Quote Originally Posted by Michael R View Post
In the original work at Ilford that led to its archival/optimum permanence sequence it was found 30s fixing in the "film-strength" rapid fixer was sufficient. Since it was also found that extending this to 60s did not materially impact the efficiency of the remainder of the process, it was decided 60s would be a better recommendation to provide a good safety margin.
Michael,

Thanks for this. I was unaware of the research and the fact that 30 seconds will do the job. My reservation with using stronger fixer for prints was what to do about drain time, especially with larger prints and two-bath fixation (which entails two drain steps, albeit a shorter first one). Now it seems that including the drain time in the total 60-second time while still not exceeding it would be more feasible, especially for prints 11x14 and smaller. Still, I'm wondering if I can successfully incorporate that into my workflow, which entails giving the prints fix #1 (presently for 1.5-2 minutes in "print-strength fixer), washing, drying, culling the non-keepers and then setting up for a toning session with a soak, fix #2, toner, rinse, wash aid and then a final wash. I'd love to hear your thoughts on this.

Of course, I'd have to retest all my (shorter) wash times

Best,

Doremus