• Welcome to Photrio!
    Registration is fast and free. Join today to unlock search, see fewer ads, and access all forum features.
    Click here to sign up

Do you filter your chems after use?

hoffy

Member
Allowing Ads
Joined
Jan 21, 2009
Messages
3,073
Location
Adelaide, Au
Format
Multi Format
Howdy,

Just been pondering my naval and a few little minor issues I have come across of late.

Once you have used your chems for either film development or paper development, do you filter them prior to storing them again? If you do filter the chems, what do you use? I have heard of people using coffee filters, but I would have thought that the paper fibres could also cause issues.

I suppose, this is probably more specific to Fixer, which I re-use from day to day.
 
Rarely and only if I see things in the solution.

Steve
 
I filter film chemicals, but usually not paper chemicals. By the time a batch of my paper developer is truly spent, it is always chock full of hairs, dust, bugs, paper shavings, you name it. Maybe my gunk is worse then most, as I usually replenish, rather than mix new developer. However, I have never noticed an ill effect of any kind, so I don't bother to filter any more. I actually find replenished developer quite nice to use. Changes in contrast appear more subtly, and print-to-print consistency seems better. I am pretty unscientific about my replenishment. I just keep a running total of the capacity and how many sheets I've run. I subtract remaining sheets when I develop paper, and I add remaining sheets when I add some fresh solution. I usually add fresh solution 500 mL at a time to a 2 L batch of developer.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
I tried coffee filters and they were WAY too slow. It took like minutes to filter 1L of film chemicals. I've tried using paper towels too, and the problem there is that they are too wicking, so they whole thing just gets soaked. I would like to get a good filtering solution though, because my D23 gets a bunch of junk on the bottom after a while and I have no choice but to pour it out when I fill up my sheet film tanks.
 
When I do filter, I use paper towels. Then I squeeze them out at the end. Waste is minimal if you do this. One must easily lose more solution volume from carry over into the stop bath during a printing session than by doing this.
 
I use a filter funnel that has a tight mesh plastic screen built in. Gets most of the gunk out when pouring back in the stock bottles.
 
I only develop negs. and I don't filter AFTER use. I filter immediately before using. I use coffee filters - and yes, it does take a couple of minutes per litre but is faster if you place the filter folded, fluted in a conical funnel. Fluted folding is simply a way to make the top of the filter folded in a zig-zag (like a bellows) tapering down to the point of the cone. If this is not done, the filter sticks to the funnel and the fluid won't pass through the paper because it is blocked.
 
I use a small plug of a paper towel as well, sometimes a piece of a cotton ball.
Generally, i'll filter out the sludge from the fixer. I'm at the point where I process very little (unfortunately) and at this point, i'm mixing fresh everything except for stop bath.
 
I filter replenished film developers, to get the silver particles that collect at the bottom of the bottle out.
 
I also filter film developer whether I am replenishing it or just reusing it. No matter how careful you are some dust and dirt find their way into the solution if you use it enough. If I mix up a new batch of film developer from powder and I need to use it right away I always want to filter out those last few undissolved particles so they don't stick to the film.
 
Like OldBikerPete said, I filter before use. I have several funnels with built in filters, including one that takes a cotton like filter. This way, anything that made its way into the bottle or formed in the bottle gets filtered.
 
I don't get navel lint in my photo solutions!

All naval events in may navel take place in my bathtub!

I don't filter unless suspended matter is evident which is extremely rare. I use folded filters just like a chemist would.

PE
 
But where do you get the filter paper? I always had access to filter paper when I was in school but here in the real world it's harder to come buy.
 
While I have filter papers I actually use coffee filters for my developers, fixers, selenium toners etc. I don't have a clue where they came from as I've never drunk coffee

I just use them when there's a need. At a pich a plug of cotton wool works well, just re-filter the first bit - you should do that with nay filter.

Ian
 
Not for regular printing but for collodion you have to filter literally everything. I had to filter some sandarac varnish three times today, whoop. But aye, a cotton ball is the way!
 
Thanks for the responses guys. I am yet to decide where my problem comes from. On the very odd occassion I get quite a large lump of crud on a neg (it is usually very rare, its happened once or twice over the last 12 months and only at max one spot on a roll). I thought the issue may come from crud buildup in the fixer.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Menu
Log in
Register