Darkroom noob. Please help...

[v_roma]

Hi everyone,

I am getting ready to process a couple of rolls at home for the first time and was hoping to get answers to a couple of questions. I am going to try and develop two rolls (I understand the risk but the rolls are not critical) using Paterson tanks with a capacity of 600mL for two rolls (actually 580mL but I will be preparing chemicals assuming 600mL)

1. Stop bath questions
a) I am using Arista Premium stop bath (16 oz make 4 gal), which if I am understanding correctly is a 1+31 dilution. My thought was to dilute 20mL in 580mL of water, which is more like 1+30 but makes the dilutions easier. Is that difference significant?
b) Since it is reusable, do you usually make more than one tank's worth since some small amount will be lost with each use?
c) Finally, how long does it keep in storage? I know it turns purple when exhausted but I am wondering if, otherwise, it keeps indefinitely.
2. Fixer questions
a) 1 liter makes 5 liters, so 1+4 dilution, right?
b) Similar to above, do you usually make more than one tank's worth?
c) How long does it keep in storage? (And, yes, I know to do a fixer test)

Thank you very much. I am sure there will be more questions but I will start with these...

 

[--s]

hi!

stop bath is not critical. i take pure water, fill the tank up twice within a minute, it works just the same.

fixer also is not critical. you can see it´s worn out when the films stay purple. then just fix them anew with fresh fixer.

storage time of fixer and stop bath is several to many months.

the only critical bath is the developer, precise working is necessary here.

 

[Shac]

I use water as well - no problems. I've never done a fixer test and been developing my films for over 50 years
Strongly recommend this final wash system as well - http://www.ilfordphoto.com/photocommunity/forums/theforum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=6877
Saves an immense amount of water and also works
Have fun

 

[drewbarb]

Indeed- stop bath is not critical. Lots of folks use plain water; use of an acid stop bath will mostly just increase the life of your fixer (which is reusable and should be used to exhaustion). I use distilled white vinegar diluted 1:10 or so with water as stop bath, since the acid is the same type as most commercial stops. Whatever you use, use it once and dump it. Fixer, on the other hand is a little more critical, but not as much care is required as for developer. I mix up a couple of liters at a time and re-use it until it fails a test. Keep it in a full bottle away from light; record the number of rolls it has fixed and you will find it will always get exhausted at about the same time. I typically get about 45-50 rolls fixed safely in 2 liters of fix (I use Heico, unhardened).

 

[bsdunek]

I also just use water between developing and fixing. I only use stop bath for prints.
I do use a 'hypocheck' with my fixer just for good luck, both for films and prints.
As Shac says, "have fun". The reward of doing your own processing is worth it.

 

[Vics]

Yeah, I stopped using stop bath on film after 40 years in the darkroom and use water instead. Works fine.

 

[williams473]

I also use a 30 sec water rinse for cleaning out the developer. I use fixer on a one-shot basis (Ilford Hypam) so as long as development stops (which it will once the dev is removed and water is added) then I'm good.

Also can't sing enough praise about a product called Permawash. Saves a ton of water in the final rinse and ensures all the hypo is gone from your film.

Good luck!

 

[Roger Hicks]

I also use a 30 sec water rinse for cleaning out the developer. I use fixer on a one-shot basis (Ilford Hypam) so as long as development stops (which it will once the dev is removed and water is added) then I'm good.

Also can't sing enough praise about a product called Permawash. Saves a ton of water in the final rinse and ensures all the hypo is gone from your film.

Good luck!

The Ilford wash system uses the minimum possible amount of water and is faster, quicker and cheaper than Permawash, which is simply unnecessary with film -- unless, possibly (I don't know) you use hardening fixer.

The Ilford sequence is:

Drain fixer.

Fill tank with plain water at about the temperature of the fix bath. Invert 5x. Drain.

Fill with plain water at about the temperature of the fix bath. Invert 10x. Drain.

Fill with plain water at about the temperature of the fix bath. Invert 20x. Drain.

Plain water washes better than distilled water.

Because I live in a hard water area I then add a couple of minutes in distilled water, with maybe 10-20 inversions, then 30-60 seconds in distilled water with a small amount of Photo-Flo or similar. By 'a small amount' I mean about 1/2 the recommended dilution, e.g 1+300 or 1+400 instead of 1+200.

For fixer tests -- 'one-shot' fixing is unnecessarily extravagant -- see http://www.rogerandfrances.com/subscription/fixer exhaustion.html

Cheers,

R.

 

[v_roma]

Thank you all very much. Much appreciated!

I bought stop bath already so I will use it and do it "right" before I start deviating 🙂 I won't be overly worried about precise dilutions for stop bath and fixer.

Roger, that is the wash sequence I am planning on using because I am following your B&W book 🙂

 

[Roger Hicks]

Hi everyone,

I am getting ready to process a couple of rolls at home for the first time and was hoping to get answers to a couple of questions. I am going to try and develop two rolls (I understand the risk but the rolls are not critical) using Paterson tanks with a capacity of 600mL for two rolls (actually 580mL but I will be preparing chemicals assuming 600mL)

1. Stop bath questions
a) I am using Arista Premium stop bath (16 oz make 4 gal), which if I am understanding correctly is a 1+31 dilution. My thought was to dilute 20mL in 580mL of water, which is more like 1+30 but makes the dilutions easier. Is that difference significant? No
b) Since it is reusable, do you usually make more than one tank's worth since some small amount will be lost with each use? I normally work one-shot nowadays, but yes, you can make up a slight surfeit and re-use it until the color changes
c) Finally, how long does it keep in storage? I know it turns purple when exhausted but I am wondering if, otherwise, it keeps indefinitely.Pretty much. Day or weeks, anyway.
2. Fixer questions
a) 1 liter makes 5 liters, so 1+4 dilution, right? Yes
b) Similar to above, do you usually make more than one tank's worth? Yes. I normally make up a litre at a time.
c) How long does it keep in storage? (And, yes, I know to do a fixer test)Guess what: typically days or weeks.

Thank you very much. I am sure there will be more questions but I will start with these...

Sorry for not answering your other questions earlier.

Cheers,

R.

 

[user237428934]

Fixer is so cheap, I exchange it every month (that's 2-3 films at the moment).
The washing sequence Roger described, works good for me (incl. the distilled water washing at the and).
I live in an area with very soft and good water. Since I process without Photo-Flo I don't have problems with water spots on the negatives anymore.

 

[Fotohuis]

1. 600ml/(1+31) ml concentrate you have to use and the exact dilution is not critical. You won't loose a small amount because it is the second bath. You can keep it till it passes a pH > 5,5 and then the indicator goes to Blue/Purple.
2. Film Fixer, indeed 1+4 so for 600ml: 600/(1+4) ml concentrate. You can keep this for about 1/2 year. If it smells like Sulfur and it has particles it is not good anymore.
If it reaches the saturation of > 2g/ltr. Ag+ ions it is also finished. You can also test this with a PotassiumIodide solution. (Fixer test indicator or Ag+ test stripes). I can only recommended to use an Acid stop bath after the film development.

 

[v_roma]

Thank you all, lots of great information. So, since I don't live in a hard water area (as far as I know), I am thinking I will skip the photo-flo. This would be good as I understand it can gunk up reels over time more than any of the other chemicals.

EDIT: I checked and I live in an area with moderately hard water (i.e., between soft and hard). I guess I will find out if it is enough but I think I may start with just distilled water for the final wash or two without photo flo.

 

[user237428934]

Something about Photo-Flo: when I began developing, I used Photo-Flo because most recommend it, but I always had problems with water spots during drying of the film. Two weeks ago I didn't find the bottle of Photo-Flo and skipped it. What a surprise: the first time a film without major water spots.

 

[marcr1230]

I rinse with distilled water now - better results than photoflo

 

[Fotohuis]

If you have stains from the wetting agent, you have an overdose of it.
I am using a Brita (TM) filter and a minimum amount of the wetting agent (Rollei Super Wetting Agent) 1+2000. It is a very concentrated type of wetting agent. The regular dose is 1+1000. But I found it much better compared with Photo Flo from Kodak.