prints darkening in fixer

[Doremus Scudder]

Am I the only one who likes his rubber-tipped bamboo tongs for prints up to 11x14 and my bare hands for larger prints? Gee, I never get kinks, fingerprints or anything like that. I've tried plastic tongs and hate them. When developing single smaller prints, I use the the tongs, lifting the print by a corner to drain and transfer. I agitate by gently pushing down the surface of the print with the rubber tips of the tongs... No marks, ever.

For larger prints and batches, I use either two tongs, one in each hand, or my clean, bare hands (I'm not using amidol or glycin). Works fine with no marks. I really don't see how some can damage prints so easily... Maybe my graded papers are more bullet-proof :-)

Sometimes I get some emulsion peeling when I'm shuffling a several prints at a time through all the chemicals, but only where my fingers constantly rub the print surface, and that is always limited to the white border areas which I trim anyway...

As for the monobath problem, I've had it with film and alkaline fixers, even with a water rinse in between. I now use an acid stop for everything.

I, too, observe prints changing in the fixer as they clear, but this does not seem to be the OP's problem. His significant darkening is likely extra development as described by PE.

My 2 cents,

Doremus Scudder
www.DoremusScudder.com

[Steve Smith]

By that time Steve you've gone well past the optimum development time.

Yes, I know. And I never take it that far. What I meant was that once the print seems to be not getting any more density, it's done.


Steve.

[winger]

Am I the only one who likes his rubber-tipped bamboo tongs for prints up to 11x14 and my bare hands for larger prints? Gee, I never get kinks, fingerprints or anything like that. I've tried plastic tongs and hate them. When developing single smaller prints, I use the the tongs, lifting the print by a corner to drain and transfer. I agitate by gently pushing down the surface of the print with the rubber tips of the tongs... No marks, ever.

For larger prints and batches, I use either two tongs, one in each hand, or my clean, bare hands (I'm not using amidol or glycin). Works fine with no marks. I really don't see how some can damage prints so easily... Maybe my graded papers are more bullet-proof :-)

You might be the only one who likes "his" bamboo tongs, but I'm one who likes hers. I do my print handling the same way as you. I use VC papers and have only had creases when I do something stupid or when I was first doing 16x20.

[Leigh B]

Why are you not using stop bath?

The water bath is insufficient to neutralize the developer.

- Leigh

[Rick A]

Bamboo tongs are alright so long as you mark them for specific chems and don't cross contaminate, bamboo soaks up some chems. And yes, I know, it may only be a miniscule amount, just call me OCD. The plastic ones I use have latches and a hook on one end, so I can hang my print over the tray for a few seconds before moving on to the next step. I have a different color tong for each tray(yes, call me OCD).

[winger]

Bamboo tongs are alright so long as you mark them for specific chems and don't cross contaminate, bamboo soaks up some chems. And yes, I know, it may only be a miniscule amount, just call me OCD. The plastic ones I use have latches and a hook on one end, so I can hang my print over the tray for a few seconds before moving on to the next step. I have a different color tong for each tray(yes, call me OCD).

Everything that touches a chemical gets labeled and only used for that chemical. I might be borderline OCD in how I handle chemicals and tools, but part of that's from working in a lab for 14 years. There, I could grab anything I needed without looking 'cause everything was always in exactly the same spot. I'm not quite that bad in my darkroom. Well, maybe close sometimes.
And I've broken more plastic ones than bamboo, too.

[Rick A]

I guess we're cut from the same cloth when it comes to implement placement. I hate bamboo because the rubber tips fall off all the time, and I haven't broken my plastics in 5 years and counting.

[Doremus Scudder]

Likewise, different tongs for different chemicals: red for developer, white for stop/fix, blue for toner.

I have one set of "bulletproof" rubber tips for my bamboo tongs that are fat and seem to stay on. I change these from tongs to tongs as the bamboo wears out and I have to discard them.

OCD is good in the darkroom :-)

Doremus Scudder

[Steve Smith]

I also have a colour scheme for trays. Red = developer, white = stop, green = fixer.

I only use one set of plastic tongs for all three but they get a quick dip in the stop bath before they go back into the developer (I'm sure someone will tell me why I shouldn't do that!).


Steve.

[Rick A]

Maybe because you are introducing stop into the developer and shortening its life span(by ever so little)