Water Evaporation Spots on Film

koraks said:

OK, in that case I see how an acidic fixer will help. Since my workflow always includes an acidic stop bath, I've never had this problem. I guess it's a potential concern if you use a water stop and a neutral fixer.

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I'be been using water stop and an alkaline fixer for several years now - luckily I never had this problem, despite the very hard water here. very clean negatives.

I usually develop in Xtol 1+1 or 1+2, and as mentioned, I use a final soak in deionized water.

dokko said:

I'm surprised how this is still a topic, it's such a simple solution that only has benefits and no downsides. very cheap too (I reuse the deionized a few times before dumping)

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I assume it is still a topic, in part, because that solution by itself doesn't work perfectly for everyone every time. The water supply and darkroom conditions are different everywhere. I imagine not all 'deionised water' is equal either. Wetting agent is sold and used for a reason - when used correctly it too is a simple process and does the job.

Ian David said:

I assume it is still a topic, in part, because that solution by itself doesn't work perfectly for everyone every time. The water supply and darkroom conditions are different everywhere. I imagine not all 'deionised water' is equal either.

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true, it's easy to assume that what works for one person also would work for another person, which is not always the case.

still, I find it difficult to imagine that this wouldn't work everywhere.
we have very hard water here (20 °dH) and the process involved is very straight forward. I use cheap deionized water from the drug store/supermarket meant for household purposes (ironing).