Freakscene
Obscure member
Freakscene
Obscure member
Yes, I’ve used Fomafix for FB paper. I used 1+5 for about 1.5 min based on a fixation test. 1+5 suggests it is slightly stronger than Hypam. Ammonium thiosulfate comes as standard as a ~60% solution in water, so I doubt it’s really much different, but it might be. If Foma don’t recommend higher dilutions there could be a reason, or they may just have not put that on the label. I tend to do rather than think with film these days.
I have also used two-bath fixation for film, but generally don’t anymore. I just save up films, use chemsitry and carry on. If I was working professionally and had to consider material costs I’d consider working that way to save some running costs.
Marty
Freakscene
Obscure member
Thanks Erik, on both counts. I enjoy the consistency of the images you post here very much; it speaks volumes about control of the process you use.
Marty
mcfingon
Western Australia
Thanks for all the info Marty and I enjoyed the Plus-X pic. One quirk of the image is that it the background reminds me of a melting emulsion look...Now, go take some photos. And later, when you develop the film, time clearing or measure the silver in the fixing, and forget all this. Kodak worked this out a long time ago. All you need to do is run with it.
On Plus-X (sniff) fixed with Fomafix liquid 1+5 (as recommended by Foma) for 5 minutes (2x the clearing time).
Marty
John Mc
miha
Established
Thaks Marty. Single bath with FB for 1.5 min, correct?
Freakscene
Obscure member
Thanks John. Taken in Hradčany, Prague, in what seems like the dim past. I’ve been back recently but didn’t walk past here; the wall is probably repaired and painted now.
Marty
Ted Striker
Well-known
Wow...that's crazy. I typically fix up to 16 rolls of TMAX 400 film per batch of Ilford Rapid fixer. Have done so for almost 10 years. Never a problem.
Freakscene
Obscure member
Yes, but test for proper fixation, it worked for me with Foma FB paper, but the time for others may vary.
Marty
Freakscene
Obscure member
Here: https://scholarworks.rit.edu/cgi/vi....au/&httpsredir=1&article=1836&context=theses is a thesis on fixing. It explains everything.
Marty
Marty
jawarden
Well-known
What is a "batch"? 500ml? 1L? A gallon? When I fix 120 I mix 500ml and would not fix 16 rolls with it.
I agree that fixing only three rolls seems overly cautious, and testing is easy enough to do.
retinax
Well-known
Rather metallic, more so from the outside, through the bottle, darker than e.g. silver tableware though.
oldwino
Well-known
That's typical for me, too. I get about 20 rolls per liter with Tri-X or Kentmere 400 or HP5.
Of course, I do the clearing test before every roll when the roll count is getting up there.
Russell W. Barnes
Well-known
That's good to know, Ted: Thanks. I do two films at a time so that'll be three fixes for my five TMax films. But I'll keep my eye on things. I also use Ilford rapid fixer.
charjohncarter
Veteran
Marty great picture, and great fixer explanation. I liked the last part just do what Kodak tells you to do.
Ted Striker
Well-known
Good question. Answer: 1 liter.
Freakscene
Obscure member
So is the bottle transparent glass or plastic?
What usually precipitates in heavily used fixer is the silver-thiosulfate complex. It looks black but can look metallic if it is smooth. I have only ever seen it in machine processors or where fixer was contaminated with developer.
Flecks that are white or yellowish are sulfure.
Flecks that are other colours are antihalation / antistatic layers and dyes used for sensitization.
The reaction constants push very heavily towards the silver-thiosulfate complex. If metallic silver is precipitating from your fixer something very odd is going on. From a practical perspective, however, if the clearing time is less than 2x that of fresh fixer, and/or the silver content is under 6g/L, you should be fine. So no need to worry.
Checking exactly what is going on is too much trouble to worry about. It involves a lot of technically invested (or expensive) testing.
Edit! Do you use stop bath, or rinse, or put your film straight from the developer into the fix? There is nothing wrong with that, in the sense that your negatives will be fine, although your fixer will need discarding more frequently due to the alkali and silver from the developer. Your fixer may be receiving residual silver from the developer.
Marty
retinax
Well-known
Yup, translucent plastic bottle.
Thank you for the help, I think it's harmless then. Still weird that it happened so quickly and yes,
I always give the film a thorough rinse before it goes in the fix.
Thank you for the help, I think it's harmless then. Still weird that it happened so quickly and yes,
I always give the film a thorough rinse before it goes in the fix.
miha
Established
Good paper. Except for the Hypo elimination part (amonia) which is not recommended any more.
What caught my attention is the fact that the paper recommends the use of the second bath or a washaid in order to either prevent the formation of double and triple silver thiosulfate complexes (second fixing bath) or to promote removing them from the emulsion by swelling the gelatine allowing the large complexes to diffuse out into the wash water (washaid).
The above is in-line with the Ilford Processing and Finishing Ilford PB papers document.
Freakscene
Obscure member
Indeed, the basic approach has been understood for a long time.
Ammonia works, but later work showed that exposure to it was bad for archival stability of film and paper.
Marty
leicapixie
Well-known
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