daninjc
Well-known
Hi All,
More troubles with my first developing!
I have a whole bunch of triX developed last week in d76 1:1 and fixed with freestyle powder fixer, that came out quite milky and they scan badly. I can see the images quite well, but they are foggy and uniformly gray in the shadows. The spaces in the negatives between one frame and the other is not perfectly transparent as usual, but unifromly gray/milky as well.
questions:
Should I try re-fixing them? In this case what's the best way of doing that? Anyone has done it? (films are also already cut! my bad for not noticing it before cutting them)
What could cause the bad fixing (assuming that's the problem)? I fixed for 5 minutes with 5-10 agitations every minute. I diluted the fixer with filtered water not distilled - but that shouldn't be a big deal.
Thanks a lot for your help, it's been great!
More troubles with my first developing!
I have a whole bunch of triX developed last week in d76 1:1 and fixed with freestyle powder fixer, that came out quite milky and they scan badly. I can see the images quite well, but they are foggy and uniformly gray in the shadows. The spaces in the negatives between one frame and the other is not perfectly transparent as usual, but unifromly gray/milky as well.
questions:
Should I try re-fixing them? In this case what's the best way of doing that? Anyone has done it? (films are also already cut! my bad for not noticing it before cutting them)
What could cause the bad fixing (assuming that's the problem)? I fixed for 5 minutes with 5-10 agitations every minute. I diluted the fixer with filtered water not distilled - but that shouldn't be a big deal.
Thanks a lot for your help, it's been great!
Last edited:
ZorkiKat
ЗоркийК&
Another dip in the fix should help.
Did you mix the fixer powder according to the directions given? How does the fixer solution look now? 5 minutes in a fresh fixing bath, even with the non-rapid variety, should give you a clear, though not necessarily fully-fixed TX negative.
Given that the fixer came as a powder, I would assume that it is of the plain hypo variety, not the rapid kind since the latter comes as a liquid. The milkiness in the negative is an indicator of improper fixing. If your fixing temperature is cooler than 20C, you may need more than 5 minutes in the fixing bath. Plain hypo types require about 10 minutes to work in emulsions like TX.
It could also be that the fixer is already dead or weakened from inappropriate mixing?
Did you mix the fixer powder according to the directions given? How does the fixer solution look now? 5 minutes in a fresh fixing bath, even with the non-rapid variety, should give you a clear, though not necessarily fully-fixed TX negative.
Given that the fixer came as a powder, I would assume that it is of the plain hypo variety, not the rapid kind since the latter comes as a liquid. The milkiness in the negative is an indicator of improper fixing. If your fixing temperature is cooler than 20C, you may need more than 5 minutes in the fixing bath. Plain hypo types require about 10 minutes to work in emulsions like TX.
It could also be that the fixer is already dead or weakened from inappropriate mixing?
daninjc
Well-known
The fixer was fresh, but honestly I didn't know the difference b/w rapid and normal fixer, and I fixed 5 minutes. My bad... and I thought I did my homeworks!
So it looks like I could re-fix. Since I already cut the film, what's the best way to go? Just dump them in a tray filled with fixer and agitate for 5 more minutes? Any risk of "over-fixing"?
So it looks like I could re-fix. Since I already cut the film, what's the best way to go? Just dump them in a tray filled with fixer and agitate for 5 more minutes? Any risk of "over-fixing"?
Last edited:
Mablo
Well-known
The risk of over fixing is very small. Just dump the neg strips in your developer tank and refix for 5-10 minutes and wash the negs carefully afterwards. They should get better.
nikon_sam
Shooter of Film...
Since they've been dried, presoak them in water then into the fixer...
If you're using a tray you can just watch them as they clear...
Rinse then hang to dry again...
daninjc
Well-known
Re-fixing the negatives for about 10 minutes worked perfectly, thanks everyone for the advice!
FrozenInTime
Well-known
You should check your fixer mix:
The check for fixer life, I always do, is to throw a undeveloped film off-cut into the top of the tank.
That piece of film should completely clear in about 1-2 minutes.
I fix for about twice that clearing time.
The check for fixer life, I always do, is to throw a undeveloped film off-cut into the top of the tank.
That piece of film should completely clear in about 1-2 minutes.
I fix for about twice that clearing time.