Friday's Tip - Washing Prints More Efficiently

Washing prints is important. I wash my prints in the sink, my RC prints for 30 minutes and my FB prints for an hour. In this video I provide a tip to help you keep those prints apart so the get a better water flow.
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[@user-qm8sx8ne8g]

I have never used FB paper but that's a good tip and with a relatively slow rate of water it may not use that much, given that you can do maybe 4 prints or more at a time. However with RC paper Ilford recommends only a few minutes wash time I use a Nova slot washer with a relatively slow rate of water ingress and egress and never more than 2-3 mins per single sheet. I have RC prints from nearly 20 years ago and they still look fine. On a metered water system and with anything except a small volume of prints water usage starts to cost money that may be unnecessarily spent and largely wasted in terms of benefit with anything like a 20 min wash

[@mikecallaghan9535]

Good tip, on a similar line I have a couple of old record (LP) racks that I use in the laundry sink, which is nice and deep. to do this.

[@paularellano2962]

Cool Idea !

[@namesurename-fotografiaana3168]

I would prefer to recirculate water and change it batch by batch. Esspecially for late stage, when you have big difference of chemical compounds in print and water. That would be to save water. :)

[@PictorialPlanet]

This idea would work well with RC prints that need less washing. The Ilford instructions for RC paper does provide ideas for quick washing.

[@rudolffamiev2188]

Nice tip! Thanks!

[@PictorialPlanet]

Cheers, Rudolf!

[@stansnowball6954]

Hi John, An elegant and simple solution that saves having to stand over the sink! I've a Patterson drying rack that assembles in the same way but it never struck me to re-purpose it for washing so thanks a lot! I also like your upturned funnel solution to provide the overflow. I just wondered about the rate of flow you'd advise from the tap to minimize the use of water while still giving you a good result.? Once again many thanks for the great pointers!

[@PictorialPlanet]

Thanks for your comment! Monday's video should answer your question very nicely :)

[@stansnowball6954]

Looking forward!

[@gregpantelides1355]

Thanks, John!!!!!

[@PictorialPlanet]

Cheers, Greg!

[@rlfsoso]

well… I wonder if the 30 minutes for RC prints are not a bit excessive as the chemistry stays in the emulsion, only. So it is at least a bit long compared to the time you give for fibre bases prints. With this long time, water will soak from the cut sides into the plastic covered paper base and warp them, necessitating cutting the prints down a bit by 1/2 a centimeter from each side. I suggest washing the prints under more or less fast moving water instead (see Paterson RC speed washer for an example how this could be done) for a much shorter time (like 5 minutes). Washing fibre based prints is of course a totally different thing, where one can either use a fast exchange of water to ensure an all time huge diffusion difference between the chemistry loaden prints (and fibre base) combining with a fast removal or a more optimized supply of an adequate amount of freah water combined with targeted removal of fixer loaded water from the bottom of the washer (rocking washer)… What do you think? PS: the Jessops dryer looks exactly like the Paterson dryer in all details Another thing to ask for as a Patreon supporter (in a future video) is how to properly set up a color head for doing VC prints. I have a devil of a time to understand what "Beyond Monochrome" says on this and need an approach which is more broken down to my abilities (and I lack a densitometer for measuring prints). Cheers, Rolf

[@PictorialPlanet]

Thanks for your comment, Rolf! The Ilford RC Paper instructions recommend a shorter wash than I give, more like your example here. I've washed my prints like this forever and never suffered a single problem. Ilford must have figured they might be a problem so recommended a short wash. Funny, they also say the image will form on the paper in 10 seconds (with Multigrade developer 1+9) but I've not seen it before 25-25 seconds so I'm not sure about their spec sheet. I do concede that you are right as per their instructions :) Message me on Patreon and I can help with your colour head setup.

[@rlfsoso]

@@PictorialPlanet thanks. well maybe they mean the first traces of an image ("Bildspurzeit") which we can use to do factorial development (I never bothered with it, but check if things start to get REALLY long). There are probably still some never corrected typos or wrong numbers around.

[@PictorialPlanet]

@rlfsoso good idea but no, the image starts to just appear around 20 seconds with fresh dev and well exposed paper. I actually do factorial development and gave a video on it somewhere.

[@garysamson1291]

Why not use a vertical archival print washer designed for this kind of work? You would be able to wash many more prints generated during a print session and there would be virtually no risk of print damage. I'm also assuming you are using some kind of hypo clearing solution to speed up the washing of fiber base prints, otherwise 60 minutes is not long enough.

[@PictorialPlanet]

Why not use an archival print washer? Good question, Gary. I have to assume you've not noticed my channel is aimed at all levels of expertise and pay grade. My aim is to make darkroom work accessible for all, regardless of income or gear, and demonstrate how a simple camera and darkroom can produce fabulous photographs. Fancy and expensive paper washers are not required, at all, to make the very highest quality prints. Young or new aspiring photographers, who want to make wonderful prints, should not be told they need this or that to make good work. I believe they should be shown the ways that have always worked in darkrooms, without needing 'stuff'. Let's make prints, with what we have around us. Beautiful, amazing prints. It won't make anyone a better printer, having a vertical archival print washer but making prints will. I'm interested in how long you wash your FB prints for when not using a wash aid?

[@garysamson1291]

Hi John, thank you for your quick reply! I generally make 10 to 12 fiber base prints during a printing session so after the prints have been fixed, they are washed for 10 minutes and then treated in Kodak Hypo Clearing Agent or Permawash for 10 minutes with a final wash of one hour in a vertical archival washer. This method is described in Ansel Adams' book "The Print" published several decades ago. I believe that Kodak has stated that prints not treated in a washing aid would have to be washed for 2 to 3 hour to equal what a washing aid would do with a one hour wash. The other factor of course is the temperature of the wash water which should be 70f to 75f degrees. By the way I have your book, "The Art of Black and White Developing" which I have enjoyed very much!

[@PictorialPlanet]

@garysamson1291 Thanks for this, Gary. I'm going to cover my use of wash aid (page 319) on Monday. It is similar to your use although I don't pre-wash as long as you do. I'm always keen to ensure my prints are archival and your answer helps me understand what others are doing. Again, thank you for your reply.

[@carstennorwaynorge2195]

Good idear

[@nickfanzo]

Have you tried Adox Atomal developer? I never tried it but after researching Salgado’s works I found he liked it for its long tonal range. Any thoughts?

[@PictorialPlanet]

Use D23 or FX55

[@nickfanzo]

@@PictorialPlanet they’re the same I am assuming?

[@PictorialPlanet]

No, they are excellent developers you can make at home.

[@nickfanzo]

@@PictorialPlanet ah yes I’m aware but I was wondering your opinion on Atomal if you ever used it.

[@PictorialPlanet]

I don't use commercial developers or give advice on them, Nick. I think you're better of using FX55 or D23.

[@flyingo]

The fact that so much water is used in the process of photography concerns me. Surely there is a more efficient way to wash prints and rinse developing gear that does not necessitate the use of several gallons of water. Constantly running water for a period of 30 minutes, and especially for an hour, seems like a huge waste. Would it be possible to use much less water but maybe at a higher pressure or agitation to clear the chemicals?

[@PictorialPlanet]

Fixer byproducts are, unfortunately, removed by diffusion. This is very slow. On Monday I'll be discussing ways to speed up the process. Hope you can join me then.