Is there a problem with using water as a stop bath, then putting the print in a fixer ? I'm just working in a confined area and the acetic acid ain't helping. (no, I cannot afford a proper exhaust system)

Ta Ben.

-- ben (benlangley@yahoo.com.au), June 06, 2001

Answers

The downside of using plain water is that your fixer will be exhausted prematurely, and there's a slight risk of staining the prints. If you use water you should change it very frequently.
Citric acid or Sodium Metabisulphite can be used instead of Acetic acid as a stop bath. Sodium Metabisulphite is probably to be preferred. It's available in tablet or powder form as a cleaner/disinfectant for foodstuff containers and home winemaking.

-- Pete Andrews (p.l.andrews@bham.ac.uk), June 06, 2001.

Though this is no replacement for proper ventilation. A little trick I use in my darkroom is to place cheap plexiglass sheets over the top of my fixer and stop bath trays, duck taped at the back of the tray, like a hinge. I just lift the "lids" to insert the print. It does seem to keep the fumes down significantly.

-- Paul Swenson (paulphoto@humboldt1.com), June 06, 2001.

Ben: You might want to check out the Sprint brand of chemicals. They have a stop bath that isn't nearly as objectionable. They have a website at sprintsystems.com.

-- anseladams (kenburns@twave.net), June 06, 2001.

Yes, Sprint Stop Bath is vanilla scented and is nice (aside that it tends to make me hungry...), you can also use a solution of Photograde Citric Acid. This is odorless and works great but there is no indicator. It is cheap so reusing it isn't neccesary.

-- Scott Walton (scotlynn@shore.net), June 06, 2001.

Since I've started using an alkaline based fixer I've used a water rinse between developer and fixer with no problems that I've observed.

I wouldn't use a water bath unless you change it a couple times with each print, a running water rinse is metter.

I, too, don't like the acetic acid smell. I used citric acid stop bath before my current procedure, and it worked fine.

-- Charlie Strack (charlie_strack@sti.com), June 06, 2001.

Have you tried any alternatives? Like plain old white vinegar or something? There is a vinegar made from rice wine I believe as well as apple cider and so on. It won't turn purple for you, but you can feel how effective it is with your fingers.

-- Sean yates (yatescats@yahoo.com), June 07, 2001.

I wonder if fixer itself would work as a stop bath - killing 2 birds with one stone. The first would act as a stop & gross fix. The 2nd would complete the fix. When the 1st fix fails it would be discarded and the 2nd moved forward and used instead and a new batch mixed up. I've used this with film and know that it makes 2nd fix stay viable longer but that is with a stop after the developer.

Just an idea.

Cheers,

Duane

-- Duane K (dkucheran@creo.com), June 07, 2001.

Citric Acid stop bath is possibly the best answer as is it completely odourless (or as near as makes no difference). I have a formla which is easily made up and will be happy to email it to you on Sunday. Ilford also make an odourless stop bath but I can't remember the name. However I did buy a bottle once and found it completely inoffensive.

Regards

Adrian Twiss

-- Adrian Twiss (avtwiss@ukonline.co.uk), June 08, 2001.

Another alternative is Boric acid. Comes as a somewhat hard to dissolve white powder but it works and is odorless.

-- Pat Raymore (patrick.f.raymore@kp.org), June 13, 2001.

Citric acid stop bath --

Water 1.0L Citric acid 15g

Also , the Ilford odorless stop is citric acid stop concentrate.

-- John Hicks (jbh@magicnet.net), June 13, 2001.