The definitive word (I hope) on color stabilzers!

[EdSawyer]

Thanks for sharing all the great details on stabilizers and such, PE! Most appreciated.

[cinejerk]

Took me a while to find a source for formalin. Searching through ebay proved fruitless !!

I'm not affiliated with this guy just found his prices reasonable.

Talk to Tom at: lsalow@peakpeak.com

[Photo Engineer]

I might note here that the Formulary will often special order chemicals, and also has some chemicals on-hand that are not in the catalog. Talk to Sherry or Bud.

PE

[Bertil]

I have a bottle of Kodak Photo-Flo (polyethoxyethanol and ethylene-glycol), is it the same stuff as Kodak Photo-Flo 200 ? My bottle doesn't add 200 on the label.
/Bertil

[Photo Engineer]

That is not Photo Flo 200. That is probably Photo Flo 600, as Photo Flo 200 has Propylene Glycol, not Ethylene Glycol. It would most likely work, but the concentrations would have to be adjusted properly. If you have instructions for the bottle you have, make 1 L and add 3 - 10 ml /l of 37% Formalin.

PE

[DREW WILEY]

This is interesting, Ron. But to back up to your comment on RA4 so-called stabilizer - I have never used it and in fact wash my prints about triple the recommended time & volume, so feel comfortable
I've done a good job. But what is the premise behind the stabilizer, or is there any other than a
shortcut in cumulative dry to dry processing time? I've never even look up the ingredients for this
stuff.

[Photo Engineer]

There are 3 color paper stabilzers. They are designed to maintain pH, present an oxygen barrier against fading, and to prevent growth of micro-organisms in the coating. One of them supposedly allows for reduced wash rate and / or time.

The original type 2 stabilizer would increase image stability by over 2X. It is no longer available and IDK how it would perform with current papers.

Disadvantages include increased tackiness to prints.

But then I said most of this in my OP.

PE

[Roger Cole]

Took me a while to find a source for formalin. Searching through ebay proved fruitless !!

I'm not affiliated with this guy just found his prices reasonable.

Talk to Tom at: lsalow@peakpeak.com

I did find sources for 10% formalin on eBay, though, one in a reasonable size in the UK and this lifetime supply in the US:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/LOT-OF-4-GAL...item33667a0a6a

Couldn't this just be used at 3.7x the concentration? Or are there other ingredients that would be hostile to film?

[Photo Engineer]

Roger, that formalin is just fine. Just adjust the amount.

PE

[Roger Cole]

Thanks. I noticed in the photos it has an expiration date listed of 8/27/2012. Does this stuff really go bad?