Water to use ???

DannL · Jan 18, 2006

A newbie question, obviously. What is considered "Quality Water" for Developer, Stop Bath and Fixer dilution? I was going to use bottled distilled and call it a day. But was curious because of the chlorination in general tap water.

KenM · Jan 18, 2006

I use distilled water to mix up stock solutions of developer, but I use regular tap water for the mixed developer, as well as all other mixes (stop, fix, selenium toner, etc). Works for me.

Monophoto · Jan 18, 2006

I use tap water.

In our area, water is fairly hard and has a high natural iron content, and is also chlorinated. We have a water softener for the entire house.

Many years ago, when we first had the water softener installed (in a previous home), I did notice an impact in printing color (Cibachromes), but I could never detect any effect at all on black and white work.

Incidentally, photographic lore is that hypo clearing agent originated when the US Navy discovered that washing prints in sea water was more effective than washing in carefully manicured potable water. The point is that contaminants aren't all bad.

Jerry Thirsty · Jan 18, 2006

Is this for film or paper (or both)? I always use tap water for paper chemicals (chlorinated city water run through a softener), and for most film chemicals. I only used distilled water for chemicals I've read need it, like Xtol, or those I'm suspicious of, like E-6 and C-41.

DannL · Jan 18, 2006

Jerry Thirsty said:
Is this for film or paper (or both)?

Overall and in general . . . But, for this specific case I'm using Ilford PQ Universal, IlfoStop, Ilford Rapid Fixer. Everything I've see just states "water". I find it hard to imagine the properties of the "major ingredient" not altering the shelf life or usability of the final mixture. You all have been great help. Definitely!
I haven't played with chems in 25 years. Just reinventing myself.

BBarlow690 · Jan 18, 2006

Our well water is wonderful for everything except Photo Flo, which I mix with distilled water and reuse until it starts to smell (about a year).

eumenius · Jan 18, 2006

I use distilled water in dilute developers (like Rodinal 1+100 or Beutler), to make all stocks on it, to make Ilfotol wetting agent solution and for final rinse. I have an unlimited supply of it, so I use it whenever I need water. In all other cases, when I'm out of my lab and its huge distillers, I usually use a boiled cooled water, filtered through a piece of cotton gauze. The boiled water would be a good substitute for a distillate in most of the cases, and it solves the problem with hard/iron-rich water in some places.

photobackpacker · Jan 18, 2006

I use tap water for everything but the the final wash for film and the photo-flo. There, I use distilled water. Keep it simple and low cost if you can.

pentaxuser · Jan 18, 2006

We have very hard water in this area of the U.K. Limescale builds up quite quickly in such things as kettles and but I have never used other than tap water for B&W or colour negs and B&W and RA4 prints without problems. At least none I have noticed.

Pentaxuser

Magnus · Jan 18, 2006

Always used tap-water, though this distilled water thing was a a bit to much. Recently moved to an area with hard water and got spots on my negatives and upon checking this and other fori decided to use distilled water .... results are great, better than anything I have ever done before with tap water... so I stick to distilled...

Dave Parker · Jan 18, 2006

I either use distilled water, or my tap water, which is from out well, I have never noticed any difference in actual practice.

Dave

avandesande · Jan 18, 2006

We have good quality well water but there is enough particulate in the water that I get a small amount of sand in the toilet tanks. I get better result with efke film in distilled water.

fschifano · Jan 18, 2006

I'm on a municipal water supply on Long Island, NY where the groundwater supply is a little bit harder than our neighbor's over the line in NYC. I use filtered tap water for everything - even for mixing XTOL - with no problem. My developers last the way they should and I don't get spots on my negatives. I must be doing something right.

Bruce Watson · Jan 18, 2006

It depends. How clean is your water supply? How much of an enlargement are you going to make with your negatives? How much effort are you willing to put into spotting?

If your water puts junk on your negatives, it's basically permanent. Once the negatives dry, it's not ever coming off. Been there and done that. Then, if you enlarge enough, it becomes visible in the print, and you spend time spotting (true for darkroom or scanning workflows).

Me? Nothing but steam distilled water touches my negatives, or the film side of my equipment. That means distilled for mixing, distilled for diluting, distilled for washing, distilled for final rinse, distilled for cleanup.

Steam distilled water is cheap and easy to get, it's not hard to use (clearly), and it's an easy safeguard. And it's saved me hours and hours of spotting.

I learned this the hard way. Make of my experience what you will.

vet173 · Jan 18, 2006

I think it depends on your water quallity, minerals, etc. Is it enough to change the PH enough? Here in washington it's good enough I can use the water from the well we have inside the house.

Wayne Frederick · Jan 19, 2006

As a relative beginner to black and white darkroom work, I am still struggling with the issue of distilled vs. tap water to mix chemistry. I started out using all distilled for mixing all film and paper chemistry. However since my darkroom is way down in the rear of the basement, I have to haul the gallon jugs of distilled a long way from the detached garage and through an area with a low ceiling so I can't stand up. This grew tiresome so I started using tap (well, with water softener) water for mixing everything except the film wetting agent, which has to be distilled or I get scum on negatives. This seems to work really well, I have not noticed any differences in neg or print from the days of using all distilled. But now I see on the Photographer's Formulary instruction sheets for BW-65 paper developer and Archival Rapid Fix, it says "for best results use distilled water". I assume this is to remove the variable of water impurities from the equation, to produce the most consistent results. So I still have some further research and experimenting to do on this topic.

sanderx1 · Jan 19, 2006

eumenius said:
I use distilled water in dilute developers (like Rodinal 1+100 or Beutler), to make all stocks on it, to make Ilfotol wetting agent solution and for final rinse. I have an unlimited supply of it, so I use it whenever I need water. In all other cases, when I'm out of my lab and its huge distillers, I usually use a boiled cooled water, filtered through a piece of cotton gauze. The boiled water would be a good substitute for a distillate in most of the cases, and it solves the problem with hard/iron-rich water in some places.

In Moscow? Even bottled soft drinks had a strong aftertaste of chlorination when I was there years ago - and it was certainly not clear transparent liquid that came out of taps - has this changed? Hmm... maybe boilling plus filtration would make it more water-like....

Donald Qualls · Jan 21, 2006

When I lived near Seattle, I used filtered water that I was able to buy at the local supermarket from a "fill your own" dispenser for 39 cents a gallon -- it was filtered with reverse osmosis, activated carbon, and very fine particulate filter, then ozonated. I also used it to make coffee and mix powdered milk (which I use because it tastes better than liquid non-fat, and is cheaper).

Since moving to North Carolina, I haven't found a source of similar "fill your own" water, and filtered water prefilled in jugs (for water coolers) is too expensive even with a jug exchange, so I've been stuck with distilled water at 97 cents a gallon for film and coffee, and I'm learning to tolerate tap water for mixing my milk (because with distilled, the powdered milk costs more then even the inflated local prices of liquid milk). I could probably have used Seattle tap water for film -- it came from a mountain watershed and was pretty clean stuff -- but I don't (chemically) trust the water here, which comes from a lake about a block from my house, over which the city shoots the annual fireworks and in which they allow boats. Don't much like drinking it, either...

gainer · Jan 21, 2006

I am lucky to have clean, good tasting well water, though it is quite hard. Others within a mile radius and even 100 yards away have sulfur and iron water from their wells. Their water doesn't kill you, but sometimes you wish it would. The calcium-magnesium hardness in my water is good for the heart, but I use water from my dehumidifier for any solutions that have carbonate.

Water to use ???

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