Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 1997/07/21
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]>> >>Since I am spemding more time in the darkroom, I now have a question about >>fixers for paper. I find myself using more RC paper because its easier to >>process. Please pardon my ignorance but is it beneficial to use a >>hardening or non-hardening fixer? >> >>I usually develop, stop bath, then fix, hold the prints in a water bath for >>as short a time as possible, then wash (rinse) with fresh water, Permawash >>(hypo eliminator) and rinse again with fresh water. > >You should never use a hardening fixer for paper. In fact, it is probably >best not to use a hardening fixer for film, unless you anticipate possible >rough handling of the film, while it is wet. Once the film is dry, >hardeners have no more benefit. > >Also, for RC paper, Permawash is probably not neccessary. What is >important for RC paper is to try to keep the total wet time as short as >possible. > >Dan C. > > Use a rapid, non-hardening fixer. The hardener won't buy you much >protection for RC emulsions, and only increases wash time. Same >recommendation for fiber-base prints. Permawash is probably not necessary >for RC prints, but it can't hurt. > >Chuck Albertson > >I always thought RC didn't require a hardening fix. Isn't hardener for >gelatin prints? > >Ben W. Holmes While a hardening fixer is not a requirement for any emulsion, I would recommend using it. I recently failed (accidently) to add the hardener to my Kodak Rapid Fixer. I figured this out the hard way. While scanning bw negatives, I started noticing many small wandering scratches. After some detective work, I found the scratches were simply caused by my delicate handling of the negatives in the film carrier of the scanner. Same thing was happening in the darkroom, although the scratches didn't show as much (even on a Focomat V35). I dumped that batch of fixer, mixed a new batch with hardener, and the problem went away. As for using hardener with photo papers, I find I get a much better gloss with glossy RC paper. I fix for 2 minutes and wash for 5 in an over-sized tray with a Kodak tray siphon. With fiber-base paper, I get a nicer finish on air-dried glossy papers. I use the standard archival wash procedure as described by Roy Zatarian, but I use Kodak General Purpose Hardening Fixer, which is a sodium thiosulphate-fixer, as opposed to an ammonium-thiosulfate Rapid Fixer.