Kodak Flexicolor Fixer - Suitable for Black and White?

[Steve Smith]

Someone on Ebay is selling a lot of 2x5 litre packs of Kodak Flexicolor C41 fixer for a good price.

Is this also suitable for ordinary black and white film use?


Steve.

 

[hrst]

Yes. You may dilute it more than you would for color for even increased economy. Or, if you use it at color dilution, you can expect shorter fixing times than with most typical B&W fixers.

It is a neutral ammonium thiosulphate based fixer, so it's perfect for those who want to use neutral fixes anyway. Compared to acidic BW fixers, neutral ones have less headroom for "oops, I'm an idiot and came from developer directly to fixer without using stop or water rinse" errors and you cannot add hardener additives to neutral fixes. On the other side, people who use pyro developers and want to sustain maximum stain use neutral fixes. Also, neutral fixers are a bit more quick to fix and wash out from film and paper. Otherwise, it does not matter.

 

[Steve Smith]

Thanks. I think I will buy some.


Steve.

 

[bdial]

I dilute it 1:7, which is a recommendation I found in here somewhere. I did retained silver testing using selenium toner to work out print fixing times, but 1 - 2 minutes works well. I do two bath fixing for prints.

 

[Stan160]

I bought two packs of this when Jessops were having a clear out a couple of years ago and had marked it down to 49p per pack on their web site!

Be aware that 2x5L refers to working strength; you're getting 2x1L bottles of concentrate in a pack. Still cheaper than buying fresh stock I suppose, but not quite the deal it might appear on first glance.

Ian