Using Vinegar as a Stop Bath

[Logan Becker]

For those who have garnered consistent results from using vinegar in film/print processing, what type (cider, distilled white, etc.) is recommended, and should it be diluted or not?

 

[Prof_Pixel]

(there was a url link here which no longer exists)

 

[MattKing]

Plain white distilled only.

 

[Sirius Glass]

Given to oh so high cost of stop bath, I still prefer to use stop bath with indicator.

 

[Petraio Prime]

SBIC.

 

[Down Under]

White only. Dilute to 2% or even 1% (a simple maths calculation will get you there). Change after say 20 prints. Err on the side of caution.

I bought a one liter bottle of Kodak indicator stop bath (undiluted) in 1990. I still have about half the bottle left. Yes, I print a lot. concentrated. Even diluted the bath keeps well and I have never, ever had a mixed batch turn purple on me.

In 2005 a friend gave me an unopened bottle, same size. Still unopened. I intend to give it away to anyone I meet who still has a darkroom.

Do not use home made salad dressing as stop bath!

I know someone who did. The results were... messy.

 

[Gerald C Koch]

White (distilled) vinegar can have a strength anywhere from 4% to 5% acetic acid. Check the label when diluting.

 

[darkroommike]

White distilled vinegar, the stuff you buy in the US is usually 5% but in other countries the concentration can be higher. Use it at 1.5-2% for prints and use a plain water stop bath for film. As others have said the savings are pretty small but in a pinch I have used it. It works very well.

 

[Gerald C Koch]

White distilled vinegar, the stuff you buy in the US is usually 5% but in other countries the concentration can be higher. Use it at 1.5-2% for prints and use a plain water stop bath for film. As others have said the savings are pretty small but in a pinch I have used it. It works very well.

What I bought from Sam's Club was 4% as I said assume nothing and check the label.

 

[hired goon]

I'm confused why someone looking to use something other than traditional stop bath, for whatever reason, wouldn't just use plain water?

 

[faberryman]

I am sure someone will do the math and enlighten us just how much we can actually save by using distilled white vinegar instead of indicator stop bath. I prefer to use Ilford Ilfostop. It doesn't smell.

 

[Patrick Robert James]

You can also use Citric Acid which you can find at a health food store. Two teaspoons in an 8x10 tray works great. Doesn't smell either!

 

[MattKing]

I am sure someone will do the math and enlighten us just how much we can actually save by using distilled white vinegar instead of indicator stop bath. I prefer to use Ilford Ilfostop. It doesn't smell.

If you do the math, you will find that the stop bath is usually cheaper to use than vinegar. Vinegar is easier to find on a shelf nearby, but takes a lot more storage space than highly concentrated stop bath.
And as for the stop bath vs. water debate:
1) be prepared for religious fervor;
2) running water is necessary for paper, and highly advantageous for film;
3) films and papers and fixers were designed with stop bath in the process;
4) fixer lasts longer with stop bath, and fixer is more expensive to use than stop bath and more complex to handle when you are discarding it than stop bath.

 

[Arklatexian]

Given to oh so high cost of stop bath, I still prefer to use stop bath with indicator.

+1

 

[paladin1420]

I use white vinegar diluted 4 to 1, one shot. Don't know the cost vs. stop bath but vinegar is easy to come by and is usable for lots of other stuff around the house. I never figured out the precise percentages, but I guess if plain water is acceptable then any reasonable dilution of vinegar is as well. I do a pretty good water rinse between stop and fix anyway, so I guess I'm covering all bases.

 

[Logan Becker]

The cost savings are negligable, and depending where you look, indicator stop is probably cheaper. My thing is, I would rather not order from the internet unless I absolutely have to, and there isn't a photo store for under an hours drive from me, so I'm looking at availabilty- the grocery store is a 5 minute bike ride up the street

 

[Gerald C Koch]

Vinegar has two advantages. It is readily available just about anywhere and you avoid the problem with some suppliers who are over zealous about hazmat regulation.

 

[Dali]

White distilled vinegar, the stuff you buy in the US is usually 5% but in other countries the concentration can be higher. Use it at 1.5-2% for prints and use a plain water stop bath for film. As others have said the savings are pretty small but in a pinch I have used it. It works very well.

I do exactly the same and it works fine.

I could use plain water for prints but with vinegar as a stop bath it prevents nasty stains I sometimes had before.

 

[faberryman]

The cost savings are negligable, and depending where you look, indicator stop is probably cheaper. My thing is, I would rather not order from the internet unless I absolutely have to, and there isn't a photo store for under an hours drive from me, so I'm looking at availabilty- the grocery store is a 5 minute bike ride up the street

If you have to order developer, fixer, and hypo clearing agent, might as well add a bottle of stop bath to your cart.

 

[Petraio Prime]

Don't use vinegar. Use stop bath.

 

[Ko.Fe.]

Using vinegar for BW as stop bath is vulgar. I'm using vinegar as stop bath for ECN-2 at home. The whole thing is vulgar enough already. Including results.

 

[Sirius Glass]

If you have to order developer, fixer, and hypo clearing agent, might as well add a bottle of stop bath to your cart.

Don't use vinegar. Use stop bath.

+ 100 Folks there are reasons that part of an industry dedicated itself to manufacture stop bath. That alone should tell you something.

 

[Bob Carnie]

Dump the stop and use it for your salad or fries...

 

[bdial]

Dump the stop and use it for your salad or fries...

I'm not sure I'd develop a taste for that.

As for using vinegar or or stuff sold as photographic stop bath, acetic acid is acetic acid whether it comes from Freestyle or the local grocery store, the paper and film won't know the difference.
I'd rather have the grocery store pay the overhead of shipping liquids, plus it's slightly cheaper.

 

[MattKing]

My 16 ounce bottle of Kodak indicator stop bath makes 8 US gallons of working strength indicator stop bath at the manufacturer's recommended dilution. With film, I usually use it half strength (one shot), so that means 16 US gallons of working strength stop bath.
I don't know how much shelf space you have, but I do know that I don't have enough to store the necessary equivalent amount of vinegar.
In my case and market, stop bath is cheaper than vinegar.