B&W film dev. questions

1. Is it better to use

a) Photo Flo and let dry,

b) Squeegee (no photo flo)

c) Both?

Is there a risk of scratches with the squeegee?


2. I bought distilled water to dilute my chems. Is this necessary? Tap
water here is pretty low in mineral content, but does have a little
chlorine.


3. I assume that with proper amounts of developer in the tank (Patterson
in my case), that the developer is thrown out. But do we keep the stop
bath, or throw it out too?


4. Kodak instructions for the film say to wash for up to 30 minutes
following fixing. Ilford Fixer says 5 - 10 minutes. Is 10 enough?


Cheers,
Alan

--e-meil: there's no such thing as a FreeLunch.--

Alan Browne wrote:
1. Is it better to use

a) Photo Flo and let dry,

b) Squeegee (no photo flo)

c) Both?

I generally use C: with my fingers as squeegee. Many not be perfect,
but it works. I guess I come from the old days when I worked with negatives
from 4x5 to 20x24. A small spot was nothing to worry about, it never showed
on the print and working in a clean environment with soft water, we did not
have a problem.


Is there a risk of scratches with the squeegee?

Only if I did not keep my nails trimmed.

With the rubber ones you can get scratches if you are using a soft
emulsion, especially if the film is warm. Any sizable speck of dirt on the
squeegee can also cause a scratch. More common, from my experience is what
may look like a scratch but is really a streak, from a bad spot on the
squeegee and less than really good water.



2. I bought distilled water to dilute my chems. Is this necessary?
Tap water here is pretty low in mineral content, but does have a
little chlorine.


Generally not. It is not a bad idea, but with good water to start with,
I would not bother.

3. I assume that with proper amounts of developer in the tank
(Patterson in my case), that the developer is thrown out. But do we
keep the stop bath, or throw it out too?

Guess what, you can process film without a stop bath and it works. The
stop bath creates an acid environment to neutralize the developer.
Indicator stop bath changes color to tell you when it is exhausted. The
stuff is cheap so I tend to not save it from day to day and often I just
dump it. Easier than trying to save it.



4. Kodak instructions for the film say to wash for up to 30 minutes
following fixing. Ilford Fixer says 5 - 10 minutes. Is 10 enough?

Kodak has different instructions for different fixers. Going thirty
when it says 10 will not hurt a thing. Going 10 when it says 30 could mean
that your film may not be in very good condition 10 years from now. When in
doubt, wash it a little longer.

If you really want to be sure, you can test it, but I have never
bothered. There are times I have cut the fixing time down and just rinsed
the negative and printed it wet. I don't recommend it normally.

I tend to do things the easy way as long as "I" don't see the difference.
Keep that in mind with my recommendations. What I do works for me.



Cheers,
Alan

--e-meil: there's no such thing as a FreeLunch.--

--
Joseph E. Meehan

26 + 6 = 1 It's Irish Math

In rec.photo.equipment.35mm Alan Browne wrote:

1. Is it better to use

a) Photo Flo and let dry,

b) Squeegee (no photo flo)

c) Both?

Is there a risk of scratches with the squeegee?

Never squeegee. Okay I take that back. I've got some of those latex
[rubber?] gloves they sell. I'll dip my fingers into the photoflo and then
run the film between two fingers. That's the most I'd do. I'll wash the
gloves before touching the film.




2. I bought distilled water to dilute my chems. Is this necessary? Tap
water here is pretty low in mineral content, but does have a little
chlorine.

Distilled water for photoflo. The rest should be okay.





3. I assume that with proper amounts of developer in the tank (Patterson
in my case), that the developer is thrown out. But do we keep the stop
bath, or throw it out too?

Up to you. Which stop are you using? Kodak sells one with a dye in it that
changes colour when it's done. I make my own up from vinegar and just toss
it every so often but it's cheap enough that one shot isn't likely an issue.



4. Kodak instructions for the film say to wash for up to 30 minutes
following fixing. Ilford Fixer says 5 - 10 minutes. Is 10 enough?


Ilfords wash method is

1) Fill tank with water. Agiate the tank for 10 seconds.

2) Dump and fill again. Agiate again.

3) Dump and fill again. agiate

4) Like above

5) Final time.

I do that but I lengthen the time with each step. Ilfords method uses
less water. Kodak's method is less work. With the Ilford method you are
basically getting the chemicals and water into some sort of balance with
each step. By the last step the water should be fairly close to perfectly
clean and so should the film.

Ilford publishes a document called developing your first film. Check thier
website for it.

BTW you missed the darkroom group-)

Nick

"Alan Browne" wrote in message
...

1. Is it better to use

a) Photo Flo and let dry,

b) Squeegee (no photo flo)

c) Both?

Is there a risk of scratches with the squeegee?


2. I bought distilled water to dilute my chems. Is this necessary? Tap
water here is pretty low in mineral content, but does have a little
chlorine.


3. I assume that with proper amounts of developer in the tank (Patterson
in my case), that the developer is thrown out. But do we keep the stop
bath, or throw it out too?


4. Kodak instructions for the film say to wash for up to 30 minutes
following fixing. Ilford Fixer says 5 - 10 minutes. Is 10 enough?


Cheers,
Alan

Whatever you do, only use about 1/4 or less of the recommended amount. You
must use distilled water with the Photo-Flo.

Nick Zentena wrote:

In rec.photo.equipment.35mm Alan Browne wrote:

1. Is it better to use

a) Photo Flo and let dry,

b) Squeegee (no photo flo)

c) Both?

Is there a risk of scratches with the squeegee?


Never squeegee. Okay I take that back. I've got some of those latex
[rubber?] gloves they sell. I'll dip my fingers into the photoflo and then
run the film between two fingers. That's the most I'd do. I'll wash the
gloves before touching the film.




2. I bought distilled water to dilute my chems. Is this necessary? Tap
water here is pretty low in mineral content, but does have a little
chlorine.


Distilled water for photoflo. The rest should be okay.





3. I assume that with proper amounts of developer in the tank (Patterson
in my case), that the developer is thrown out. But do we keep the stop
bath, or throw it out too?


Up to you. Which stop are you using? Kodak sells one with a dye in it that
changes colour when it's done. I make my own up from vinegar and just toss
it every so often but it's cheap enough that one shot isn't likely an issue.



4. Kodak instructions for the film say to wash for up to 30 minutes
following fixing. Ilford Fixer says 5 - 10 minutes. Is 10 enough?



Ilfords wash method is

1) Fill tank with water. Agiate the tank for 10 seconds.

2) Dump and fill again. Agiate again.

3) Dump and fill again. agiate

4) Like above

5) Final time.

I do that but I lengthen the time with each step. Ilfords method uses
less water. Kodak's method is less work. With the Ilford method you are
basically getting the chemicals and water into some sort of balance with
each step. By the last step the water should be fairly close to perfectly
clean and so should the film.

Ilford publishes a document called developing your first film. Check thier
website for it.

BTW you missed the darkroom group-)

Nick


--
--e-meil: there's no such thing as a FreeLunch.--

In rec.photo.equipment.35mm Alan Browne wrote:

1. Is it better to use

a) Photo Flo and let dry,
b) Squeegee (no photo flo)
c) Both?

Whatever works for you. I use photo-flo half as strong as Kodak says
and hang to dry over the bath.

2. I bought distilled water to dilute my chems. Is this necessary?
Tap water here is pretty low in mineral content, but does have a
little chlorine.

Distilled water won't hurt. I think that getting the oxygen out of
the water is generally more important. Boiling water for three minutes
will get rid of most of the air. Don't shake the solutions, but stir them
gently. You can mix chemicals in bottles by turning the bottle around
slowly.

3. I assume that with proper amounts of developer in the tank
(Patterson in my case), that the developer is thrown out.

Some developers (D-76, Microphen) can be used several times at stock
strength without replenishment. If you dilute them, you should use them
one-shot.

But do we keep the stop bath, or throw it out too?

I use stop bath (1% acetic acid) one shot. It is cheap, and you can
use a weak dilution if you aren't going to re-use it. Regular
vinegar is 5% acetic acid, you can dilute 1+4 to get a good one-shot
stop bath.

4. Kodak instructions for the film say to wash for up to 30 minutes
following fixing. Ilford Fixer says 5 - 10 minutes. Is 10 enough?

Ilford should know what they are doing with their fixer and their films,
but I always use a rinse of Kodak Hypo Clearing Agent on films
and then wash for 10-15 minutes. HCA (or Ilford's wash aid)
will also allow for short wash times with hardening fixers.

Peter.
--

There's a link to it on this page
http://www.ilford.com/html/us_english/bw.html

--
Colm


"Nick Zentena" wrote in message
news
Ilford publishes a document called developing your first film. Check
thier
website for it.

Nick Zentena wrote:


Never squeegee. Okay I take that back. I've got some of those latex
[rubber?] gloves they sell. I'll dip my fingers into the photoflo and then
run the film between two fingers. That's the most I'd do. I'll wash the
gloves before touching the film.

Good idea. I have a box of surgical gloves. I'll just wash them in soap
and then rinse hard with water...

2. I bought distilled water to dilute my chems. Is this necessary? Tap
water here is pretty low in mineral content, but does have a little
chlorine.


Distilled water for photoflo. The rest should be okay.

'kay. OTOH, the distilled water bottle is almost always at the right
temp....


3. I assume that with proper amounts of developer in the tank (Patterson
in my case), that the developer is thrown out. But do we keep the stop
bath, or throw it out too?


Up to you. Which stop are you using? Kodak sells one with a dye in it that
changes colour when it's done. I make my own up from vinegar and just toss
it every so often but it's cheap enough that one shot isn't likely an issue.

Yes, "indicator" stop bath. After it's done I'll just switch to white
vinegar and toss. (dilution of vinegar?).


4. Kodak instructions for the film say to wash for up to 30 minutes
following fixing. Ilford Fixer says 5 - 10 minutes. Is 10 enough?



Ilfords wash method is

1) Fill tank with water. Agiate the tank for 10 seconds.

2) Dump and fill again. Agiate again.

3) Dump and fill again. agiate

4) Like above

5) Final time.

I do that but I lengthen the time with each step. Ilfords method uses
less water. Kodak's method is less work. With the Ilford method you are
basically getting the chemicals and water into some sort of balance with
each step. By the last step the water should be fairly close to perfectly
clean and so should the film.

I just run water into the funnel of the tank continuously. I come
nowhere near my allotment of water every year (I wonder why my grass is
always so screwed up?).


Ilford publishes a document called developing your first film. Check thier
website for it.

Will do.


BTW you missed the darkroom group-)

Yeah. OTOH, I don't intend to do the printing... one of the gals at the
lab has the sub contract to do the printing at her home... I don't
consider developing a roll of negatives to be "darkroom" (I take your
point, that group is the chems division of photography on NGs).

Thanks for your comments/suggestions.

Cheers,
Alan


--
--e-meil: there's no such thing as a FreeLunch.--

Mark A wrote:



Whatever you do, only use about 1/4 or less of the recommended amount. You
must use distilled water with the Photo-Flo.

1/4 or less of what? The photo flow? I've mixed it at 1:200 (distilled
water).

Cheers,
Alan

--
--e-meil: there's no such thing as a FreeLunch.--

Colm wrote:

There's a link to it on this page
http://www.ilford.com/html/us_english/bw.html

THX.

--
--e-meil: there's no such thing as a FreeLunch.--