![]() The unused silver salts contained in the emulsion and the sodium thiosulphate (fixer) (rapid fixers are composed of ammonium thiosulphate) must go through dozens of chemical changes together before forming compounds capable of being washed from the emulsion or paper fibers. The removal of undeveloped silver halide from a photographic emulsion by fixation is a complicated process. The reason for this is that it is not possible to effectively wash photographic materials of any kind unless they have first been properly fixed. No discussion of the correct washing of photographic materials can be adequate without first mentioning correct fixation. So much has been learned in the past several years about washing and how it relates to the longevity of photographs that it has become necessary for us to change our approach to the washing of photographic materials almost completely. Photographic permanence is a subject that requires several articles for adequate treatment, but the correct washing of photographic materials is by far one of the most important aspects of photographic permanence and is therefore the subject of this article. From the beginnings of photography when Fox-Talbot was marginally successful at fixing the photographic image with table salt, to the present when plastic papers tend to yellow and crack, color dyes quickly fade, and a wide variety of outside forces work to destroy what we have labored so hard to produce, photographers have continuously fought to find ways to make their images more permanent. The greatest technical difficulty that faces and has always faced photographers is that of permanence. If you have a friend with whom you wish to share this information, your friend must visit this web site to get the article. No other reproduction, distribution or other use of any kind is authorized. (You may print 1 (ONE) copy of this article for your personal use. I have removed water spots with a cloth moisened with photoflow water too, and sucessfully, but you did ask for foolproof.Fixing, Washing & Toning Fine B&W Photographs ![]() But if it doesn`t try following the directions. I told you someone would say not to use more than a little Photoflow. You never know about solution capacity either. Keep in mind there may be various causes all at the same time.Ĭommunity dark rooms can be pretty filthy places. To pin it all down, I would filter the fix, not reuse it, add an air filter, add a water filter in stages to see if the problem goes away. Pure science would tell you to change only one variable at a time, although there are complex experimental models where more than one variable can be changed. Before that I was Spot tones best customer. It is very hard to prove where these particles come from, but the filters and fresh fix produces negs that do not need spoting. I had the problem come back if I reused the fix and it set a week or so. I also added a 3 micron water filter and a hepa air filter. I switched to TF4 two years ago and do not use it for film for more than 24 hours. Or, the older we get, the smarter our parents are. Replace or rinse out the old fix bottle as there is crud in there so small you can`t see it until it shows up on the film.įred Picker once said " Never pour anything back into a bottle". Reuse for paper fix as the first bath of a two bath system. I don`t use fixer more than once unless it is the same day. I have concluded this is silver precipitating from used fixer. The other problem was dark, irregularly shaped particles stuck to the emulsion. This is as foolproof as I have found in 45 years of doing this. Rinse out the syringe 3-4 time and drain out to dry by standing it in the neck of a bottle. Get a plastic ear syringe from the drug store and rinse it well, 20 times, suck up the used photoflow and rinse down the hanging film from the top down. Resoak in distilled water, several baths, then a Photoflow bath and hang up. I always used less photoflow than the directions called for. I used to get watermarks etc on the base side all the time.
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