Farmer's Reducer for film?

I have few too dense negatives difficult to print. Can I use normal

farmer's reducer? Is it safe too use diluted?.

Yes, you can use Farmer's reducer on silver-based negatives, but be

careful: You must not leave the negative in the reducer until it looks

right, because the reducer continues to work a while when the negative

is already in the water bath again. I would recommend not using too

strong a solution.

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If the negative is unique, consider duplicating it. Also, practice on

a scrap negative.

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Proceed as follows:

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1) Presoak the negative in water.

2) Dip it into the reducer for a short while, then put it in water

again.

3) Wait for a minute or so.

4) Repeat 2) and 3) until the negative looks right.

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There is one more thing to consider: The reducer will also reduce the

thin areas. If the negative is only difficult to print because

exposure times are long, but it is otherwise OK, I would recommend

living with the long exposures and not reducing the negative.

Alternatively, look at proportional or superproportional reducers.

Farmers reducer used with solution A and B mixed together is a

cutting reducer i.e., it reduces densities equally across high and

low density areas. This means (unless you overexposed the neg badly)

you risk losing your critical shadow densities. I've heard that you

can use solution A followed by solution B and that gives you a

proportional reducer i.e., the reduction is proportional to the

density values, so high densities are reduced more than low densities

and you get a lower contrast range. Alternatively, you can use a

super proportional reducer which affects the highlight densities a

lot more which means you will get an even lower contrast range.

Photographers formulary has this stuff. Hope this helps.

DJ

I read that a dilute Farmer's reducer is the cheapest proportional

reducer.

Antii, Unless you have very valuable negatives, don't bother. You will

end up with no density in the shadow areas and still too much density

in the highlight areas. Just re-shoot and learn from the experience.

Negative reduction is possible but very hard to achieve tyhe desired

results. So don't waste the time doing it unless you are very

practiced in the darkroom. I can do it but I'm also very good in the

darkroom and it doesn't always come out right anyway. So just go out

and shoot the stuff again and learn from your mistakes. James

James, so how does one learn unless they try it? In fact, non-valuable

negatives are the best ones to try and learn on.

Terry, to answer your question, bleaching with ferricyanide is not the

answer to the dilema unless you are very precise and accomplished in

the darkroom. It is not something to use to overcome a problem with

exposure. It is however "very unpredictable." Ferricyanide acts on all

the silver equally. Therefore the shadow densities get eaten up before

any appreciable density changes occur in the highlight areas of the

neg. What you end up with is a negative that has no density in the

shadows and still the same densities in the highlight areas so it just

gets worse. If you have a 4 or 5 stop "overly dense" negative

that is already 2 or 3 stops overexposed, then and only then will you

have a chance to modify your negative in a positive manner. So with

this in mind I hope you see the efficacy of my statement to the

question. By all means have at it and try reducing with Farmers

Reducer. But don't expect an improvement in the neg. It will have nice

blacks but no detail in the blacks. James

James,

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The talk was about using proportional reducers to help fix these

negatives. And you advice was you might be able to do it because you

were so good in the darkroom, but mere mortals couldn't do it.

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I was just trying to point out that just saying don't do it because

you aren't skilled enough isn't helpful.

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Maybe Farmer's Reducer isn't the best thing to use, so what is? And

the way people learn is by doing. If the neagtives are too dense to

print well, you don't lose anything be practicing on them, or if you

want to learn, you can intentionally over expose some film and

practice on it.

I'm trying to keep the inexperienced from trying to fix a mistake on

an important piece of film. I am experienced in the darkroom yes. And

I still get uneven results with reducers. It is not a good way to fix

mistakes. I want the new photographers/printers to refine their

exposure techniques so they don't have to resort to such extreme

methods in the first place. If they want to experiment with reducing

negatives and prints then by all means do it. That's how I learned but

it should never become a crutch. Even with proportional reducers there

is to much chance of reducing your shadows to nothing. Jmaes