well, the title kinda explains it all. I'm nt looking to print pictures at home, however, I am looking to slash darkroom time by predeveloping my negatives at home and whatnot. Thigs for me to consider are cost (cheaper better), quantity (more better), and the fact that I will usually be using Ilford film and sometimes Tri-X. and just wondering, it ain't too hazardous to pour the developer/water mixture down my sink or toilet is it? We're renting, and leaving next year so pipe issues arent much of a consideration, however evil of me it may be.

I worked in a darkroom developing dental x-rays...same concept developer/fixer...uhmm...we had to save our developer and fixer in containers and ship them off to a hazardous waste company...although in the early days we did dump the stuff down the drain. I really think it's for the safety of the environment not so much a pipes issue. The exact reason why escapes me, not sure if it was the silver or something in the fixer that was the problem.... Maybe someone else can be a better help than me.....sounds like fun though!

I am, therefore I create.......
--- michelleamarante.com

Actually the Fixer is where most of the silver is.....That SHOULD NOT be dumped...just collect it in a jug of some sort and take it to a lab or back to school...they should have a reclamation system or collection somewhere.

Silver nitrite - ( Nitrate ) is the problem. Slynky. See if you can drop the solutions off at school. OR if you know somone who works at a professional film developing place, ask them to take care of it. As I recall the stop bath is not too bad ( isn't that the one with the vinegar smell? If it is you can pour that down the toilet and flush. ) The fixer as I recall is formaldaheyde. Which also is not so bad. However you might not want to cuddle up to it when you sleep. Why don't you read the label it should have disposal directions. Bsteph

Why not save yourself all the bother and just go digital? Seriously, check out your local Chemist (Pharmacy?) - I know they'll usually get rid of old medecines, they may do the same for chemicals. (",)

Why is all the Silver in the fixer? Shouldn't it be in the first two steps? Bsteph

umm, the fixer we used at school was recyclable, we'd just reuse it, so i wasnt planning on dumping that down. does it depend on which fixer is being used? and back to the original question, any ideas on what names and brands, sizes, and approx price of them would be best?

I will look at labels on my chems and get back to you. but I have only looked at developing times and have poured all of my chems down the drain, as the dark room book I have said so. Good point about it being hazardous has I have not thought about it.

Eggiwegs! I would like... to smash them!

OH GOD AZY!!!! Bsteph bangs his head agains the wall. OK. Good people. NOT EVERYTHING that CAN go down the drain SHOULD go down the drain!!! For example. PAINT-not good, motor oil-not good, dissolved Nickel and Lead products not good, Battery ACID -NOT GOOD. People, for the love of the environment. Please read the lables on the bottles. If it's not safe to drink!!! It probably is not safe for the environment. Bsteph

As a S.E. at a newspaper, part of the non-electronics/non-network part of our job is to deal with chemistry every day (remote imaging system with chemistry for film and plate development). Because of the sheer volume of chemistry we use, we are required to have a silver recovery system in our chemical drainage system. Most people doing a few rolls of film at home are not going to generate the level of harmful chemicals necessary to pose any danger to the environment. As long as you are on a public sewage system, small amounts of the processing effluents will be within most of the discharged material codes of your community (if you are still nervous about it, call up your local water/city works department and ask them). Also, mix developer and stop bath before disposal, you will partially neutralize them. Do not mix stop bath and fixer - with most consumer chems, you'll get a nice cloud of sulfur dioxide gas. Finally: DO NOT POUR THESE CHEMICALS DOWN YOUR DRAIN IF YOU HAVE A SEPTIC SYSTEM. As for which brands, go to the website of the company that makes your film and check the datasheet on each film. Most films react very differently to different brands and dilutions of chemistry (changes contrast, grain, saturation, etc.). -=>Donald

I honestly don't know. Twenty years ago, when I last did wet darkroom, I just poured things down the drain. Maybe lots of two-headed babies in that neighborhood? In the conventional B&W process, the silver gets dissolved out in the "Fixer." Commercial labs process the fixer to recover this silver. It is a heavy metal, but do not know if it is considered an environmental contaminant. The basic "fixer" material, Sodium Thiosulfate, should not be any big issue. Some of the B&W developers are skin irritants, and the stop bath, (itself being harmless vinegar), will contain traces of the developer. Damn! Even the WASH water may be an issue... C-41 B&W processes, or color, is a different game entirely. Formaldaheyde is definitely part of the process (I forget which), and is nasty, nasty stuff in the environment. [But I think, from what you've said in the past, that conventional silver processes are more your interest? For C-41, go to Quicky-Mart. I always used Dektol for developing (fiber) prints. Maybe Selectol if I was doing some funky chloro-bromide paper, but you seem to like the cold black tones. For the "plastic" based "papers", use whatever the manufacturer recommends. Film processing is where you can still make a lot of difference. General work was always D-76. My favorite was using a very fine grained B&W film, ASA 32, and processing it with VERY SLIGHT agitation in an active developer like Rhodenol. HC-something-or-other was also a good general purpose developer. ___ This is a REALLY good thread! Is there ever ANY reason to use the conventional B&W darkroom at home? Are the C-41 processes "just as good"? Do the conventional processes destroy the environment? Is this a motivation to go Digital?

Boy it sure is a good thread and it tells me how rusty with this type of stuff I am. I used to develop B/W film at home but then I stopped for about 6 years. So now in general all of my chemicals have gone kaput. C-41 process seemed to work fine for me though. Donald-Good point about the septic system. However, please remember that water treatment can handle some of contaminents you or I am putting into the system. BUT we are not the only one polluting the system. Imagine a neighborhood pouring -whatever- down the drain occuring across the country. Obviously, it's probably better for all to act with more caution. Bsteph

Bsteph - that's why you follow the material codes of your community. They don't base these on 1 house doing it every now and then. They create it based on the capacity of the system for entire community. When in doubt, go to the people who know. A simple call to your local gov't department of water will put your mind at ease. -=>Donald

Haven't done it for a few years, but when I did, I used HC-110 developer for the film (good because it come in a high-concentrate liquid form - stores well for long periods of time, can mix just what you need, and it mixes easily because it's a liquid) Kodak Indicator stop bath for the, (you guessed it), stop bath. (the stop bath can be omitted entirely, but you have to run the film through several washes before going into the fixer). For the fixer, I always used Kodak rapid Fix - for a couple of reasons. 1 - it's a liquid and is easy to mix, and 2 - it gives you the option of leaving out the hardener (which, if you plan to do any toning of prints, needs to be left out - otherwise you get splotchy tone results). For the print developer, I've always used Kodak Dektol. There are probably newer chemicals on the market by now - but this may be a good starting point. As for the silver content in the Fix - if you can get ahold of some zinc powder, a pinch of that in exhausted fix will precipitate a silver-sludge. (not suggesting anyone actually do this to try to recover silver - but it's an interesting experiment)

but fixer is recyclable right? We did it all the time in school... does it depend on the brand i guess?

Fixer is recyclable = there is some sort of additive that you poer into it every now and then to keep the potency up (and I can't for the life of me remember what it is) - but it seems like the additive was about as expensive to use as the fix itself.