I am a beginner of developing B&W film. The chemical that I used were: Kodak D72 & Kodak Polymax fixer I did not use any stopper except tip water, is it possible? Also, can I reuse the developer & fixer? Regards

-- Anonymous, March 31, 1997

Answers

Kenny, though some will disagree with me, always use an acid stop bath. By using water, you are not "stopping" the development, only slowing it. The developer is still inside the emulsion & still working. You are also diluting the fixer by adding water to it. An acid stop will add acid to the acid fixer, prolonging its life. With an acid stop you can reuse the stop & the fixer, within reason; but with water instead of acid, I wouldn't recommend it

-- Anonymous, May 01, 1997

As stated by others, it is better to use as stop bath to stop all developing action. Stop bath is not expensive and you can us it over and over for some time. I try to replace the stop bath after about 3 or 4 uses. Good Luck.

Mitch Twin Visions Photography By Mitch

-- Anonymous, July 31, 1997

Whether you use developer only once or several times before you discard it depends on how often and how much film you develop. Developer manufacturers will generally provide information about how many rolls you can develop for a given quantity. If you'll do that many rolls in a week's time, you might want to reuse. Otherwise, it may be good to mix up only the developer you need, use it once, then discard. This so-called "one shot" development method is easier when you start with a liquid developer concentrate rather than a powder. Fixer is universally re-used until exhausted. Buy a little bottle of Hypo Check solution to test your fixer. If a couple of drops of Hypo Check are clear as they fall into the fix, it's ok. If a cloudy precipitate forms, the fixer is bad and should be dumped.

-- Anonymous, November 11, 1998