sevo
Fokutorendaburando
That's exactly what the problem is. I brought a lot of powder with me 3 years ago when I moved here, but was lucky they didn't check my luggage. I would love to try with a small amount to see what would happen.. I have a photostudio here, so that would explain a lot if they start to investigate, but still. I'm willing to try everything.
Personally I'd rather debate with the authorities about ready-made fixers and developers than about my imports of chemically pure fertilizer components. The latter have a dual use as explosives popular among terrorists, while the former are just bags of suspicious powder that will pass once they have made sure it is no drug or fertilizer...
rfaspen
[insert pithy phrase here]
It is a different ammonium chemical popular for illicit explosives. ammonium thiosulfate is not desirable for that purpose.....although it might still be possible?
sevo
Fokutorendaburando
It is a different ammonium chemical popular for illicit explosives. ammonium thiosulfate is not desirable for that purpose.....although it might still be possible?
Probably not - it is not listed as explosive in the MDS. Thiocyanate might qualify, though.
neelin
Established
Making raw fixer with usually easy to obtain chemicals, compliments of Henrique Sousa:
http://caffenolcolor.blogspot.pt/2015/08/mixed-fixer-potassium-sodium.html
http://caffenolcolor.blogspot.pt/2015/08/mixed-fixer-potassium-sodium.html
bowzart
Newbie
Found this on a search for Ecuador. It's discouraging that chemicals seem to be such a problem, as we've been considering moving there, and I build all of my chemicals from scratch to match my needs and those of my wife.
For fixer, do check with the pharmacy. Sodium thiosulphate has been used for a very long time in treating planter's warts. Ammonium thiosulphate is used in industrial fixers. Rapid fixers, and fixers used in color processing typically are based on it. It's more aggressive and smells worse. I've used C-41 fixer for black and white, with good results. A possible source of fixer might be the local hospital's x-ray lab. I suspect that not everyone has converted to digital x-ray down there yet.
I suspect that sodium sulphite may be available in some restaurant supply places or possibly even places that sell fishing equipment/supplies. Of course, down there, I doubt that anyone treats salmon eggs to use as bait, but up here in salmon country, they used to use, maybe still do, Na sulphite for that. I think before the regulations changed, I think that they used it on the lettuce in salad bars to keep it looking fresh over extended periods.
I can't guarantee success, or even accuracy for these possibilities, since I really haven't looked into these things. I've heard about them and filed them away fro when I might need them. It might be worth looking into.
The stuff I use would really be a problem, I think. Glycin. Paraphenyline diamine. Pyro and Pyrocatechin. Fortunately, a little of each of these goes a long way.
For fixer, do check with the pharmacy. Sodium thiosulphate has been used for a very long time in treating planter's warts. Ammonium thiosulphate is used in industrial fixers. Rapid fixers, and fixers used in color processing typically are based on it. It's more aggressive and smells worse. I've used C-41 fixer for black and white, with good results. A possible source of fixer might be the local hospital's x-ray lab. I suspect that not everyone has converted to digital x-ray down there yet.
I suspect that sodium sulphite may be available in some restaurant supply places or possibly even places that sell fishing equipment/supplies. Of course, down there, I doubt that anyone treats salmon eggs to use as bait, but up here in salmon country, they used to use, maybe still do, Na sulphite for that. I think before the regulations changed, I think that they used it on the lettuce in salad bars to keep it looking fresh over extended periods.
I can't guarantee success, or even accuracy for these possibilities, since I really haven't looked into these things. I've heard about them and filed them away fro when I might need them. It might be worth looking into.
The stuff I use would really be a problem, I think. Glycin. Paraphenyline diamine. Pyro and Pyrocatechin. Fortunately, a little of each of these goes a long way.
mark108
Newbie
Pool-supply "chlorine neutralizer" works great
Pool-supply "chlorine neutralizer" works great
Sodium thiosulfate from a pool-supply store is the only fixing agent that I use for negative film and prints. I live in a rural area where darkroom chemicals have to be ordered by mail. I got tired of waiting for shipments.
I buy "Thio-Trine Chlorine and Bromine Neutralizer" made by AB (Applied Biochemists, Alpharetta, Georgia, USA). It's not cheap. Hopefully you can find a locally produced brand instead. Check hot tub supply stores as well as pool-supply stores.
It's the penhydrate form (crystals). So I have to use more (by weight) when using a recipe that call for the anhydrous form.
Washed crystals should be reasonably pure, I would think. Obviously, I haven't had it analyzed... But consider that no pool supply or photo manufactuer actually makes hypo -- they buy it in bulk from a chemical supplier. Only certain grades are available, and no facdtory buys a higher grade than it needs Contaminants are usually byproducs of preparation/synthesis, and may or may not matter in a given application.
A second question is whether *any* slow fixer mixture (a fixer mixed from hypo = sodium thiosulfate) will meet your needs. That depens on what film/paper you are developing and on your total darkroom process.
Slow fixer is not recommended for tabula-grain film such as Kodak T-MAX or Ilford Delta. According to Kodak, it will not completely fix tabular-grain film--at least not in a feasible time.
Another drawback with any film is increased wet-time. This matters more at higher temperatures. It can be addressed if necessary by using "tropical" mixtures (with an inert salt such as sodium sulphAte added to produce a more hypertonic solution that won't cause the emulsion to swell).
So there's trade-off: slow fixer is odorless, and has a longer shelf life (especially in acidic, hardening fixers). Rapid fixer is faster, but it's also smelly, more expensive, and tends to have a shorter shelf-life (all else being equal). Lots of people use plain hypo (just hypo and water) for fixing prints--especially if they are going to be toned. In general, there seem to be more people using slow fixer for paper than for film.
All fixer solutions (fast or slow) will have a shot shelf-life unless an oxygen scavenger (almost always sodium sulfIte) is added in liberal amounts. That doesn't matter if you always mix them fresh and discard any leftovers.
The fixer I use for both film and paper is hypo plus sodium sulfIte. I make the stock solution with distilled water, and dilute with tap water to make the working solution. Since sodium sulphIte is a mild bass, this is generally called "alkaline fixer". An acid stop bath is usually a good idea when using an alkaline fixer, IMHO.
Just for the record, here are all the types of slow fixer you can mix by adding other ingredients to hypo:
* "plain hypo" (sodium thiosulfate and water only)
* a alkaline fixer (non-hardening, non-acid)
* an acid non-hardening fixer (rare)
* an acid, hardening fixer (toxic)
* a formalin/formaldehyde non-acid hardening fixer (very toxic and gives off toxic vapors)
BTW, it is possible to make ammonium thiosulfate from sodium thiosulfate by reacting it with ammonium chloride (with sodium chloride as a byproduct). I haven't tried it--I don't like the smell of rapid fixer.
Salt in a fixer mixture usually doesn't do any harm, but it doesn't do any good, either. It was tried in the early days of photography, but never worked well (according to various sources)--and film and paper were *much* less light-sensitive in those days. As soon as Herschel discovered that sodium thoisulfate (then known as sodium hyposulfate) would fix silver halogen photographic media, the use of salt was abandoned.
Pool-supply "chlorine neutralizer" works great
Sodium thiosulfate from a pool-supply store is the only fixing agent that I use for negative film and prints. I live in a rural area where darkroom chemicals have to be ordered by mail. I got tired of waiting for shipments.
I buy "Thio-Trine Chlorine and Bromine Neutralizer" made by AB (Applied Biochemists, Alpharetta, Georgia, USA). It's not cheap. Hopefully you can find a locally produced brand instead. Check hot tub supply stores as well as pool-supply stores.
It's the penhydrate form (crystals). So I have to use more (by weight) when using a recipe that call for the anhydrous form.
Washed crystals should be reasonably pure, I would think. Obviously, I haven't had it analyzed... But consider that no pool supply or photo manufactuer actually makes hypo -- they buy it in bulk from a chemical supplier. Only certain grades are available, and no facdtory buys a higher grade than it needs Contaminants are usually byproducs of preparation/synthesis, and may or may not matter in a given application.
A second question is whether *any* slow fixer mixture (a fixer mixed from hypo = sodium thiosulfate) will meet your needs. That depens on what film/paper you are developing and on your total darkroom process.
Slow fixer is not recommended for tabula-grain film such as Kodak T-MAX or Ilford Delta. According to Kodak, it will not completely fix tabular-grain film--at least not in a feasible time.
Another drawback with any film is increased wet-time. This matters more at higher temperatures. It can be addressed if necessary by using "tropical" mixtures (with an inert salt such as sodium sulphAte added to produce a more hypertonic solution that won't cause the emulsion to swell).
So there's trade-off: slow fixer is odorless, and has a longer shelf life (especially in acidic, hardening fixers). Rapid fixer is faster, but it's also smelly, more expensive, and tends to have a shorter shelf-life (all else being equal). Lots of people use plain hypo (just hypo and water) for fixing prints--especially if they are going to be toned. In general, there seem to be more people using slow fixer for paper than for film.
All fixer solutions (fast or slow) will have a shot shelf-life unless an oxygen scavenger (almost always sodium sulfIte) is added in liberal amounts. That doesn't matter if you always mix them fresh and discard any leftovers.
The fixer I use for both film and paper is hypo plus sodium sulfIte. I make the stock solution with distilled water, and dilute with tap water to make the working solution. Since sodium sulphIte is a mild bass, this is generally called "alkaline fixer". An acid stop bath is usually a good idea when using an alkaline fixer, IMHO.
Just for the record, here are all the types of slow fixer you can mix by adding other ingredients to hypo:
* "plain hypo" (sodium thiosulfate and water only)
* a alkaline fixer (non-hardening, non-acid)
* an acid non-hardening fixer (rare)
* an acid, hardening fixer (toxic)
* a formalin/formaldehyde non-acid hardening fixer (very toxic and gives off toxic vapors)
BTW, it is possible to make ammonium thiosulfate from sodium thiosulfate by reacting it with ammonium chloride (with sodium chloride as a byproduct). I haven't tried it--I don't like the smell of rapid fixer.
Salt in a fixer mixture usually doesn't do any harm, but it doesn't do any good, either. It was tried in the early days of photography, but never worked well (according to various sources)--and film and paper were *much* less light-sensitive in those days. As soon as Herschel discovered that sodium thoisulfate (then known as sodium hyposulfate) would fix silver halogen photographic media, the use of salt was abandoned.
I have no idea how pure this is, but I know suppliers of pool chemicals may have sodium thiosulfate.
As for "fixing" with table salt (NaCl) well ... no. There is no scientific evidence that it works as a long term solution, as far as I have been able to ascertain.
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Steve M.
Veteran
Mark's helpful and thoughtful post should be a sticky. In any case, I did a copy and paste into my word processing software to save it. Good stuff.
mark108
Newbie
PPD in hair dye
PPD in hair dye
bowzart,
You might be able to find PPD in a black hair dye. I haven't tried it.
I've read that all "permanent" dyes for grey hair contain some PPD. PPD hair dye kits typically include two parts: one containing the PPD (and possibly some dyes), and a second colorless part containing "developer"/oxidizer==the two parts must be mixed together before use on hair.
There is a lot of concern lately about the health risks of PPD in hair dyes. According to press reports, a woman in England suffered an allergic reaction to L'Oreal Preference hair dye in November, 2011 https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2011/nov/28/could-hair-dye-kill-you
Without a doubt, partially-oxidized PPD is a sever allegen in some people. Oddly, neither PPD or fully-oxidized PPD is an allergen (according to on-line sources). But to be fair, some people have life-threatening allergic reactions to peanuts or shellfish. And "natural" and "organic" products may contain even worse allergens than PPD. There is no such thing as "abolutely safe"-- even water is poisonous in large enough doses. Fortunately, most of us don't drink our developers or put them on our hair.)
PPD has been suggested as a human caricinogen, but epidemeological studies seem inconclusive. The EU limits PPD in hair dyes to 2%. Don't know about other regions. One product that doesn't include PPD is "Grecian Formula" -- it contains sugar of lead (lead acetate)!
Other ingredients in PPD hair color (if they are dyes) might be a problem for use as a developer. (Of course, some photographers like staining developers such as pyro.)
I've read that tHe first use of PPD in a hair dye was in 1907 by Eugene Schuller, a French chemist. He formed a company called Francaise de Teintures Inoffensives pour Cheveux or “French Harmless Hair Dye Company." He later changed the company name to "L'Oreal". (Of course I have no idea how current L'Oreal products are formulated--the company has a sterling reputation.)
Anyway, it's easier just to order PPD intended for darkroom use, provided you can get it.
PPD in hair dye
bowzart,
You might be able to find PPD in a black hair dye. I haven't tried it.
I've read that all "permanent" dyes for grey hair contain some PPD. PPD hair dye kits typically include two parts: one containing the PPD (and possibly some dyes), and a second colorless part containing "developer"/oxidizer==the two parts must be mixed together before use on hair.
There is a lot of concern lately about the health risks of PPD in hair dyes. According to press reports, a woman in England suffered an allergic reaction to L'Oreal Preference hair dye in November, 2011 https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2011/nov/28/could-hair-dye-kill-you
Without a doubt, partially-oxidized PPD is a sever allegen in some people. Oddly, neither PPD or fully-oxidized PPD is an allergen (according to on-line sources). But to be fair, some people have life-threatening allergic reactions to peanuts or shellfish. And "natural" and "organic" products may contain even worse allergens than PPD. There is no such thing as "abolutely safe"-- even water is poisonous in large enough doses. Fortunately, most of us don't drink our developers or put them on our hair.)
PPD has been suggested as a human caricinogen, but epidemeological studies seem inconclusive. The EU limits PPD in hair dyes to 2%. Don't know about other regions. One product that doesn't include PPD is "Grecian Formula" -- it contains sugar of lead (lead acetate)!
Other ingredients in PPD hair color (if they are dyes) might be a problem for use as a developer. (Of course, some photographers like staining developers such as pyro.)
I've read that tHe first use of PPD in a hair dye was in 1907 by Eugene Schuller, a French chemist. He formed a company called Francaise de Teintures Inoffensives pour Cheveux or “French Harmless Hair Dye Company." He later changed the company name to "L'Oreal". (Of course I have no idea how current L'Oreal products are formulated--the company has a sterling reputation.)
Anyway, it's easier just to order PPD intended for darkroom use, provided you can get it.
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