Alkaline Fixer - Myths or Reality?

[Kirk Keyes]

Adam's pushed it in one of his books -) He just used plain hypo and water for his final bath.

That's not alkaline. It would be a neutral fix.

So where did this idea of alkaline fix come from?

I think was popularized by Bill Troop. Invernter of TF-4. He lays out his reasoning for the advantages of alkaline fix in the Film Developer Cookbook. I think the "elegance" of an all alkaline process is part of the appeal.

It's not so much that alkaline "increases" stain as acid fix "reduces" stain. I've tested half strength Kodak indicator stop with Hypam rapid fix, and I found there was a very slight difference in stain density with PMK.

Personally, I use rapid fix, like Ilford Hypam or Kodak Rapid fix. While I understand there are some advantages to using an alkaline fix over a traditional acid fix, I have yet to see anyone point out where a neutral fix (ph 5.5 or a bit higher) doesn't have the same benefits of an alkaline fix, and without any risk of smell.

If you really are interested, go to http://www.photo.net/bboard/q-and-a-...?msg_id=009ZDV for a threat that has a lot of detail on this issue. While a lot of people found the thread a bit combative, I think this really covered this issue pretty well.

[sanking]

TF4 should reek of ammonia, not rotten eggs!

"Rotten eggs" is hydrogen sulfide, and is one of the many nasty smells from aging overly acidic fixers. Ammonia is the smell of a slightly too alkaline (IMO) rapid fixer...

Curious. I mixed up some PF TF-4 this evening and did not notice any smell at all!!

No ammonia smell, no rotten egg smell. And it was in an open tray for several hours. No bad smell at all.

Sandy King

[Nick_3536]

My tap water has a pH of almost 8. With plenty of limestone in it. Would just dropping hypo in it reduce the pH enough to consider it neutral?

[Ole Tjugen]

Curious. I mixed up some PF TF-4 this evening and did not notice any smell at all!!

I'm overly sensitive to ammonia smell, so it takes very little to bother me. Much less than most others would notice. So I'm not at all surprised!

And that was a large part of my motivation for making a "non-reeking" slightly alkaline rapid fixer in the first place.