Combining Kokak and Ilford chemicals?

Emily Mitchell , May 31, 2014; 05:59 p.m.

I have two questions if anyone is willing to help me out!
Question 1: Silly me, I bought Kodak brand Developer and Stop, and Ilford fix! Is it a problem to use them all together?
Question 2: This is the first time I've developed at home -- I was previously using my school darkroom where we could use tap water. However I now live in a place where the water is really, really hard. I bought a jug of distilled water, but as I have to do a final film rinse of 5 minutes, I don't think my gallon-size jug would be sufficient. (In regards to the final film rinse, the Kodak guide says: "Run the wash water at least fast enough to provide a complete change of water in the tank in 5 minutes." I'm not sure what this means ... can I pour in the water super slowly as long as all the original water gets rinsed out within 5 min?)

THANK YOU!

Responses

Jerry Thirsty ,  May 31, 2014; 06:11 p.m.

1. No problem
2. Assuming your developing tank can be inverted without spilling, look up "Ilford wash method" on the web for a much less water-intensive method (that still gets the job done).

Jean-Yves Mead , May 31, 2014; 06:17 p.m.

1. No problems there. Developer and fixer don't interact anyway.
2. Try the Ilford washing method using tap water at processing temperature, and save the distilled water for the final rinse:
   • fill with tap water, give five inversions, pour away water.
   • fill with tap water, give ten inversions, pour away water.
   • fill with tap water, give twenty inversions, pour away water.
   • fill with distilled water + wetting agent (if desired), soak for one minute, pour away water.
   • dry film.
   • have a beer to celebrate.

Lex Jenkins  May 31, 2014; 06:31 p.m.

Ditto, the Ilford wash method. I began using that several years ago when I lived in a rural home with well water heavy in minerals, especially lime scale. I used filtered well water for washing prints, and for the first washes of the developed negatives. I switched to the cheapest bottled distilled water I could find for the final film rinse with a drop of wetting agent.

Another tip (courtesy of Roger Hicks, either from one of his books or via the Compuserve forums years ago):
Suspend the strip of negatives diagonally to dry. Water will gravitate toward the lowest edge and drip from the single lowest corner. Any remaining residue from hard water will be confined to the edges of the film, away from the negative frames. For 35mm film I used "S" hooks from unfolded large paper clips, hooked through the sprocket holes. For medium format film I used mosquito hemostats to clamp the edges (medium format film has no sprocket holes). Both were suspended via heavy duty rubber bands, usually from the shower curtain overhead and from any handy projection at the bottom - the tub/shower faucets work fine for this.

No problems with dust because I ran a recirculating air filter 24/7 in the spare bath/utility room. The air circulation speeded up drying too.

via: Photo.net