which chemicals can be reused and which should be disposed?

[nov]

Im just wondering which chemicals can be reused after a session of printing.
I was briefly told that developer must be thrown and the fixer and stop bath can be reused two more times. What is your opinion? Not sure about the hypoclear for the fibre stuff either.

Im using ilford dev and fixer
and a kodak stop bath.

taa!

 

[Andrew Moxom]

nov, my workflow is as follows. Use dev, and throw away after printing session. Use Stop and throw away after printing session. 1st fix use and throw away. 2nd fix use and then keep for use as 1st fix in next printing sessions. I only get to print about once every two weeks so keeping dev and stop this long would not work for me. Re-suing the 2nd fix bath as the 1st in teh subsequent session works well for me and provide good economy.

 

[nov]

whats the 1st and 2nd fix mean? I only have 1 fix!

 

[ann]

using two different fixer baths is very common, especially with fiber papers.

if you start with two fresh trays of fixer, and are counting prints; after the pre-detemined number one would toss the first tray and move the second tray to the first in line and mix a new tray of fresh fixer.

 

[fschifano]

I use Dektol as my print developer and it is pretty sturdy stuff. If I only make a few prints in a given session, I'll bottle the working solution back up and use it another time in the next day or three. After that, it's pretty much shot and out it goes. Stop bath doesn't go bad with age, it becomes exhausted with use. If your's has an indicating dye, use it until it changes color, then discard. Fixers can go bad with age, but they do so much more slowly than developers. It can sit for weeks in a bottle with no practical change. Chances are you will exhaust it through use long before it ages out. If you are working with resin coated papers which are very easy to wash, the two bath fixing technique is of little value. Fiber based papers can hold onto fixer and the byproducts of fixing very tightly, so you really want to use the freshest and cleasnest fixing baths you can. The two bath fixing method that Ann describes is best here.

 

[srs5694]

I'll add that proper procedures depend to some extent on the specific chemicals you're using. Some developers go bad quickly and should be discarded after one use, whereas others keep going and going and going. AFAIK, fixers vary less in this respect, although some people dilute them and use them one-shot.

FWIW, I use Dead Link Removed as my print developer. After each session, I pour it into its bottle and then top up the bottle with DS-14 replenisher. I've completely replenished up to three times with no visible change in results, although the developer solution darkens over time/use. (I got nervous and tossed it despite the continuing good results at that point, though.)

 

[jasonjoo]

Don't mean to hijack the thread, but I had a similar question. Which chemicals can go down the kitchen sink safely? I've been pouring out my one-shot developer down the sink but not sure what to do with the fixer and photo flo. My photo flo went bad (had floaters) and I figured it would be OK to pour down the sink (I checked the label and it didn't mention anything about being harmful to the environment?). Also, I've read that the fixer should be taken to a local lab, but is it OK to pour the fix down the drain or will it be harmful to the environment?

Thanks,

Jason

 

[Pentax_Junkie]

Don't mean to hijack the thread, but I had a similar question. Which chemicals can go down the kitchen sink safely? I've been pouring out my one-shot developer down the sink but not sure what to do with the fixer and photo flo. My photo flo went bad (had floaters) and I figured it would be OK to pour down the sink (I checked the label and it didn't mention anything about being harmful to the environment?). Also, I've read that the fixer should be taken to a local lab, but is it OK to pour the fix down the drain or will it be harmful to the environment?

Thanks,

Jason

Fixer with the undeveloped silver in it is bad for the environment, it needs to be disposed of properly.

 

[fschifano]

Photoflo is nothing more than extremely dilute and mild detergent. The stuff you use to wash your dishes is more toxic. Silver is bad, but if we're talking about a litre of fixer here and there, it doesn't add up to a whole lot. Toss it. You'll be doing more harm to the environment by transporting the stuff to the lab.

 

[nov]

hmm i dont feel i got my answer to my questions tho...

 

[jasonjoo]

nov, I am no expert, but this is what I've gathered over the past few months from APUG.

You COULD reuse developer, especially if you're using it in large quantities, but it's normally better to mix up what you need and use it as a 1-shot developer. This will let you know what your developer is doing (for the most part) consistently.

You can reuse the fixer a number of times, not just twice. I usually mix up a half gallon at a time. Just make sure you test the fixer before each use. If you're shooting 35mm, you can cut off the leader portion of the film and dunk that in the fixer. If it takes 2 minutes for the film to "clear," then double that time to fix your developed film in. If it takes 3 minutes for the film to clear, fix for 6 minutes.

As for stop bath, I can't really help you there as I use water as my stop bath, but I'm sure others here will know!

Hope this helped!

Jason

 

[jim appleyard]

Dev is generally good for only 1 session. Run as many prints thru it as you can while it's fresh. Yes, you can bottle it for a day or so, but even Dektol loses strength. Ansco 130 lasts quite awhile tho'.

Stop: use it until it's exhausted. I no longer use a stop bath, just water, but when I did use a stop I liked indicator stop bath; it tell you when its time has come.

Fix: use to exhaustion. You can count prints, test via a piece of film or use hypo check.

Hypo clear: 1 session.

 

[Phillip P. Dimor]

I use stop bath and fixer for a long time. The best investment i've made is a small bottle of nacco fixer check/test. Two drops of the fixer check in a small clear plastic cup of fixer will tell you; cloudy precipitate means the fixer is exhausted, clear and your fixer is still good.

I use separate stop and fixer solutions for film and paper, and I keep them separate as well. The paper ones always exhaust sooner, and I like 'clean' solutions for my film. You'll know when you've been using the same stop bath and it's got bugs, dust, hair, sludge, slime, etc. floating around in it. I don't want that on my film!

D76 I use half-diluted with water, 1:1. I never reuse it.
Rodinal, I use once. Acufine and Microphen I reuse with excellent results, just keep track of how many rolls you've put through it.

Selenium toner I use until it doesn't work anymore (which is a while)
Hypo I use once. Photo-flo I use once and never mix a solution, I just dip my finger in and let a drop or two fall into the film tank or tray.

 

[Phillip P. Dimor]

Oh, and LPD for a print developer. I reuse that for a long time, months even for a working solution (when i'm not printing a lot). The stock stays good for over a year. Great stuff!

 

[fschifano]

Im just wondering which chemicals can be reused after a session of printing.
I was briefly told that developer must be thrown and the fixer and stop bath can be reused two more times. What is your opinion? Not sure about the hypoclear for the fibre stuff either.

Im using ilford dev and fixer
and a kodak stop bath.

taa!

Let me put this as simply as possible.

Developers: Some can be reused, others are specifically designed to be used once then discarded. Sometimes developers are reused many times if they are replenished with the addition of fresh chemistry. It depends on what you're using and how you're using the stuff. Read the tech sheets for your products on Ilford's web site.

Stop Bath: Re-use until exhausted. Color will change from yellow to violet when it's used up.

Fixer: Can be re-used to it's capacity. You don't want to push that very hard with fiber based papers because the byproducts of the fixing process are difficult to remove. Doesn't matter as much with resin coated papers.

Hypo Clearing Agent: Stock solution keeps for about a month. Working solution is one shot. It does not keep, nor does it give any indication when it goes bad. It is of little value for film and resin coated papers. Save it for fiber based papers.