can you over fix B&W film???

[stradibarrius]

can you over fix B&W film, if so what are the results?

[Leigh]

No.

Regardless of fixing time, be sure to wash thoroughly, using an appropriate hypo clearing agent and following its instructions.

- Leigh

[Brian C. Miller]

While Adams, in The Negative, shows the results of over-fixing, I don't think that modern films can be over-fixed. The emulsions have been improved tremendously.

[Brian Ellis]

My understanding is that excessive fixing can cause bleaching in the negatives, i.e. the removal of image-forming silver in addition to the silver halides that the fixer is supposed to remove. But I've never had that happen and don't recall where I read it.

[Leigh]

My "no" response was based on the supposition that you were talking about tens of minutes, not tens of days. :D

- Leigh

[stradibarrius]

Well more like 30-45 mins. Say the phone rang and you had to answer it and couldn't tend to your negatives.

[Leigh]

Yeah, that's tens of minutes, as I suspected.

- Leigh

[Andrew O'Neill]

I don't know about regular fix but I once carelessly left a 4x5 sheet of HP5 over night in ilford rapid fix. The solution hit 30C ( I was living in Japan at the time) from sitting overnight. A contact print showed that it had slightly darker shadows when compared to another negative that received the normal 5 min fix. I would have to say that over fixing can be bad but you have to work at it.

[stradibarrius]

Another bit of information to add to my forgetful brain...:confused:

[jk0592]

Another bit of information to add...
You are not the only one. I did not now that one could go on fixing film "forever". Usually I am not to be disturbed when developing film, and family members are aware of this.

[Harold_4074]

I'm not sure that fixer bleaching is due so much to changes in the emulsion as to decreases in the aggressiveness of common fixers. The old Kodak two-solution Rapid Fix would definitely bleach fim or paper noticeably in something less than an hour. (This was in the early 1970s.) As I recall, the powder-form Kodak Fixer was less problematic, and the lore of the day was that any "rapid" fixer formula carried a risk of bleaching.

If you are interrupted, the safe move might be to dump half or two-thirds of the fixer, replace with water, agitate just enough to mix, and then re-fix normally when you get back.

[neprosti]

try not to rinse after fixer and dry in the sun
fixer crystallize