Archival Washing Tests (Part 4: Photographer’s Formulary TF-4 Archival Fix)

This is the final of a four-part series relating the results of my archival print washing tests. The first part of the series explaining details of print washing and the methods I used for these tests is Part 1: The Background. The second post, Part 2: Ilford Rapid Fixer, showed the method and results of print washing after fixing with Ilford Rapid Fixer. The third, Part 3: Selenium Toning shows the results of washing after toning with Kodak Rapid Selenium Toner.

Background

In this post, I’ll cover the empirical results of my washing tests with fiber-based prints fixed with Photographer’s Formulary TF-4 Archival Fix. This will be very similar to the post with the test results after fixing with Ilford Rapid Fixer. I’ll address the developing and fixing process, along with the wash time results using my DIY archival print washer. If you haven’t seen my previous post regarding my washing setup, you might want to read it first.

Discussion

Since Ilford Rapid Fixer is an acidic fixer, to prevent unwanted yellowish staining of highlights during selenium toning, it should be washed thoroughly after fixing. Kodak Rapid Selenium Toner is an alkali solution, so if I can use an alkali fixer, I can go directly from fixer to toner without the intermediate washing step. TF-4 is an alkali fixer, and I’m considering switching to it, but want to make sure I know how long a wash is adequate. It’s also been reported to have much lower wash times than acidic fixers.

Even though it’s preferable for tests to only change one variable at a time, I switched paper as I was out of the Oriental Seagull VC-FBII Glossy paper I’d used for the earlier tests and I had a package of Ilford MGFB Multigrade FB Classic available. Since it’s also a double-weight fiber-based paper, there really should be little or no effect on the tests.

Also, since there’s no need to use a wash aid like Kodak Hypo Clearing Agent after fixing with TF-4, I only ran one set of tests, going straight from the fixer to washing.

One other very important difference when using an alkali fixer is to use water as a stop bath, rather than the acidic stop baths very typically used. Since developer is alkali, and typical fixers are acidic, the acidic stop bath in between works fine. For an alkali fixer, using an acidic stop bath before will gradually change the pH of the fixing solution.

I cut the paper into strips of 2 inches by 8 inches. As before, in order to identify them I used a template with four holes at the top with four smaller index holes above them. By covering or exposing the larger holes, I marked the test strips with a binary identifier. Unlike before, I had my exposure time under control, so I wasn’t burning through the card stock template.

Since the archival wash time was the only variable in this test, there was only one test set.

For reference, I was testing for residual fixer using Photographer’s Formulary Residual Hypo Test. The results are checked with this guide:

It’s important to examine the results immediately after removing the solution, as the spot will continue to grow darker as the paper and solution dry.

As with the earlier tests, I’ve estimated the flow rate through the washer at approximately 0.4 gallons per minute (1.5 liters per minute.)

All of the test strips were pinned with a plastic clothespin to a divider, with each test strip on a separate divider. I pinned them at the top of the divider by the bottom of the test strip so the area I would be testing with the solution was well inside the washer.

Process and Results

For all the test strips in this test, I used this process:

• Expose a test strip to mark an identifier (in binary, because it was easier than trying to use stencils for numerals)
• 2:00 – Develop in Dektol (standard dilution of 1:2)
• 0:30 – Distilled water as a stop bath
• 1:00 – Photographer’s Formulary TF-4 Archival Fix (standard working solution of 1:3)
• 3:00 – Tray wash with Kodak Automatic Print Siphon to remove an initial portion of the fixer before moving to the archival washer
• Variable – Archival wash in my DIY archival washer
• Remove the test strip and squeegee the test strip between my fingers to remove most of the surface water
• 2:00 – Test with Photographer’s Formulary Residual Hypo Test
• Blot the test solution and immediately examine and photograph the results

Note: All times are in minutes and seconds (m:ss)

The photos below show the spots after use of the test solution. I had to annotate two of the photos to show the test area since the stain is nearly impossible to see.

The time spent in the archival washer is shown below each print.

There’s very little difference between the stains at 35 and 40 minutes, and they are both very difficult to see. In fact when I was editing these photos, I had to use an adjustment layer in Photoshop to drive the saturation really high to determine the location of the spots.

Conclusion

Washing after fixing with TF-4 is a breeze compared to Ilford Rapid fixer; no hypo clear necessary, the wash times are much lower, and I’d be able to go directly to the selenium toner without an intermediate wash step if I choose. The residual fixer was completely cleared somewhere between 35 and 40 minutes in the archival washer after fixing with TF-4, as opposed to 60 to 65 minutes after fixing with Ilford Rapid Fixer.

Here’s a summary of the results of all my tests for comparison.

* Tray wash occurred before the hypo clear

This series of tests was very informative for me. Based on the results, I think I’ll be using Photographer’s Formulary TF-4 in the future. I’ve evaluated the economics of using it, and found it compares well with Ilford Rapid Fixer, with a slight edge based on my print production levels.