Originally Posted by
jose angel
BTW, I don't want to take advantage of your kindness... but I wonder about your tray lines; maybe dev-stop-1st fix-water rinse-2nd fix-hold water bath? (six trays) Do you use an hypo tray instead in the same line, or maybe you prefer to do the work in two stages? I see ROL mentioned the lack of space with mural prints, but, out of curiosity, what about "normal" sized prints? Thanks.
I always enjoy helping well mannered people who don't throw well intended offerings in my face. I suspect most here feel the same. I write basic technique articles and produce videos for my site from time to time, in large part to assist others in common classical photography.
My "mural" reference is indeed more than it first appears. My DR is designed with the ultimate goal in mind of GSP enlarging to a normal maximum of 40". That means a tight fit for my mural sized trays, no more than 5 at a time in my nearly 20' long sink (see A Darkroom Portrait – btw, those trays in the sink are my normal size trays, not the mural trays). My normal basic processing workflow is:
developer –> stop/rinse (water) –> fix (TF4) –> water holding bath –> Se toning –> hypo clear (PermaWash) –> wash
Print/film washing normally happens in a separate sink with dedicated washers, However, mural prints must, because of their size, be processed entirely within the main sink, including washing. 34"x42" trays are unwieldy enough when empty – when filled with 2 to 3 gallons of chemistry they are impossible to relocate. For murals, this reduces the number of process workflow stations in the main sink to 4. One of those remaining holds the toner, resulting in only 3 available spots for developer, stop/rinse, and (one) fix.
It should be obvious from general workflow above that there is not enough space for complete processing as the number of stations exceeds 5. I normally reconfigure the tray stations after all the printing and basic processing (up to fixing) is done in order to begin toning. The water stop is emptied and rinsed, and clean water is added to become another holding tray to which all prints are transferred to await toning. A holding tray is replaced with PemaWash. Secondary processing then occurs:
water holding bath –> Se toning –> hypo clear (PermaWash) –> wash
(4 trays
)
My decision to use a well tested and regarded single rapid fix for all print processing is based on two rationales. Firstly, that the less hypo introduced into the print (fiber) once fixing is complete, the less there will be to wash out, and thus less potential damage to any print's substrate or additive whiteners (if any). Over-fixation has its own deleterious issues. Archival processing is, in practice, a balancing act of proper fixing followed by complete washing. I have to rely on the manufacturer's testing of these chemicals and my own experience to arrive at workable decisions in my own DR. That is possibly as good a definition of workflow as I may be able to come up with. Secondly, I am forced to work with some logical limitations on size and from my very personal workflow. I reckon, what's good for expensive, difficult to produce mural sizes is at least as good for normal sheet sizes (e.g., ≤ 20"x24"), and so I also use the same workflow for those, with some variation – and a bit more elbow room!. The complications and difficulties of producing, handling, and presenting (another can of worms!) mural prints is the reason I charge considerably more for them.
Rinsing between the fixes of the two fix process, if that is your pleasure, varies depending on your toning goals. Read Adams' The Print. Doremus is probably the most vocal proponent of that technique on this forum. I believe all classical photography darkroom workers share the same goal of producing archival fine art prints in the constantly shifting terrain of available and affordable resources.
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