How do I wash my prints

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April Lyons - 11 Mar 2005 17:59 GMT

I have been in a class setting and am finally going to set this up at home
in my bathroom. I have all the trays. But to do my first wash out class
just has the prints sitting in water and than they are moved to a bigger
sint that aggitates the prints and then they are dried.
I do not have a big sink that will aggitate the prints. How can I do this
at home. And am I putting anything in the water like perma wash.

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David Nebenzahl - 11 Mar 2005 18:13 GMT

On 3/11/2005 9:59 AM April Lyons via PhotoKB.com spake thus:

> I have been in a class setting and am finally going to set this up at home
> in my bathroom. I have all the trays. But to do my first wash out class
> just has the prints sitting in water and than they are moved to a bigger
> sint that aggitates the prints and then they are dried.
> I do not have a big sink that will aggitate the prints. How can I do this
> at home. And am I putting anything in the water like perma wash.

Short answer (don't worry, longer, more detailed ones will follow): first of
all, depends on what kind of paper you're using. If you're using RC
(resin-coated) paper, as is likely, washing is much easier and takes less time
than with fiber-based paper. Fiber-based takes a *lot* more work and time to wash.

Yes, you should use hypo-clearing agent (AKA Perma-Wash or other product), as
it increases the rate at which hypo is leached out of the paper. After that, a
couple of soaks and a short rinse should do the trick. When I print (using
RC), I just pile the prints in a big tub (a plastic dishwashing pan), then
stick it under the shower for 10-15 minutes, rotating the prints from bottom
to top. I also use HCA as the last bath before the water soak. (You don't use
HCA in the wash water itself, just plain water.)

Signature

"I know I will go to hell, because I pardoned Richard Nixon."

- Former President Gerald Ford to his golf partners, as related by
the late Hunter S. Thompson

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April Lyons - 11 Mar 2005 19:52 GMT

I'm using RC paper. I dan't care for the Fiber based much. It's a pain in
the butt.

Forgive me I'm still not getting it.
I'll just put the order and if you might be able to fill in the blanks
please.
Developer trat, Stop bath tray, Fixer Tray. I know the times on these. The
next try would be the Water or holding bath. How long would I have to keep
them in there and I could just use a tray with water in it and not running.
The next one would need to be running with the perma wash in it? If I let
water run over it how would I keep the perma wash in it? And how long do I
need to keep it i there.

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Chris Ellinger - 11 Mar 2005 20:57 GMT

>I'm using RC paper. I dan't care for the Fiber based much. It's a pain in
>the butt.
>Developer trat, Stop bath tray, Fixer Tray. I know the times on these. The
>next try would be the Water or holding bath.

Use an oversize tray for your holding bath.

If you are printing for an extended time, dump and refill the holding
bath every ten prints or so, to get rid of accumulated fixer (that
carries over from the fix tray).

When you are done printing, dump and refill the holding bath, let the
water run while you shuffle the prints bottom to top for about 5
minutes. Give each print a quick rinse top and bottom as you remove
them one at a time, squeegee, and hang or lay out to dry.

You don't need perma wash for RC.

Chris Ellinger
Ann Arbor, MI

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David Nebenzahl - 12 Mar 2005 04:44 GMT

On 3/11/2005 12:57 PM Chris Ellinger spake thus:

[...]

> You don't need perma wash for RC.

So all this time I've been wasting good sodium sulfite, not to mention time,
as HCA? Does it even help to use HCA on RC paper?

If not, thanks for simplifying my life in a small way.

Signature

"I know I will go to hell, because I pardoned Richard Nixon."

- Former President Gerald Ford to his golf partners, as related by
the late Hunter S. Thompson

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David Starr - 11 Mar 2005 21:22 GMT

>I'm using RC paper. I dan't care for the Fiber based much. It's a pain in
>the butt.
[quoted text clipped - 8 lines]
>water run over it how would I keep the perma wash in it? And how long do I
>need to keep it i there.

For a wash tray, I'd suggest getting a tray one size bigger than your
paper. If your biggest print will be 8x10, get an 11x14 tray. For
RC, I drill some small holes - about 1/8" will do - along one end of
the tray at the bottom. Now - ever seen those hand-held shower things
that have a cone shaped thing on one end to slip over a faucet? Get
one of those and remove the shower piece from the end opposite the
cone. Now you can put the cone over a faucet and the other end in the
wash tray. A couple clothes pins will probably work to hold it in
place. Adjust the water so the tray will stay about 3/4 full with
water running out of the holes. Since RC paper will wash well in
about 5 minutes, I don't use Perma-wash. I just drop the print in the
wash tray for 5 minutes, take it out & hang it on a clothes pin by one
corner.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Dave Starr, Senior Shop Rat Emeritus: 14,647 days in a GM plant.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

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Jan T - 12 Mar 2005 07:53 GMT

For RC I read from people wasting time and chemicals.

I don't use HCA for RC and a 30 sec. wash under the water tap (25?C) does
the job. No problems with permanence for years now.
Stacking in a tray after the fixer is no problem, they can wait for the
rinse.

The fact is, that RC is all plastic, it doesn't absorb chemicals, the
running tap immediately removes them.

> I dan't care for the Fiber based much. It's a pain in the butt.

So I thought, until I discovered the difference. I stronly advise to either
move to digital prints - they're not so much worse than RC - or give FB a
chance. Once you got the taste, you'll forget about digital printing.

Jan

www.jantieghem.tk

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traveler - 21 Mar 2005 10:45 GMT

After washing most of the chemstry off in the drum, I take the print
out and rinse it under a tepid stream from the tap thoroughly. I don't
expect nor have I ever noted any degradation of even my wall-mounted
color prints over time, despite what some know-it-alls will tell you
about color photos fading into oblivion after a certain number of
years. You stick it in the sunlight, hey, it's going to fade. You
care for it appropriately, hey, it's going to last awhile. I'm old
enough not to believe that many of my pictures are going to be around
very long after I'm history, anyway, no matter how good I think they
are. If you don't get them published and if a few of those published
books aren't still around for several decades, you may as well forget
it. What difference does it make anyway? You're gonna die, your
pictures are going to turn to dust, and eventually, nobody will know or
care that you've even been alive, that is, unless you are somebody
special and the world finds out about it first. Even then, all it will
take is a generation like the current one who don't give a rat's a.s
about anyone or anything that has come before them and all bets are
off. In other words, if you get every last molecule of chemistry off
your f.cking prints or not is meaningless in the face of your own
mortality.

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otzi - 21 Mar 2005 15:46 GMT

Kind of colourful, but I have to agree with these sentiments as I too can
see my tenure on this mud ball achieving it's ultimate conclusion. My place
expunged as a foot print in a puddle. When my 'works' will be swept away by
those ignorant or too busy to care. The beauty we see in our works is just
that, 'what we see' can't expect others to feel the same we do and they
won't. So live and work to do the best we can with sincerity, that will be
remembered, for a short time at least.

Signature

Otzi

> After washing most of the chemstry off in the drum, I take the print
> out and rinse it under a tepid stream from the tap thoroughly. I don't
[quoted text clipped - 16 lines]
> your f.cking prints or not is meaningless in the face of your own
> mortality.

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Jan T - 22 Mar 2005 19:02 GMT

Well, maybe we'd better start sculpturing instead...? Output lasts longer...
;-)

Anyway, I second your philosophy!

| You're gonna die, your
| pictures are going to turn to dust, and eventually, nobody will know or
[quoted text clipped - 5 lines]
| your f.cking prints or not is meaningless in the face of your own
| mortality.

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darkroommike - 11 Mar 2005 18:45 GMT

When starting out use RC paper, RC prints can easily be washed on at a time
in a regular tray, just fill and dump the tray several times. RC papers do
not require wash aids either. If you want to get just a little fancier get
a wash tray like the Patterson unit. Prints can be hung from one corner
using clothes pins (I use plastic clothes pins and wash them once in a
while to rinse the dust off) and will air dry nice and flat. Since the
prints wash so fast there is no real need to "batch" wash them.

darkroommike

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dan.c.quinn@att.net - 11 Mar 2005 22:47 GMT

1; After the fix rinse a print in just enough water to cover well,
perhaps
8 ounces. Agitate plenty for a good minute, flipping and turning.
2; Place in holding tray.
3; At end of run, with prints still in tray, dump the water, then
refill with fresh.
From the bottom of the stack pull the prints to top. Agitate some
and continue
with the others; a few, 3 - 4, a lot 6 - 7 minutes.
4; If a few prints repeat step 3 once, if a lot repeat step 3 twice.

If you use very little water each wash, add one more wash. I
sponge dry then set the print or prints on edge to finish.

FWIW, I process single-tray one-shot using very dilute chemistry.
With only one tray used, I've a roomy bathroom darkroom. The wash
for RC paper is so quick the one tray takes care of that also; a 1, 2,
and 3 minute wash is given. With FB I need two trays. Dan

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