Topic: Old Fixer Question

[jharr]

My fixer never seems to stop working. I use it and use it and it deposits silver on the inside of the bottle and I keep on using it. I don't have to extend times or replenish. But I'm wondering if there is a 'hidden' problem. The purpose of fixer is to dissolve unexposed silver halides. Eventually, I imagine the concentration of these solutes is near or at saturation. The solvent must be able to super saturate and then precipitate later. That's why it would keep working. But recently, I did some reversal processing. The fixer is applied after the second development step, so I think that it might be depositing silver halides on the paper which are then later oxidizing to a brownish color and fogging the highlights. Does that sound like something that would happen with the laws of physics as they are in this reality?

[Francois]

I don't think the silver would deposit on the surface of the prints...
I did have a bottle of fixer that wouldn't die. It was some Ilford Rapid Fix and it smelled of sulfur really bad.
I eventually got rid of it not because it didn't work anymore but because I just couldn't stand the smell anymore!

[Bryan]

I use Photogrphers Formulary TF-5 Rapid Fix and it seems to last forever.  I usually stop using it when it starts looking really dirty.  Once it gets to where I think it should be used up I start checking it with Hypo Chek but I have yet to see what happens when it's used up. 

[SLVR]

I've had this before. After doing a roll of kodalith though it seemed to make it really murky. The fixer looked like swamp water.

Also Francois I've seen silver deposit on prints before. Ususally happens with older fixer used with film development also. When finally fixed and rinsed the prints have a black dust on them that can be wiped off in the rinse

[jharr]

Well black dust to me would imply silver metal particulates, but I'm wondering about the silver halides that are in solution in the fixer. What happens to them? In a reversal process, there aren't really any appreciable silver halides left in the emulsion. Although, now that I'm thinking about it, the halides in the fixer should all be fully exposed (mine is kept in a clear bottle) and so their valance electrons are all promoted and silver metal is produced. Maybe this is just a red herring I am trying to blame for fogging my paper. This is old paper I am using, so it could very well be pre-fogged. Has anyone else done reversal development on paper? I have looked online, but it is hard to tell if the photo is actually high contrast or if it has been made so in post.

[Francois]

Never done reversal on paper or on film...
But I do have some fogged paper that leaves a nice 18% gray base on every image I print on it. I'm actually thinking of using it as a paper negative and maybe produce some high contrast images.... if it works.