Fixer: hardening vs non-hardening

[Don Wallace]

Do most of you use the same fixer, in different concentrations, for both paper and film? I recently switched from Kodafix to Ilford fixer (I forget which one, but it is non-hardening) and wound up with scratches on my film. I am not sure, but I suspect that the film got scratched during the washing and that this would have been prevented by using a hardening fixer. It was a large scratch, along the edge (fortunately since it can be cropped out). I rinse my film in a daylight tank with slots and I am thinking the scratch came from the edge of the slot.

Any thoughts on this? What do you guys use for film vs paper?

[Louie Powell]

I use the same fixer - Ilford - non-hardening.

The best way to avoid scratches is to be careful - very careful. I never, ever squeegee film! Roll film stays on the reel from presoak through final rinse in PhotoFlo, while sheet film is processed in a slosher with the film developed emulsion-side up so that nothing touches the emulsion except processing chemicals.

[Don Wallace]

I use the same fixer - Ilford - non-hardening.

The best way to avoid scratches is to be careful - very careful. I never, ever squeegee film! Roll film stays on the reel from presoak through final rinse in PhotoFlo, while sheet film is processed in a slosher with the film developed emulsion-side up so that nothing touches the emulsion except processing chemicals.

Louie, I have never got scratches like this before. It was only on two sheets out of three, but they were quite major, and along the edge of the neg.

[Louie Powell]

Don -

The first question that comes to mind is how do you know that those scratches resulted from a processing problem? Is it possible that there was a problem either loading or unloading the holders?

[Brian Ellis]

Same fix but different concentrations (1-4 film, 1-9 paper), no hardening for either one.

[jnantz]

i use sprint rapid fix 2:8 for film and paper without hardener ...
no problems with scratches -
(sometimes i process 28 sheets in a tray at once ... )

--john

[Mike Davis]

What film were you using?


I use a hardening fixer with known soft emulsions, Type 55 Polaroid for instance or Efke. On the other hand I have used standard rapid fix with Forte 200 (said by some to be soft) and never had a problem with it.


Mike

[Bruce Barlow]

Kodak mixed from powder for film - cheap, and five minutes like every other fixer I've seen. I've scratched one negative in 22 years of tray developing. I agree with emulsion side up.

Sprint Rapid 1:4 for paper as a first fix - 30 seconds! I love it.

[ggbushaw]

A different answer, just for variety. I use Kodak Rapid Fixer with hardener for film, and never scratch sheet film processing it emulsion side down in trays. For prints, I use Zonal Pro EC Rapid Fixer, which is a non-hardening fixer that at 1:9 it requires only 60 seconds for a complete fix--a great bonus. It tests out fine, although I fix final prints for another 5 minutes in plain hypo (250 g/l) before toning.

[Edgar Praus]

I always use Kodak Rapid Fix for negatives with the hardner - why not, it certainly is reasonable to think it could only help. I have been doing this for over 25 years and have never encountered any scratches! For prints I use the same fixer w/o hardner at film concentration. The capacity for archival printing is 40 - 8x10's per gallon of fix. After use, I add the hardner and use for film until testing indicates that the fix is exhausted.

[Don Wallace]

Don -

The first question that comes to mind is how do you know that those scratches resulted from a processing problem? Is it possible that there was a problem either loading or unloading the holders?

Louie, it is definitely possible, but this was the first time ever using non-hardening fixer and the first time ever I have seen scratches of that kind. It could be coincidence, but I was really curious about the experience of others.

[Turner Reich]

I've got a 5 gal Kodak Rapid Fix kit, can it be mixed for use in both film and paper? I usually use TF-4 and Zonal but it's been sitting in the darkroom for a while and the use by date is 2009 so it needs to get used.

Thanks,
tr

[Gregg Cook]

I use one of the five gallon kits and mine has the hardener separated.

Use hardener for film and none for prints in case of toning.