TF-5 fixer

Is it permissible to hold prints fixed with TF-5 in a tray of still water prior to washing them?

Dave King

DAK said:

Is it permissible to hold prints fixed with TF-5 in a tray of still water prior to washing them?

Dave King

Click to expand...

You can do whatever you want, but some ideas are better than other. Ralph Lambrecht, author of 'Way Beyond Monochrome' (1 & 2), shows that a fiber print soaking for more than 2 minutes in rapid fix will yield a print where you cannot fully wash out the fix.
Since a tray of still water will have relatively high concentration of fix, you may end up with a similar situation. Just an educated guess. I did the same years ago with fiber prints fixed in neutral pH Ilford Hypam, and I ended up with contaminated prints that started to yellow within months.

I don't think anything can be said with certainty, other than - find a way of testing for residual fix in the print. I don't know if the alkaline TF-5 fix will respond to residual hypo tests like standard neutral to acid pH fix solutions will.

It does respond to the retained hypo and retained silver tests, but holding a print in still water is ill advised.

PE

+1 and from the formulator himself.

It's easy to rig up a running-water holding tray. Mine are just regular ribbed-bottom photo trays with a row of small holes drilled at the bottom corner of one end. A hose with running water gets clamped on the other end. After the fix, the print goes into this tray and gets a kind of pre-wash. As I print, several accumulate in this tray, but I agitate through them regularly while I'm working. After I get a batch of prints from one negative (I usually print 3-5 keepers), I transfer them to the washer.

Best,

Doremus

That was the answer I expected. I have a tray by Premium that provides a running water environment that I use for 30 seconds between developer and fixer. Premium's instructions imply you can switch from using it to stop development and again following the fixer bath for the final wash. What do you think?

Dave

If the tray is clean, there is no reason not to use it. In cases like this (infrequent), I used to rinse with 1% acetic acid. Then I washed with water.

PE

I have two of those trays and I have just devised an arrangement so I can have both setup with each doing its appointed task.

Thank you for helping, Dave