Tools and methods for sheet film washing

[LabRat]

You don't really need a washing aid for film… The down side is that it will start re-swelling the film, undoing the hardening action of a hardening fix, making the gelatin softer when handling wet…

Washing aids are for FB papers, as thiosulfate complexes get trapped in the base fibers, and the aids help allow them to leave by osmotic pressure… But sometimes with low key prints and the prevailing water conditions, these can leave a slight veil or haze over the prints and make the prints more sensitive to handling while wet… The washing aids only slightly cut the washing time, so nothing beats a good wash!!!

Steve K

[Peter De Smidt]

Peter,

Your logic is good here, but I would be concerned about developing agents taking longer to wash out. I've read somewhere that hydroquinone takes some time to wash out of film. It would be interesting to here comments about this from some of the photochemists out there.

That's a good point. My developer is of the phenidone/ascorbic acid variety. Ryuji is a pretty good photo chemist, having designed a number of commercial products.

[Duolab123]

You don't really need a washing aid for film… The down side is that it will start re-swelling the film, undoing the hardening action of a hardening fix, making the gelatin softer when handling wet…

Washing aids are for FB papers, as thiosulfate complexes get trapped in the base fibers, and the aids help allow them to leave by osmotic pressure… But sometimes with low key prints and the prevailing water conditions, these can leave a slight veil or haze over the prints and make the prints more sensitive to handling while wet… The washing aids only slightly cut the washing time, so nothing beats a good wash!!!

Steve K

I agree with everything you have said here. I use HCA to help to get rid of the purple, I know it doesn't effect printing but it drives me crazy. The oldest and best reason to use hypo clear was the good old days with not only fiberbases absorbing fixer, but maybe more to the point sodium thiosulfate is almost insoluble in very cold water, you could wash all day and not remove all the hypo. HCA improved cold water washing.
Ammonium sulfate rapid fix, makes HCA obsolete for film and RC paper, for all the reasons you have stated.
I do routinely use Hypo clear to makeup Rapid Selenium toner for paper. I go right from my final fix bath to the toner in HCA.
I dispise powder F-5 fixer it stinks!
Best Mike

[Peter De Smidt]

You don't really need a washing aid for film… The down side is that it will start re-swelling the film, undoing the hardening action of a hardening fix, making the gelatin softer when handling wet…

I use non-hardening rapid fix, and I've never had a problem with emulsion damage. I mainly use the used developer treatment to get rid of any pink stain with tmx and tmy. It might also help with washing, which I do in my Jobo with 6 changes of water, but I haven't done any tests.