Print-washing strategies to save water

[hiroh]

My darkroom printing sessions often last 6-7 hours or more. I usually start early in the evening and continue printing until I’m too exhausted to stand. Most of the time, I use a Versalab print washer, but occasionally, I rely on trays with running water throughout the session. Both methods consume a significant amount of water, and I feel it’s time to make a change.

I’ve been considering washing all the prints together after finishing the session. This would require ending my printing at least an hour earlier to allow enough time for washing. Another idea is to leave the prints soaking in water overnight, but I’m concerned about whether that might damage the paper and the emulsion.

What methods do you use for washing prints efficiently, yet saving some water?

 

[miha]

What methods do you use for washing prints efficiently, yet saving some water?

Printing small, using the Ilford washing method, and avoiding toning to save water.

 

[Saganich]

Assuming you are using fiber paper, soaking overnight is a good option if you can't continue. Leave them in fresh water and catch some sleep.

 

[Saganich]

I once tried to use hydrophobic fabric between prints while soaking, but I didn't think it was any better than just letting them all soak together.

 

[AnselMortensen]

+1 on Ilford washing method.

Using Hypo Clearing Agent/ PermaWash/"whatever else" will reduce water use considerably.

 

[koraks]

What methods do you use for washing prints efficiently, yet saving some water?

Use RC paper. This cuts down water use by, what, 95% or so? Maybe more.

If you're married to FB (don't get me wrong - I'd understand!), keep in mind that you don't necessarily need a lot of water to wash it. Washing is a diffusion process that progresses asymptotically. This has a couple of implications:
* There doesn't have to be a constant flow of water. Several changes of water is fine, too. Agitation does help, as does temperature (warmer = faster/more effective).
* The total volume of water doesn't have to be large. As little as half an inch in a flat-bottomed tray only marginally larger than a single print would do. The depth depends mostly on the number of prints and how well you manage to agitate or circulate the water.
* Most of the washing happens in the first stages, as the added benefit of extended washing diminishes rapidly. It's hard to give exact numbers, but something along the lines of the 80/20 rule applies: 80% of the effectiveness will be achieved in the first 20% of the wash cycle.
* Hypo-clear (sodium sulfite) wash aid really helps to speed things up in that early stage of washing.

leave the prints soaking in water overnight

Equilibrium would probably be reached within an hour or so, and the lack of agitation will result in high concentrations of remaining fixer and fixer-silver in the areas where prints touch each other. So basically, this won't do much good. And yes, it will indeed soften the emulsion. Worse, the prints will float up and the top print will dry out partially, and there's a good chance that this will result in permanent marks on the print, especially if it floats emulsion-up.

 

[Pieter12]

I let my FB prints soak in a tray, changing the water every 1/2 hour or so. If I don't have time to do a final wash I will squeegee them and let them dry overnight. The next day, or sometimes days later, I will presoak them in water for about 15 minutes, then hypo clear for another 10 minutes. The of to the archival washer for 45 minutes. I wouldn't leave FB paper soaking overnight, I think it might soften the base too much, causing damage. An acquaintance once left prints in his archival washer overnight (not running, but full) and came back to find a layer of algae on the edges of the prints that were above water.

 

[MattKing]

* There doesn't have to be a constant flow of water. Several changes of water is fine, too. Agitation does help, as does temperature (warmer = faster/more effective).

And in the same vein, if you do have a constant flow, it can be a very small volume of flow.

 

[koraks]

And in the same vein, if you do have a constant flow, it can be a very small volume of flow.

Yes, in principle. David Kachel cautions that even a constant flow in itself is not sufficient and agitation is critical. I'm inclined to agree with him; in a tray with a constant trickle, it's easy to see that there will be relatively stagnant 'pockets' and the rate of washing can be uneven across a sheet of paper.

 

[Andrew O'Neill]

Ilford method.

 

[wiltw]

All fundamental principles of reduced water usage...

• Resin coated paper
• Hypo clearing agent
• Soaking in successive trays of water, rather than continuously running water
• Tray siphon that pulls water from bottom of tray (more heavilty laden with fix)

 

[brian steinberger]

I let my FB prints soak in a tray, changing the water every 1/2 hour or so. If I don't have time to do a final wash I will squeegee them and let them dry overnight. The next day, or sometimes days later, I will presoak them in water for about 15 minutes, then hypo clear for another 10 minutes. The of to the archival washer for 45 minutes. I wouldn't leave FB paper soaking overnight, I think it might soften the base too much, causing damage. An acquaintance once left prints in his archival washer overnight (not running, but full) and came back to find a layer of algae on the edges of the prints that were above water.

Can you dry a print and continue to wash at a later time? I didn’t think that was possible.

 

[Pieter12]

Can you dry a print and continue to wash at a later time? I didn’t think that was possible.

I do it all the time, just make sure it has had a good rinse/soaking and air-dry it.

 

[Paul Howell]

I print both RC and FB, when washing FB I use a drum washer. It uses water pressure to turn the drum and wash the prints. I fill the washer up then turn the water off and let after fix add the non turning drum to soak. When finished I wash the prints in the tumbling drum for 2 minutes, then transfer to a tray of a wash aid, I use Perma Wash, I soak for a few minutes keeping the prints moving by shuffling the stack. Then I wash. Although Perma Wash claims that FB prints can be made archival in 5 mints, I go for 10 then use hypo residual test to make sure.

 

[logan2z]

Assuming you are using fiber paper, soaking overnight is a good option if you can't continue. Leave them in fresh water and catch some sleep.

I've left Ilford fiber paper in water for 5-6 hours and had the emulsion flake off the edges. Ilford's tech support people told me that is way too long to let their fiber paper soak in water. I definitely wouldn't leave it overnight.

 

[Sirius Glass]

I use a vertical print washer after the prints spend time in Hypo Eliminator. I am in Southern California so I am careful about water usage.

 

[FotoD]

I haven't rewatched the video, but as I remember it was pretty informative.

 

[Maris]

My approach to fibre base print washing is to make just enough prints to fill the print washer, typically 24, and no more. Processed prints are stored in a water bath until the full number is done.

Then they go through a tray of Hypo-Clear on the way to the print washer. The loaded print washer is turned on and I walk away. I don't need to be there to watch it work.

The water tap to print washer is fitted with a clockwork garden tap timer that shuts the water off; typically after 45 minutes.

Some time later I go to the darkroom, remove the washed prints, and lay them on screens for overnight air drying.

Water usage for me is about 100 litres or roughly 30 cents worth. I console myself with the thought that the water is not truly wasted. It will eventually fall as rain somewhere else.

 

[ntenny]

I do the Ilford method, but I have some trouble managing multiple prints in the tray of hypo clear. They tend to stick together, making shuffling an awkward process, and I’m never sure if the surfaces in contact have gotten enough exposure to the solution.

I haven’t measured the water usage in the print washer, but the flow rate is pretty low (I have a Paterson, and it has a very specific sweet spot where the pressure is right to make the agitation mechanism work) and it only runs for ten minutes per batch.

-NT

 

[Pieter12]

I do the Ilford method, but I have some trouble managing multiple prints in the tray of hypo clear. They tend to stick together, making shuffling an awkward process, and I’m never sure if the surfaces in contact have gotten enough exposure to the solution.

I haven’t measured the water usage in the print washer, but the flow rate is pretty low (I have a Paterson, and it has a very specific sweet spot where the pressure is right to make the agitation mechanism work) and it only runs for ten minutes per batch.

-NT

I may be wrong, but I am under the impression that you really need to make sure the edges are getting exposed to hypo clear, the emulsion absorbs less fixer than the base.

 

[GregY]

I still use the Bruce Barnbaum method.... holding tray while printing. Then Heico Permawash.... then 3 changes of water changing trays...... some agitation & soak time....
Drying on screens.

 

[MattKing]

I use a vertical print washer after the prints spend time in Hypo Eliminator. I am in Southern California so I am careful about water usage.

Correction: Hypo Eliminator is problematic, and will make prints more susceptible to deterioration.
Hypo Clearing Agent will speed effective washing, and will enhance the longevity of your prints.

 

[pbromaghin]

+1 on Ilford washing method.

Using Hypo Clearing Agent/ PermaWash/"whatever else" will reduce water use considerably.

I'm real familiar with the film rinsing method, and searching ilfordphoto.com for a print rinsing method I come up with this:


Fixation ILFORD RAPID FIXER (1+4) or HYPAM (1+4) 1 min
First wash Fresh, running water 5 min
Washing aid ILFORD WASHAID (1+4) intermittent agitation 10 min
Final wash Fresh, running water 5 min

Is this it?

 

[bernard_L]

I still use the Bruce Barnbaum method.... holding tray while printing. Then Heico Permawash.... then 3 changes of water changing trays...... some agitation & soak time....

Aquarium pump. So you don't have to spend water just for the sake of agitation.

 

[miha]

I use a vertical print washer after the prints spend time in Hypo Eliminator.

I hope not.

I'm real familiar with the film rinsing method, and searching ilfordphoto.com for a print rinsing method I come up with this:


Fixation ILFORD RAPID FIXER (1+4) or HYPAM (1+4) 1 min
First wash Fresh, running water 5 min
Washing aid ILFORD WASHAID (1+4) intermittent agitation 10 min
Final wash Fresh, running water 5 min

Is this it?

It is if (a) you are using Ilford paper, (b) monitoring fixer capacity closely, and (c) not overfixing.