processing with limited water supply

I am moving to a new house where there is well water and a sceptic tank. I
wish to continue to process my black and white materials archivally. I
remember reading somewhere in one of Ansel Adams books about using a limited
amount of water when it was scarce. I think you fill the tank or tray, let
it sit for a length of time with agitation, then discard and repeat.

Is anyone doing this?
How do you know that you have processed adequately?
Am I just dreaming that this is possible to do?

thanks all in advance,
Michael McCarthy

Michael McCarthy wrote:
I am moving to a new house where there is well water and a sceptic tank. I
wish to continue to process my black and white materials archivally. I
remember reading somewhere in one of Ansel Adams books about using a limited
amount of water when it was scarce. I think you fill the tank or tray, let
it sit for a length of time with agitation, then discard and repeat.

Is anyone doing this?
How do you know that you have processed adequately?
Am I just dreaming that this is possible to do?


Go to the Ilford website, look at the technical specifications sheet for
FP-4 under rinsing, it gives a method, for doing this as well.

W

Michael McCarthy wrote:
I am moving to a new house where there is well water and a sceptic tank. I
wish to continue to process my black and white materials archivally. I
remember reading somewhere in one of Ansel Adams books about using a limited
amount of water when it was scarce. I think you fill the tank or tray, let
it sit for a length of time with agitation, then discard and repeat.

Is anyone doing this?
How do you know that you have processed adequately?
Am I just dreaming that this is possible to do?


Go to the Ilford website, look at the technical specifications sheet for
FP-4 under rinsing, it gives a method, for doing this as well.

W

"Michael McCarthy" wrote in message
...
I am moving to a new house where there is well water and a sceptic tank. I
wish to continue to process my black and white materials archivally.

Set up a rain barrel. No kidding.

A renounded photographer today once washed his prints on the cement ledge of
his home in France when it rained. He still has those prints. Most
excellent.

"Michael McCarthy" wrote in message
...
I am moving to a new house where there is well water and a sceptic tank. I
wish to continue to process my black and white materials archivally.

Set up a rain barrel. No kidding.

A renounded photographer today once washed his prints on the cement ledge of
his home in France when it rained. He still has those prints. Most
excellent.

"The Wogster" wrote in message
news
Go to the Ilford website, look at the technical specifications sheet for
FP-4 under rinsing, it gives a method, for doing this as well.

Which reminds me - you can wash film in bitters (that swill the British call
tap beer). It's cheaper than clean water.

"The Wogster" wrote in message
news
Go to the Ilford website, look at the technical specifications sheet for
FP-4 under rinsing, it gives a method, for doing this as well.

Which reminds me - you can wash film in bitters (that swill the British call
tap beer). It's cheaper than clean water.

Michael

You may want to check with the local people familiar with your septic
system. I am also on a septic, although I have city water. Rinse
water is not a big problem for the system. I do take some of my
exhausted chemicals down for disposal rather than dump them into the
septic (I dump developers and stop, I save fix and toner).

Although getting back to your original question, I believe that David
Vestal, in a book on B&W that he wrote, probably in the 60s, claimed
that you could rinse your prints in still water, for a long time (I
think that it was hrs) and that it would give you an archival wash.

Mark

On Wed, 20 Oct 2004 13:13:18 -0400, "Michael McCarthy"
wrote:

I am moving to a new house where there is well water and a sceptic tank. I
wish to continue to process my black and white materials archivally. I
remember reading somewhere in one of Ansel Adams books about using a limited
amount of water when it was scarce. I think you fill the tank or tray, let
it sit for a length of time with agitation, then discard and repeat.

Is anyone doing this?
How do you know that you have processed adequately?
Am I just dreaming that this is possible to do?

thanks all in advance,
Michael McCarthy

Michael McCarthy wrote:

I am moving to a new house where there is well water and a sceptic tank. I
wish to continue to process my black and white materials archivally. I
remember reading somewhere in one of Ansel Adams books about using a limited
amount of water when it was scarce. I think you fill the tank or tray, let
it sit for a length of time with agitation, then discard and repeat.

Is anyone doing this?
How do you know that you have processed adequately?
Am I just dreaming that this is possible to do?


Dan Quinn here is the "minimalist."

But essentially you can wash prints by successive changes
of water in tray as efficaciously as in a 20 gallon print
washer running a 1 gal/minute. Simply gently cycle the prints.
I don't do this but on occasion I will just soak a print
clean if it's just one print and it works well.

Also to save water some use an alkaline fix, which requires
less wash time (i.e., no thiosulfate ions to wash out.) I
use the archival fix method: Rapid fix at 1+3 for 1 minute max.,
which shortens the fix and wash time (most papers fix in about
30 seconds) since it limits the amount of fixer residue in
fiber based papers. Hypo clear, and then wash in an archival
washer for 20 minutes.

The best way to tell if you are washing properly is conduct an
HT-2 fixer residue test. Do a search in rec.photo.darkroom for
washing, HT-2, etc. and there are lots of thread and formulas
on this.

Course RC papers always require much shorter wash times...

Michael McCarthy wrote:

I am moving to a new house where there is well water and a sceptic tank. I
wish to continue to process my black and white materials archivally. I
remember reading somewhere in one of Ansel Adams books about using a limited
amount of water when it was scarce. I think you fill the tank or tray, let
it sit for a length of time with agitation, then discard and repeat.

Is anyone doing this?
How do you know that you have processed adequately?
Am I just dreaming that this is possible to do?


Dan Quinn here is the "minimalist."

But essentially you can wash prints by successive changes
of water in tray as efficaciously as in a 20 gallon print
washer running a 1 gal/minute. Simply gently cycle the prints.
I don't do this but on occasion I will just soak a print
clean if it's just one print and it works well.

Also to save water some use an alkaline fix, which requires
less wash time (i.e., no thiosulfate ions to wash out.) I
use the archival fix method: Rapid fix at 1+3 for 1 minute max.,
which shortens the fix and wash time (most papers fix in about
30 seconds) since it limits the amount of fixer residue in
fiber based papers. Hypo clear, and then wash in an archival
washer for 20 minutes.

The best way to tell if you are washing properly is conduct an
HT-2 fixer residue test. Do a search in rec.photo.darkroom for
washing, HT-2, etc. and there are lots of thread and formulas
on this.

Course RC papers always require much shorter wash times...