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Old January 26th 04, 02:23 PM
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Default nose/eye fume irritation and cheap ventilation

On Sun, 25 Jan 2004 19:33:09 +0000, Tom Phillips
wrote:

....
I don't disagree. But hardener or not Rapid Fix is by far the "easiest" to
mix and use, especially for film where I want as fast a clearing time as
possible.



jan2604 from Lloyd Erlick,

Yes, there's no doubt a ready made liquid concentrate is quick and
easy. I hate the attack-scent of rapid fixer, but there are non-acid
versions (low smell) on the market, too.

I have other issues with ready-made rapid fix. I don't have a car
(weirdo, I know...) (I live downtown in a city...) so lugging the jugs
of fixer is a bore (but I do borrow or rent a vehicle to buy hundred
pound sacks of sodium thiosulfate, so call me inconsistent). And I
really hate the rock-hard deposits that result from dribbles of rapid
fix. That's a small issue, though, because I try to clean up as I go
along in the darkroom. I should keep the rest of my life as well.

I guess it comes down to being in full control of what I do. Maybe I'm
a control freak (everyone in the darkroom talks about controlling
their processes...). But I like to have the ingredients at hand, to
vary what I make up to see what happens, to not have to go to the
photo store very often, and to have no substances in my face for any
reason at all.

I've been sulfur dioxide free for about five years now!

I also make up my own developers, for prints at least, and I rarely
visit the photo store. I didn't start out from a desire to go to the
store less often, but found I really liked it! I do have to pay them a
visit to get film... good thing it doesn't smell, at least not
powerfully.

(A friend of mine was showing me his quickly dwindling stock of
Brovira grade two 16x20s. As he slid one out of the pack, he bent over
and sniffed deeply. He delivered a long dissertation on how grade two
smelled wonderful, much better than the other grades... I must admit
the smell of film takes me back to childhood, or at least early
teenagehood.)

regards,
--le
_______________________________________
Lloyd Erlick Portraits,
2219 Gerrard Street East, unit #1,
Toronto M4E 2C8 Canada.
---
voice 416-686-0326

http://www.heylloyd.com
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