Kodak chemicals -- now what??

[Mark Sawyer]

no infinite shelf life, bummer.

Sealed powdered sodium thiosulfate fixer has at least a decades-long shelf life. I was using canned Korean War era military surplus powdered fixer up until I ran out last year.

Just wondering, can the precipitated sulfur in rapid fix be redissolved somehow, perhaps by heating the solution?

[Michael R]

Sequestered unmixed powders are a different story. They can have long shelf lives. Generally only non-rapid (sodium thiosulfate) fixers are supplied this way but rapid fixers are the better processing option.

Once the fix has sulfurized it is done. It’s decomposition of thiosulfate, not a matter of re-dissolving things that have come out of solution.

Sealed powdered sodium thiosulfate fixer has at least a decades-long shelf life. I was using canned Korean War era military surplus powdered fixer up until I ran out last year.

Just wondering, can the precipitated sulfur in rapid fix be redissolved somehow, perhaps by heating the solution?

[interneg]

For those interested in or wanting even faster fixing there is also PE’s Superfix I but it contains ammonium thiocyanate and thiourea to complement the ammonium thiosulfate.

With the warning (that Ron made when disclosing these additives) that they may blister less well hardened emulsions. I'm not sure how much difference there really is between TF-5 and something like Tetenal's Superfix Odourless - or most C-41 fixes - I get the general impression that Ron/ PE's contributions to TF-5 were to that end.

C-41 fix is highly efficient at removing residual dye etc - just in case anyone gets concerned about fix that's purple or luminous pink after use on B&W film...

[Daniel Stone]

With the warning (that Ron made when disclosing these additives) that they may blister less well hardened emulsions. I'm not sure how much difference there really is between TF-5 and something like Tetenal's Superfix Odourless - or most C-41 fixes - I get the general impression that Ron/ PE's contributions to TF-5 were to that end.

C-41 fix is highly efficient at removing residual dye etc - just in case anyone gets concerned about fix that's purple or luminous pink after use on B&W film...

So would the use of C-41 fixer be avoided if one uses staining developers such as procat-hd, 510 pyro, ABC, etc?

[koraks]

So would the use of C-41 fixer be avoided if one uses staining developers such as procat-hd, 510 pyro, ABC, etc?

No, pyro stain is not cleared by c41 fixer.

[interneg]

So would the use of C-41 fixer be avoided if one uses staining developers such as procat-hd, 510 pyro, ABC, etc?

No. This is about excess/ waste sensitising/ trimmer/ antihalation dyes, not whatever imagewise coupler/ 'stain' of questionable archival stability that has been formed via the oxidation of Pyrogallol or one of the Dihydroxybenzenes.

[xkaes]

Perhaps I missed it, but I'm really surprised that no one has suggested that the fixer in question be tested. It may be "old", but it's very easy to simply test it.

[Kevin Crisp]

If you pour the fixer out of the stock sealed bottle, it comes out as a yellowish clouded mush. It will choke a filter funnel in seconds. I don't think there is any question it is bad.

[Kevin Crisp]

My working solution, which lasted longer than these two newer ones in reserve, didn't go toes up in the usual fashion. In the past, when the RF goes it gets lots of small while flakes in it. The working solution this time developed dark gray or black flakes. I got about 10 months out of it, no problem with that. But when a diluted solution outlasts the stock in the bottle, something is wrong at the factory.

Kodak did request information on the mfg lot, which I gave them.

Since I had some film to develop, I used a bottle of F6 I had mixed it up. It cleared the film quickly. It was a test with the Frankenfilm 200, which sure seems to me to be the same as Foma 200. Turned the developer bright green, just like Foma. Same half moon cut out in the corner, same style of packaging without an inner box.

[Kevin Crisp]

Of course I'll take it back if Freestyle tells me to pound sand, but so far the people making it now seem very responsive:

Mr. Crisp,

Thank you for sending photos which clearly provide the lot information needed to investigate this further. This information has been forwarded to the product team for further investigations to be completed.

In the meantime, as we had previously suggested, please work directly with Freestyle on this issue to get your replacement product or credit.

We apologize for the inconvenience this has caused you but are very happy that you have brought it to our attention to look into this further.

Thank you!
-Sino Promise Group Support