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  #1  
Old 15th July 2017, 02:01 PM
peterlg peterlg is offline
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Default Washing prints - dirt remaining on surface

Hi everybody,
Last step of my printing procedure (always RC paper) is washing in running water , done in a NOVA 3-slot print processor. Usual wash time is two-three mins. I pull the print and place it on a towel to wipe off excess water before putting it on a stainless steel grill for drying.
I notice that after a few days the towel gets stained, and the staining is so profound that it does not dissappear when I wash the towel. Is there something in the wash water that stains! Or could it be residual silver compounds on the print surface that hav'nt gone in the rinsing?
Has anybody seen this? can anybody explain so I could possibly avoid it in the future?
Thanks for your help
Peter
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Old 15th July 2017, 02:15 PM
alexmuir alexmuir is offline
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Hi, Peter. If the staining is brown, it sounds like fixer. I wash RC for 2 mins in running water, which is what Ilford advise. I wonder if the flow through your processor isn't enough to clear all fixer. Is it a slot that's meant for washing, and is that all it's used for? I use the Paterson high speed washer which sits flat like a tray. It seems to work well. You can get two sizes, the smaller being 8x10. I also use a Kodak tray siphon on a normal tray. It's good, but they are becoming hard to find. Before all that, I just held the print at each end under the tap for 2 mins, turning it over once or twice. Not very eco friendly, but it certainly gives a clean print!
Alex


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Old 15th July 2017, 02:55 PM
Mike O'Pray Mike O'Pray is offline
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It certainly sounds like contamination of some kind as Alex has said and yet 2-3 mins in running water is ample for RC. If you use a Nova slot washer I am very puzzled. I have one and water can be made to flow through it like Niagra Falls.

In case the washer is not the one I mention above can you describe the washing process in greater detail. It may be that the flow is very low and/or the contaminated water isn't getting away but again you'd probably see if this was the case.

It is a bit of a puzzle

Mike
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Old 15th July 2017, 03:58 PM
Richard Gould Richard Gould is offline
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to me brown stains suggest fixer, with RC i washed my prints in a home made washer, I drilled a series of holes in an old 16/20 developing tray, water in at the top and out though the holes beneath the prints, and I would wash 2 prints at a time, I tended to wash longer than the 2 minutes sugested, maybe 4 or 5, but I never tested for residuel fixer, I always found you needed a good flow of water over the prints,
Richard
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Old 15th July 2017, 04:49 PM
Lostlabours Lostlabours is offline
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It could be semi soluable silver componds that are dropping out of solution (in the fixer) and sticking to the emulsion surface, particularly if you're exceeding the fixers capacity.

Ian

Last edited by Lostlabours; 15th July 2017 at 04:54 PM.
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Old 17th July 2017, 04:59 PM
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photomi7ch photomi7ch is offline
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I use a holding tray filled with water before I washing all the prints in running water. It is stained brown from the fix.
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Old 18th July 2017, 10:16 AM
peterlg peterlg is offline
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of course!
A case of age related confusion:
First, I mislead you as to my processing and equipment! I have a three-slot Nova processor, developer, stop, fix. And I have a Nova one-slot print washer (12x16) with a removable separation wall so it can take two 12x16 at the same time.
But when I first received the washer I feared Noah's syndrom, overflow and subsequent flooding of my darkroom! Therefore, I installed a simple flow reducer on the intake and set it so that there was a rather weak throughput - I now understand the outtake capacity is so generously designed that I could easily wash with a stronger water flow.
So I now know what to do - unfortunately I won't be back in the darkroom untill some time August. Report will then follow.

AND FOR ALL THESE YEARS MY PRINTS HAVE NOT BEEN SUFFICIENTLY WASHED! fortunately of the twenty or so prints on my wall, made over the last fifteen odd years, none have gone wrong.
Thanks for your good help
Peter
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Old 18th July 2017, 09:01 PM
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Martin Aislabie Martin Aislabie is offline
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Bleach will get rid of the fixer in your towel.

Martin
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Old 18th July 2017, 11:03 PM
Mike O'Pray Mike O'Pray is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Martin Aislabie View Post
Bleach will get rid of the fixer in your towel.

Martin
+1 on that tip. The bleach doesn't have to be that strong. Time is the key, say, overnight or better still 24 hrs

Mike
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Old 19th July 2017, 01:34 PM
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I agree Martin and Mike
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