Stop, fix, and the five-ten-twenty wash

The developer gets all the attention, but the next three steps decide whether the negatives last. Here's what I do, with the numbers taken from Ilford's sheets.

Stop

You can rinse in plain water, but Ilford recommends an acid stop bath. Ilfostop is used at 1+19 for 10 seconds at 20 °C, and the sheet says longer won't hurt, within reason. Ilfostop comes with an indicator dye.

Fix

Ilford Rapid Fixer for film is 1+4, and the sheet gives 2 to 5 minutes at 20 °C with fresh fixer, depending on the film. Agitate the same way as in the developer. Unreplenished, a litre of working solution is good for about 24 rolls of 36-exposure 35mm.

Wash

Running water for 5 to 10 minutes works. For spiral tanks Ilford describes a quicker method that uses far less water and still gives negatives "suitable for long term storage":

1. Fill the tank with water at about the same temperature (within 5 °C). Invert it 5 times. Drain.
2. Refill. Invert 10 times. Drain.
3. Refill. Invert 20 times. Drain.

Then a final rinse with wetting agent: Ilford starts at 5 ml Ilfotol per litre (1+200) and says you may need to adjust it for your water.

What I'd add

Used fixer contains dissolved silver, so it doesn't go down the drain. See the chemistry page for how I get rid of it.

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