Why use Water softener in Photo processing industry?
Photographic processing, also known as photographic development, is the chemical process that is used to treat photographic film or paper after exposure to produce a negative or positive image. Photographic processing converts the latent image into a visible image, making it permanent and light insensitive.
Regardless of the manufacturer of the film or paper, all processes based on the gelatine silver process are similar. Instant films, such as those produced by Polaroid, and thermally developed films are examples of exceptional variations.
PHOTOGRAPHIC PROCESSING CHEMISTRY
Photographic processing solutions contain acids, bases, and salts. The oxides are being used to make acids, bases, and salts, but they are never directly used in photographic processing. Stop bath and fixing solutions contain acids. As a result, their pH values are less than 7. In the developer, bases are being used. As a result, developers have pH values higher than 7. In developers and fixing baths, salts that can be acidic, neutral, or base are used. Fixer is primarily composed of the salt sodium thiosulfate. Potassium Bromide, which is commonly found in developer, is also a salt.
With the exception of acetic acid i.e. stop bath, the majority of bases, salts, and acids used in photographic processing are inorganic and thus do not contain carbon. Most photographic processing solutions contain water, which is also inorganic. Water serves as a solvent. That is, it is used to breakdown the other compounds used in processing chemicals, allowing the chemicals to work on the film's emulsion. It is also used to eliminate any chemical that remained on the emulsion after the wash step. Organic (carbon-based) compounds are also used in photographic processing. Developer contains carbon because the developing agent is an organic compound.
STOP BATH IS IMPORTANT FOR THIS PROCESS
When development is "just right," it must be halted immediately. A stop bath is used to accomplish this. Because developers are basic, a stop bath must be acidic. A neutral (water) can also halt development, but it takes too long and development can continue during this period. Most stop baths contain a large amount of solvent (water) and a small amount of acid, usually acetic acid.
Stop bath, in addition to stopping the developing action, helps to save the fixing bath by changing the pH of the film from basic to acid. This is required because fix is an acidic solution that is costly (stop bath is inexpensive). Failure to stop the film causes the remaining developer base on the film to react with the fix's acid, neutralizing the fix.
Acetic acid is a dangerous chemical that must be handled with care. Always add the acid to the water, not the other way around, because the latter will generate a lot of heat, resulting in splashes that can burn your skin.
HOW DOES WATER QUALITY AFFECT PHOTOGRAPHIC PROCESSING?
The wash is the final photographic processing solution. Normally, this solution consists only of a solvent - water. All photographic processing solutions contain only one chemical: water. It is used for the same purpose in all of them: to dissolve chemicals. It dissolves and removes any chemicals left in the photographic material by previous processing solutions, particularly the fixing bath, in the wash.
If the processing water is hard, it contains pollutants and chemicals, resulting in fading and stained photographs caused by processing chemicals such as hypo that were left on a photographic material. Washing in softwater prevents this, resulting in a permanent finished film.
WATER SOFTENER FOR PHOTOGENIC PROCESSING
Netsol water providing best water softener for all photographers and processors. Water Softener is the best method to make soft water out of hard water, means with the help of ion exchange, all the impurities and contaminants get removed from the water and provide the soft water.
With the help of soft water, photographic processing will not be affected and as a result, photograph will not be faded and stained.