Stop Bath vs Tap Water?

As mentioned in a previous post I currently process my negitives in

the following way using DEKTOL:

 

1 developer(5mins)

2 water(1min)

3 fixer(5mins)

4 water(15mins)

 

For step 2, what would it benifit me to use Stop Bath instead of

water? Is there a difference in the amount of time that I should use

the stop bath for if I do use it?

 

Thanks!

Stop Bath stops development more quickly as it's the PH opposite of developer (Acid Vs Alkaline). It will also help in allowing your Fix to last longer as there is less carryover of developer to the fix.

For negatives, if you are using Dektol, I would not use acid stop bath because there is slight risk of bubbling damage to gelatin. Just use plain water.

 

In general, acid stop bath is quicker to halt the developing action but as the ability to reduce developer carryover, plain water rinse (water, agitate by inverting tank for 15 seconds, dump, refill, agitate for another 30 seconds, dump) is better.

 

If fixer comes into developer, it is a big problem -- because thiosulfate is a strong silver halide solvent, dichroic fog formation is likely, thereby staining the print in a strange way. (The color is often different, even after toning) But a bit of developer carryover to stop and then to fixer is not a problem.

Carlos, forget the stop bath. YOU NEED TO GET RID OF THE DEKTOL! Seriously, Dektol is a paper developer and is only used on film if you want super high contrast (like only black and white, no grays) and monster grain.

 

Get yourself some D76 and use it one-shot (i.e. use it once and throw it out, use the fixer one-shot as well) per the directions at either full strength or 1+1. Just use water between developer and fixer. Don't worry about stop bath for film ever again, it is a waste of time. Just pour in the developer and slam the tank on the counter a few times to remove the bubbles, then invert 10 times (once per second, count "one" flip tank "one" flip tank, "two" flip tank "two" flip tank, etc.). After that, invert the tank 5 times at the beginning of each minute of development (once per second again). Then dump out the developer and rinse (i.e. fill tank and empty) 3 times with water (no stop bath). Now fill with fixer, slam the tank on the counter a few times, invert 10 times, and then invert 5 times at the beginning of each minute after that. After that, depending on the film, you should wash with Kodak HCA (or similar) and rinse for 5-10 minutes in running water.

 

Do not over agitate (as that will lead to strange problems like uneven development and weird streaks coming down from the slots in the film, etc.). Under agitiation is better than over agitation.

 

Determine a routine for yourself and stick to it to maintain consistancy.

Water bath is good: While soaking in water, the less exposed areas of your negs still have a chance to develop while the well exposed ones stop developing very quickly...

I agree about getting rid of the Dektol, use PMK in which case you don't need a stop bath, or HC-110 and use household vinegar 1:15, you are just stopping development, not a tank. Pat

I have always used water instead of stop. Why spend the extra money on chemicals when you don't need them?

I had a more indepth answer to your question which i cannot find so i will make this one directly to the point. I would not use either water or stop bath it just wastes your time. Also i would us a different developer say D-76 (although i would recomend Diafine. Diafine is a great two bath developer that increases your film speed, has set development times no matter what film you are using and best of all has about a 10 degree storage/proccesing temp.[its somewhere between 60-75 degrees F.] Diafine is a developer that gives you maximum results with minimum effort and time.) Sound too good to be true? I can assure you that it is not.

If you have any questions feel free to e-mail me. I hope that I can help.

I second the Diafine recommendation. No worries about over development, temperature, or agitation, plus economy! Results are quite excellent, most negatives will print on 2/3 grade paper with good shadow detail. The only draw back with diafine is grain size is about average. Other developers such as Xtol and Ilfosal-S give finer grain with excellent sharpness.

Water or stop bath can be used after development. As others have pointed out, stop bath will be quicker, but in practice, a water bath will also stop the development rather quickly, especially since by the end of the development time, it is going rather slow anyway.

 

In the past, ILFORD recommended using only water. The reason was that if the development is halted to quickly, you can get acid-shock reticulation, which is the result of the rather violent chemical reaction taking place on the surface of the film. With today's films, and less aggressive stop baths (such as the ILFORD ILFOSTOP, which is citric acid based rather than acetic), the danger is eliminated. However, if you are using Dektol, you may run a risk with using a stop bath, as the developer is much more active than those usually used for film.

 

I would not recommend skipping this step altogether. While that may work okay with some developers, in many cases it can lead to dichroic fog on the film, especially if the fixer is not totally fresh. This fog will show up as a slightly silvery sheen on the film, or can sometimes have a color to it, resulting in an apparent stain. The use of a stop bath or at least a good water rinse will eliminate this possibility.

 

David Carper

ILFORD Imaging, USA

> ILFOSTOP, which is citric acid based rather than acetic

 

Maybe I should ask directly, but I have a few questions about this.

 

1. citric acid is a stronger acid than acetic acid, and I wonder why it is chosen. I imagine this is probably because of lack of odor and ease of making concentrates, but then isn't it misleading to imply as if citric acid stop bath were gentler than acetic acid stop bath? (though the difference is not that big)

 

2. Citric acid can act as a sequestering agent, and may undermine the hardening activity of alum hardener if the user choose to add to Hypam fixer. Does Ilford recommend the use of new stop bath, fixer and hardener together if the user choose to? (Any technical measure taken to overcome possible problems from gelatin pre-swollen with citric acid, and some carryover to fixing bath?)

 

Thanks,