo clearing agent. Xtol is great, but mix the whole batch at once and store it in separate smaller bottles filled to the top. When mixing, don't heat the water beyond the package recommendation (I never heat) and stir gently (avoid stirring air into the developer and don't shake it up) to mix it. Take your time, it will dissolve. Plastic soft drink bottles work very well (label them and, of course, keep out of reach of children).

Have fun printing,

Neal Wydra

 

[Stoo Batchelor]

And even more penny pinching Nuno.

Don't buy any stop bath. Just use about four changes of water when developing film and a tray of water for your paper.

Regards, and hello!

Stoo

 

[nuno campos]

Thanks for the advices.
But now I do not have any excuse to buy (and drink) a few bottles of wine.

 

[srs5694]

Be sure to compute your costs based on a per-roll or per-sheet basis. Different products are used with different dilutions, and sometimes they've got different capacities. It can be easy to overlook this, since manufacturers usually bury the relevant data deep in their instructions.

As to hypo clear, it's not generally used with RC paper, even when hardening fixers are used. I've seen incomplete and somewhat conflicting information on precisely when it's desirable with film. Some suggest that when using neutral or alkaline fixers, there's no need to use hypo clear, and you can still go with a short wash time. Others just put hypo clear in the processing chain for film as a matter of course, without differentiating types of fixer. Personally, I always use it with film, reasoning that the harm from using it unnecessarily is probably much less than the harm from not using it when it should be used. (I prefer short wash times, of course.)