GENERAL DESCRIPTION
TF-4 is a completely new archival rapid fixer with several features not available before: Processing, time of 30 seconds for resin-coated prints, 60 seconds for fiberbased prints, with no hypo clearing agent necessary. Little or no oder.

1. No stop bath necessary. Just use water rinse after developing.
2. Non-hardening. Excellent for use with prints to be toned or re-touched.
3. The only rapid-fixer system that allows the print to be completely fixed without impairing the rapidity of the wash.
4. No image bleaching. All conventional fixers act as reducers. This means that the longer the material is left in the fixer, the more image silver is destroyed. This can only have bad effects on the image, whether it is a print or a negative. Conventional sodium thiosulfate (rapid) fixers stuffer from this defect especially. The problem is eliminated in TF-4, which may offer slightly richer maximim blacks as a result.

CHEMICAL SAFETY
All chemicals are dangerous and must be treated with respect. Please read the warning labels on the package. Exercise care when handling, and avoid skin or eye contact.
Ammonium thiosulfate is the main ingredient in this proprietary formula.

MIXING
Shake well before using. Use distilled water for best results. TF-4 is an already prepared liquid stock solution. To mix TF-4 working solution, the stock solution is mixed with three parts of water. For one gallon of working solution, take 1000 ml of TF-4 stock, and add 3000 ml or distilled water.

STORAGE
All photographic solutions should be used as soon as possible. TF-4 stock solution should not be kept for more than 12 months. All fixers should be kept away from, high heat (over 85°F), as this will shorten their life. If TF-4 is to be kept for some weeks after opening, it should be placed in smaller bottles filled to tile top, with tight caps.

TF-4 is more concentrated than other fixers. It is packaged as a supersaturated solution, and you must shake well, before placing it into smaller bottles or mixing the working solution. The working solution will become perfectly clear within a half hour. Parts of the cloudy precipitation may be a beige color. This is harmless.

CAPACITY
The capacity of TF-4 is about 30 8x10 prints of fiber-based paper, 60 8x10 prints of resin coated paper, per liter of working solution. Some people are fixing many more sheets of paper than stated here. Do your own testing for your maximum.

For film the capacity is 15-20 rolls of Film per liter of working solution.

USING TF-4 ON PRINTS
Shake well before using.

1. Develop the print as usual.
2. Drain.
3. Rinse in running water at 68°F for 30 seconds, with continuous agitation. Do not use a stop-bath.
4. Drain.
5. Place the resin-coated print in the TF-4 fixer for 30 seconds, or fiber-base prints for 1 minute.
6. Drain and immediately place in a tray containing 68°F running water.
7. Wash fiber-based papers for at least 15 minutes - up to 25 minutes. Wash resin coated papers at least 3 minutes - up to 5.

Note: To establish proper washing times for your system we recommend testing processed emulsions with our Formulary Residual Hypo Test kit (cat. no. 03-0150). Since every darkroom has a different washing system (i.e. from hose in tray to archival print washer) our recommended wash times are approximate. Please test your system for wash times.

USING TF-4 ON T-MAX FILM
Shake well before using.
Since T-MAX films have a built-in hardener and TF-4 has no hardener, they make a great combination. liford now says you do not need a hardening fixer with Pan F, FP-4, or HP-5.

1. Develop the film as usual.
2. Rinse with 68°F running water for 1 minute.
3. Fix T-max film for 6 minutes, with 5 inversions once a minute; or fix for 4 minutes with 30 seconds of agitation per minute. With other films, fix only 3 to 4 minutes.
4. Note: Most of the magenta stain should be removed from the film; the rest of the stain will be removed in the water wash.
5. Wash the film in 68°F running water for 5 minutes. Note: Hypo clearing agent is not necessary but may be used.
6. Soak in a wetting agent such as Formaflo (catalog number 03-0195) for 15 seconds to one minute with agitation.
7. Hang the film to dry.

Many photographers happily slosh their hands in chemicals during Please note printing. This should never be done, for two reasons - (a) all chemicals can enter the body through the skin, and all photographic chemicals are potentially dangerous to your health. Therefore, use tongs to handle prints, or good rubber gloves. If chemicals do get on your skin, wash it off immediately with plenty of soap and water (b) after handling the print, residual hypo may pass from the fingers to the negative that is being enlarged, possibly causing bleaching or stains, and ruining its permanence.

SHAKE WELL BEFORE USING!
We carry storage bottles, rubber gloves, graduated cylinders, and beakers for your photo chemistry mixing needs. Consult you catalog or give us a call.

REFERENCE
TF-4 Archival Rapid Fixer, No. 03-0141, Photographers' Formulary (800-922-5255).
TF-4, The Film Developing Cookbook, Stephen G. Anchell and Bill Troop, p. 106

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