Darkroom in a drought

[kerrpanda]

Does anyone have any helpful tips for deveoping and printing when faced with extreme water conservation? I can buy a limited amount of jug water for rinsing of film and prints, but how best to use it? Help! I can't stay out of the darkroom until this Texas drought breaks!!

 

[nickrapak]

You can use the Ilford method to wash your film: 3 changes of water, starting with 5 inversions and doubling the amount per change of water.

 

[jeffreyg]

Using Hypo-Clear or similar reduces wash time and maybe there is an environmentally safe use for the waste water.

http://www.jeffreyglasser.com/

 

[Ian C]

Using a washing aid according to the maker’s recommendation for both film and paper washing can reduce your water consumption considerably.

Heico Permawash liquid concentrate is one such product that many of us use with good results.

http://www.freestylephoto.biz/sc_search.php

 

[Ian C]

Here's a description of Permawash.

http://www.freestylephoto.biz/8785-Heico-Perma-Wash-1-Quart

 

[David A. Goldfarb]

Adams describes his seven tray print washing method (with a photo of a young John Sexton, then his assistant) in The Print, which he used during a water shortage. The basic idea is to set up seven rinse trays, and periodically dump the first tray, refill with fresh water, and move it to the end of the line, promoting the other six trays up the line.

You don't list your location in your profile, but if you have ready access to sea water, you can also use that to rinse film and prints, saving your fresh water for the final rinse. Salt water may even displace fixer better than fresh water, like a hypo clearing agent, but who knows what else is in sea water. It's been used that way on shipboard darkrooms.

 

[kerrpanda]

Thanks, all, for the quick replies! Regarding film, I do use hypo, but usually wash for 5 minutes in a column washer. I will try the Ilford method suggested by Nick. Regarding prints, well, it looks like even the pan rinse and dump method would use a lot of water. I might just have to try it, though. It might force me to better evaluate which prints actually NEED to be washed. This could be the push I need

 

[Monito]

I have most often used six changes of water for film and six changes of water for prints. I have film and prints from over three decades ago that are crystal clean.

Regarding film, I do use hypo, but usually wash for 5 minutes in a column washer.

I hope that when you say you use "hypo", you are not making the error of calling hypo eliminator "hypo". "Hypo" means fixer because the old name for sodium thiosulfate in fixer used to be sodium hyposulfate or "hypo". There have been recent threads about this kind of error.

Everybody developing B&W film uses "hypo" (fix). Only some use "hypo clearing agent" or "hypo eliminator" which must not be referred to as "hypo". Another term that can be used is "washing aid".

Regarding prints, well, it looks like even the pan rinse and dump method would use a lot of water. I might just have to try it, though. It might force me to better evaluate which prints actually NEED to be washed.

Six changes of water in an 8x10 print tray don't even make as much water as a sinkful of water for washing dishes, and far less than a single toilet flush, let alone a shower. Regardless, it is always a good idea to carefully choose what to print to avoid wasting the silver.

 

[Roger Cole]

I hope that when you say you use "hypo", you are not making the error of calling hypo eliminator "hypo". "Hypo" means fixer because the old name for sodium thiosulfate in fixer used to be sodium hyposulfate or "hypo". There have been recent threads about this kind of error.

Everybody developing B&W film uses "hypo" (fix). Only some use "hypo clearing agent" or "hypo eliminator" which must not be referred to as "hypo". Another term that can be used is "washing aid".

I hope you are not confusing hypo clearing agent with hypo eliminator.

Hypo eliminator was an old Kodak formula that is distinct from hypo clearing agent or wash aid, and was used to remove the last traces of residual "hypo" (fixer) from prints. Its use is no longer recommended as it turns out that a very low level of residual fixer is beneficial to print permanence.

Hypo clearing agent is a Kodak term for their wash aid. It can be used, or Permawash or some other brand, or just a simple made up solution of sodium sulphite in water.

 

[kerrpanda]

Thanks all! I do use hypo (fix) for B&W film, and I use hypo (clearing agent) as well. Appreciate all the responses! That's why I love this site!

 

[Monito]

I hope you are not confusing hypo clearing agent with hypo eliminator. Hypo eliminator was an old Kodak formula that is distinct from hypo clearing agent or wash aid, and was used to remove the last traces of residual "hypo" (fixer) from prints. Its use is no longer recommended as it turns out that a very low level of residual fixer is beneficial to print permanence. Hypo clearing agent is a Kodak term for their wash aid. It can be used, or Permawash or some other brand, or just a simple made up solution of sodium sulphite in water.

Thank you for clarifying that distinction for me.

 

[polyglot]

Hypo clearing agent is a Kodak term for their wash aid. It can be used, or Permawash or some other brand, or just a simple made up solution of sodium sulphite in water.

For those of us without access to chemical suppliers, will sodium metabisulfite (sold by brewery supply shops for cleaning beer bottles) work as a wash aid? At what concentration?

 

[Ronald Moravec]

Fill a tray , interleave prints in one at a time while filling the next tray. Move prints one at a time to next tray, cycle thru stack while refilling first tray, Repeat thru 8 trays of water. Use wash aid after second tray.

For RC, three trays work ok.

Ilford wash for film. Three one minute washes with inversions.


Any process that replaces wash with fresh water rather than working thru continuous dilution is 1000x more efficient.