Fixer sugestions

[drew_back]

Does leaving film in fixer solution to long harm negatives..Im useing ilford

rapid fixer it says 2 to 5 minutes but which would be ideal..Mixture is

dilluted 1:4 I do notice some of my negatives seem to have a purple tint..

[ronald_moravec1]

Just take 1" from a new roll, fix in new fix for 2 min, and then another frame for 7 min. You will know for sure if the fix is making it blue. Do it in daylight without developing.

 

Cut a new leader and use as normal.

 

As far as the image is concerned, I would never over dev, fix, or wash.

[SolaresLarrave]

Test your fixer on a strip of film and fix for twice the time it takes the fixer to clear the

film. In other words, if the fixer (diluted, ready to use) takes two minutes to make the film

strip transparent, fix for four minutes, agitating within reason (10 seconds every 30

seconds). That'll give you a safe margin.

 

I too use this fixer and like it a lot. To me, it's better than Kodak's (which I probably mixed

the wrong way).

 

As Ronald says above, it's not a good idea to overdevelop or overfix.

[SCL]

You don't say which film you are using. some do have a magenta tint. I found, for instance, when using Efke 25, that a two minute pre-wash in water, effectively removes the magenta tint.

[lee_shively]

Fresh fixer takes less time to fix than fixer that has been used a lot. Since the range is 2-5 minutes, use 2 minutes at first and extend the time as you fix more film. Test the fixer by taking a film leader and dip it into the fixer. Time how long it takes to clear the film. Double that time to fully fix the film. Fresh fixer will usually clear film in 30 seconds or less but stick with 2 minutes like Ilford says to begin with.

 

Don't exceed the manufacturer's recommendations for number of rolls per amount of solution.

 

Some films take longer to fix than others. Tmax film requires longer fixing times for instance. It also exhausts fixer faster than Tri-X, Plus-X, HP5+, FP4+, etc.

 

Theoretically, fixer can bleach film if it's left in too long. In practice, I've never seen it happen. It's just unnecessary.

 

The color of the film base varies by brand.

[david j.lee]

i fix with rapid fixer 1+4 for 5 minutes and also do a 5 minutes pre-wash. no problems so

far.

[Troll]

The purpose of fixer is to get rid of the unconverted (and still light-sensitive) silver. Leaving the film in fixer too long will allow it to also get rid of some of the converted silver, which you don't want to happen. A few extra minutes in the fixer is okay, but try not to make a habit of leaving it for extended periods.

[stuart_richardson]

You also don't want to overfix because it can ruin the archival life of the material. This is

much more important for fiber paper. With a rapid fixer, you only want to fix it for 1-2

minutes...just enough for it to fix the emulsion, but before it saturates the fibers of the

paper. Once it saturates the fibers of the paper, it's all over...your archival stability is ruined.

Your print will last years instead of decades.

[alex_lofquist]

I once forgot a film in the fixer for over half an hour. When I retrieved it the images had disappeared. (The film was a 35mm scientific high contrast emulsion and the fixer was Kodak rapid fixer.)

[elmar001]

Are you prewashing the film for 2 minutes? When I prewash mine, the water pours out purple. Is your developer purple when you pour out?

[richard jepsen]

Leaving film in Ilford Rapid Fix for 5 min should do no harm but it is best to fix only as long as one needs. The Film Developing Cookbook recommends fixing new tech films such as T-Max 100/400 or Delta 100 for 3 times the clear time. Traditional films such as Tri-X or FP-4 plus are fixed for 2x the clear time.

[SolaresLarrave]

Good! I'm glad to see confirmed that Kodak film needs longer fixing times!

 

I use only Ilford, Fuji, Agfa and Arista stuff for this very reason. The first time I took a roll of

T-Max out of the tank to hang it to dry, I nearly choked when I saw how milky the edges

were... Later I learned that a fixer bath takes care of this, and that it's better to add a couple

of minutes to the fixing time when using Kodak film.

 

There you go!

[laurentvuillard]

Answer from a professional chemist which I am: This is an important issue in home; process. There is a slight risk of detrimental reactions if you fix too long (>10 min in rapid fixer, and this is far to be obvious). Usually the risk is not to fix enough! A poorly fixes film will NOT last! A rapid fixer (hypam 1+4) will do the job in 4 min at 20C. (You need 4 min fix if you use hardener anyway) The old suggestion by kodak was to immerse a piece of undevelopped film in some fixer , observe it while fixing and measure how long it takes to clear, then double this time. As to the colour: the base has a very faint hue which varies with the film, this will remain. HOWEVER films are dyed to ensure proper chromatic response (T max are particularly spectacular for this). Usually a film just out of fixer retains some of the dye hence has a rather marked colour that will wash off with post fix rinse. This colour must go otherwise this is a sure sign that your rinse steps are bad. (You may wish to leave the film on water for a few min prior to proper runnong water rinse and you'll see the water colour! The real issue for permanence is at least 20 min running water preferrably 30min (water must be over 15degrees C!!) ; There is no need for a Niagara falls flow but the flow MUST pass through the reels (i.e. opening a tap on the reels is usually not very efficient). That's how I do it (following manufacturer advice) and that's how my grandfather negs from the 30's were processed and they are still OK which is a good tilme validation. A bit of caution as to Ansel Adam's advice on "archival" qualities for negatives, most of what he says is not backed much evidence, a film is thin and washes well and AA complicates things without necessity (selenium and so on) ! This is another issue for fibre papers where obviously a washing aid chemical is almost necessary. I hope this helps !

[laurentvuillard]

PS : Richard Jepsen, is right "new" (i.e. more recent films) : Tmax & Ilford delta need longer times , do not be shy in using them they'll keep as well as the traditional ones if fixed a bit longer and washed the same! PS2: wash with tap water not deionized as the ions from natural water exchange with the ions from the fixer trapped by the film. Tap water washes better , switch to demineralised (=deionised) for the final rinse to avoid spots.