Mixed a gallon of Zone VI hypo (Calumet) on day 1 and used one quart. Noticed nothing unusual. Next day used another quart to fix 4 photos, each rinsed and placed in a waiting tray in another room with a bright light. Went off for an hour and came back to find three of the four prints turning brown, the last one not yet. And the hypo tray liquid was a bright blue in color. Hmmm! Threw it out. Took quart #3 from the bottle and determined that it cleared film in two minutes so used it for four photos. At the end of the session found that the hypo tray liquid had a blue tinge but not as strong as quart 2. Anybody got any ideas? Did I get a package of hypo that was half hypo-clear per chance? That might explain quart 2, but not quart one that seems to have been OK. Or do I have another unsolvable scientific mystery here?

-- Richard C. Trochlil (trochlilbb@neumedia.net), October 18, 2000

Answers

Richard: Sounds like you either got a batch of contaminated or outdated fixer or the factory screwed up a batch and didn't get the chemical mix right. I would dump the whole batch and start over. It is an unusual problem. I can't think of anything in the darkroom other than Hypo Clear that will screw up fixer.

Regards, Doug.

-- Doug Paramore (dougmary@alanet.com), October 18, 2000.

Take it back to Calumet and they should make good on it. Pat

-- pat krentz (patwandakrentz@aol.com), October 19, 2000.

Sorry, I don't have a clue why fixer should turn blue, but I'm wondering why you throw 2 pints of fixer away after only putting 4 prints through it.
How big are your prints?

-- Pete Andrews (p.l.andrews@bham.ac.uk), October 20, 2000.

On second thoughts, I do have a clue. You're keeping your fixer in a metal container aren't you?
Glass or plastic only, glass or plastic.

-- Pete Andrews (p.l.andrews@bham.ac.uk), October 20, 2000.

.....Or, you're using enamel-steel trays, and the enamel is chipped, cracked, or crazed.
Right! This is definitely my last post on this subject.

-- Pete Andrews (p.l.andrews@bham.ac.uk), October 20, 2000.

I'll add to Pete's comments: How about checking that the water you are using to mix your fixer isn't contaminated by dissolved metals (i.e.iron, in the form of rust usually) from welll water or rusting pipes. Also, it would help to know if you've been having good results with fixers until just lately, if you've changed brands, etc., etc. Let us know how you fare. Regards, ;^D)

-- Doremus Scudder (ScudderLandreth@compuserve.com), October 21, 2000.