E6 Bleach-Fix Alternative.

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Some Dude - 17 May 2005 15:06 GMT

I am looking for a bleach-fix alternative for E6 that is somewhat
commonly available in another name perhaps or something that is close
to a substitute. I presume this means some for of Formalhyde or
derivative. I noticed a DIY of which I have almost all the chemicals:

Potassium ferricyanide 80.0 g
Potassium bromide 20.0 g
Disodium phosphate, anhydrous 12.0 g
Acetic acid, glacial 5.0 ml
Water to 1.0 litre

Has anyone done this? This is strictly experimental so good output is
not mandatory.

Thanks,
sd

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Nick Zentena - 17 May 2005 15:50 GMT

> I am looking for a bleach-fix alternative for E6 that is somewhat
> commonly available in another name perhaps or something that is close
[quoted text clipped - 9 lines]
> Has anyone done this? This is strictly experimental so good output is
> not mandatory.

Which other chemicals are you using? IIRC Kodak moved the formalhdye up
the chain. It used to be in the stabilizer. So if you make your own bleach
you'll have to make your own stabilizer with the formalhyde.

Nick

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Some Dude - 17 May 2005 16:33 GMT

Hi Nick.

I am planning on using a regular fix, photo flo as my (last step)
"stabilizer", and was considering Glycol (its the same stuff they use
for Fog Machines and I already have a gallon of it) as a replacement
for Formalhyde (I ain't keeping that stuff in my darkroom, no thanks).
it ain't *Glyoxal* (which i'll have to figure out the chemistry behind
that) but i'm all about having a good time.

The formula here:

http://groups-beta.google.com/group/rec.photo.darkroom/browse_thread/thread/71bf
d56a8686cbd2/3922e7a314096bb6?q=glyoxal+kodak&rnum=1&hl=en#3922e7a314096bb6

For the bleach-fix phase.

I don't intend to solve for the reversal bath..don't ask :)

The rest i'll follow with the regular E6 chemistry
process...temperature, washing, tanks, pre-warming, etc.

crazy (or stupid to some) but thats me ..

Cheers,
sd

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Nick Zentena - 17 May 2005 17:39 GMT

> Hi Nick.
>
[quoted text clipped - 8 lines]
>
> http://groups-beta.google.com/group/rec.photo.darkroom/browse_thread/thread/71bf
d56a8686cbd2/3922e7a314096bb6?q=glyoxal+kodak&rnum=1&hl=en#3922e7a314096bb6

You don't need much formalhyde. My C-41 stablizer uses a total of 3ml of
formalhyde in a litre. I'm still alive-)

You'd think if it could just be replaced with something else Kodak
would have done that. Instead they went to the trouble of designing new
chemicals that still end up with formalhyde.

Nick

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Mike King - 18 May 2005 19:12 GMT

Back in the dark ages when E-6 first came out (and I was a much younger
tech) the King Concept Imagemaker used a hybrid E-4/E-6 process. The first
and color developers were E-6 and the rest of the process was E-4. I
mention this only because the bleach formula you mention is very similar to
the E-4 bleach (no EDTA) and the E-4 fixer is a non-hardening rapid fixer
type, so it should work.

Why did the Imagemaker use this curious collection of chemicals?

1. The E-4 bleach did not require aeration ( a much bigger concern when
EDTA bleaches first came out).

2. The E-4 bleach was cheaper.

3. If you were processing E-3 and E-4 as well as E-6 you could cut down
your inventory by using the same bleach, fixer and stabilizer for all three
processes, just at different processing temps.

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> I am looking for a bleach-fix alternative for E6 that is somewhat
> commonly available in another name perhaps or something that is close
[quoted text clipped - 12 lines]
> Thanks,
> sd

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