Fixer issues...

Photo Engineer said:

HC110 is "balanced" but other developers are better. So, the answer is "it depends".

PE

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Well, after all of the information in this thread, and some other information that was sent to me via PM, I think I am going to change up my chemical process to the following:

Film - XTOL
Paper - Dektol, mixed stock, diluted 1:2 (as I have been doing)
Stop - Kodak Indicator, 2oz to a gallon of water (I throw this out after each use)
Fixer - Ilford Rapid Fixer, 1:4 at 3.5 mins for film, 1:9 @ 1min for RC paper and 2min for FB paper

I've printed out tech sheets on each product and I'm currently in the process of reading each page word for word, and highlighting the important measurements and times.

This is really interesting!

I've always used Kodafix just because that was what was available and seemed easy to use. Are there any issues with it? I see lots of people talking about ther other Kodak fixers and was wondering.

-jbl

jbl said:

This is really interesting!

I've always used Kodafix just because that was what was available and seemed easy to use. Are there any issues with it? I see lots of people talking about ther other Kodak fixers and was wondering.

-jbl

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Kodafix works fine.

The only "issues" with it are:

1) as a regular (as compared to Rapid) fixer, it requires longer fixing times; and
2) as it has hardener built in, when you use it the film and paper you used it on will require longer wash times and/or more use of wash aid than film and paper fixed in non-hardening fixer; and
3) as it has hardener built in, it will make papers somewhat harder to tone.

PE - is it ok to use the same batch of fixer for both paper and film. Ps im using tf4. I normal just have a batch in the tray and i run both prints and sheet film through it until it is exhausted.

cjbecker said:

PE - is it ok to use the same batch of fixer for both paper and film. Ps im using tf4. I normal just have a batch in the tray and i run both prints and sheet film through it until it is exhausted.

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I'm not PE, but I would suggest against it.

Paper leaves paper residue that can end up sticking to film, and film development leaves chemical residue that can affect the development of paper.

Don't use the same fixer for film and paper! Many many reasons come to mind. But, nuff said! Just don't do it.

PE

cjbecker said:

PE - is it ok to use the same batch of fixer for both paper and film. Ps im using tf4. I normal just have a batch in the tray and i run both prints and sheet film through it until it is exhausted.

Click to expand...

I'm not P.E. either, and yes, it's fine to do that if you only want your prints and negatives to last a few months, then turn brown and fade away. If you want greater longevity, and if you sell your work, proper fixing is rather important.

Cheers,
kevs.

Bummerz, looks like i will go back to using two different batches.

Along these lines, what is the expected shelf life of the working-strength fixer? My last liter went bad (according to some hypo check) after fixing 9 rolls of 35mm. It was about 8 months old and had been sitting in a cabinet at room temperature or warmer because it was the summer. I assume C-41 fixer has roughly the same shelf life?

Is there any need to clean the fixer bottle after dumping the old contents and remixing? I usually just rinse out the bottle a few times, but I feel like I read something somewhere about using a sodium-sulfite solution as a way to clean the bottles. I store the fixer in a plastic bottle. Of course, by "dumping" the old fixer I mean putting it into a jug for spent fixer so I can take it to the local place.

-jbl

Don't use the same fixer for film and paper! Many many reasons come to mind. But, nuf

PE -
I didn't know this. Can you briefly give the most important reasons?
I use TF4 and now mostly TF5. I use a 2 bath method for both film and prints, and rotate well before reaching exhaustion in the first bath, but didn't know this.
I would rather not have a separate (but smaller) working set for film, but would if important.

Film emulsions are Br/I at around 300 mg / square foot (forgive the mixed units here but that is the way I think of coatings ). This high level of silver and the halide mix does not go well with paper emulsions coated at about 100 mg / square foot and which consist of Cl, Cl/Br or Br emulsions. The Iodide from film tends to poison fixation of papers. It also exhausts the fixer more rapidly.

On he other side of the coin, as noted above, the paper fragments from FB paper, and edge skivings of Baryta ant TiO2 from common papers can cause blemishes in film. In addition, the matting agents from paper can cause additional harm.

Paper fixers are generally used at a different dilution than film fixers. If you use paper dilution with film, the fix time can be very long or the fixing can be incomplete. If you use film dilution with paper, you can get improper washing with FB paper and you might even overfix and lose some highlight detail (depends on fixer and pH here).

So, DON"T DO IT! If you do, you run the risk of getting less than optimum results.

PE

Thanks for this, PE, appreciated. Re the dilution, it's the same for film and paper for TF4 and TF5, if I'm reading right, right?

It varies from fixer to fixer, and that is why I cannot give a "rule". I can only give generalizations for concentration, fix time and wash time for example. And, water quality can enter into this whole thing.

PE