Substituting C-41 Stabilizer with E-6 Final Rinse

Hello all,

So I'm FINALLY going to pick up the c-41 chemicals that I ordered from my local photo store today. The only thing I'm still hesitant about is that I picked up E-6 final rinse as opposed to c-41 stabilizer. I read somewhere in the forum that someone used this as I substitute, so I decided to pick it up as I had been having a hard time finding stabilizer. I just want to confirm that this is an appropriate substitute. Thanks!

Look for C-41 Final Rinse and Replenisher, not C-41 Stabilizer. Stabilizer has not been used for years with C-41 although I believe it still works. Whether E-6 Final Rinse works for C-41, I don't know.

RPC

Tetenal still sells C-41/E-6 stabilizer if you have some older films to process that still need stabilizer. Recent (5-10 years) manufacture of color film doesn't need the stabilizer bath anymore though I am still using it in my JOBO/Tetenal/Unicolor Press kits.

E-6 stabilizer contained formalin as a preservative. Modification in Kodak and Fuji formulation of E-6 chemistry placed some formalin in a previous bath and so formalin was not any more necessary in the final bath. Kodak and Fuji call this last version of final bath without, or with less, formalin as "final rinse". So stabilizer = a final bath with formalin, final rinse = a final bath with much less formalin, or no formalin. Photo Engineer wrote some posts about this.

I don't know if the same can apply to C41 chemistry. Is formalin present in some C-41 bath? If the answer is no, I would use E-6 "stabilizer", not E-6 "final rinse", for negative film. If the answer is yes, I suppose you can use both styles of E-6 product for your C-41 film as the final thing is not strictly part of the processing, is just a general aid for good drying and preservation and would apply more or less to any film I do believe. B&W film does not need formalin in theory because silver is already a bactericidal substance. In practice, I would use formalin also for B&W film unless PE explicitly warns against its use.

I personally use Ornano E-6 kit and it uses a final bath with formalin. That would be a "stabilizer" in Kodak parlance. (We just say imbibente which is easier ).

Some years ago, the formalin content of Ornano E-6 final bath was reduced, but formalin is still there. Formalin content was reduced especially to reduce workers' exposition to formalin vapours in laboratories. The thing is not so dangerous in the concentration and use of the typical home developer. I just add 10ml of 4,5% solution to 500ml demineralised water which I keep hermetically closed. I would just buy final bath with formalin and be sure that it helps preserving any film however treated.

Do wear glasses when dealing with chemical substances.

Wow, thank you for all the information. I started looking for C-41 "final rinse" as opposed to "stabilizer" and came upon some that my shop should have, but it is for use in the flexicolor SM system. I know there was some weird conversions that had to be done using SM chemistry. Will using this be acceptable?

The Jobo/unicolor/tetanal 1 liter press kits have hexamine mixed in water for the final stabilizer. Breaks down into formaldehyde and ammonia according to the msds.

I beleive that the current generation of c-41 can live with final rinse. I use e-6 final rinse for all my stuff, including b&w.

There was older generation c-41 films (Not the current portra 160NC, etc) that did need the formalin.

I still have most of a litre I bought about 8 years ago.
When I need it a little goes a long way.
It get used when I home mix my e-6 chemistry, since the formula I use does not have a pre-bleach to get the formalin synthesis going, and in fact the home brew bleach is a c-22 ferricyanide type bleach that will never get any formalin going even if I used a Kodak pre-bleach tank upstream.

the substitute was, i think some other aldehide, maybe glutaraldehide, or maybe that was for hardening...,although you should envolve some stabilization in the process. use folmalin and wetting agent, if you search the net you will find the proportions.