Sistan

SimonWeber · 2006-01-06T21:19:09+00:00

Hallo, gibt es noch andere Netzmittel außer Sistan, die Kaliumrhodanid beinhalten und somit die gleiche stabilisierende Wirkung haben wie Agfa Sistan? Ist A...

SimonWeber

Hello, Are there any other wetting agents apart from Sistan that contain potassium rhodanide and therefore have the same stabilising effect as Agfa Sistan? Are Adoflo or Mirasol similar or the same? (Although I’ve heard that Mirasol is supposed to contain formaldehyde!) I’m only asking because, following Agfa’s bankruptcy... So should I buy 10 bottles of the stuff and stock up for years in advance, or can I switch to another brand if Sistan is no longer available? (Final wash with baryta for archival stability.) Regards, Simon

RomanJRohleder

Simon >Are there any other wetting agents apart from Sistan that contain potassium rhodanide and >therefore have the same stabilising effect as Agfa Sistan? Yes. Fuji’s “Ag Guard”. But it’s not available outside Japan. >Is Adoflo or Mirasol similar / the same? No. > (Although I’ve heard that Mirasol is supposed to contain formaldehyde!) There’s a difference between hearsay and fact... <G> No, Mirasol contains _no_ formaldehyde. If you’re keen on formalin, get yourself a stabilising bath for E6/C41; that’s also useful in a black-and-white lab. >I’m only asking because after Agfa’s bankruptcy... ? The chemical plant is still running and apparently the new owner is interested in the small-scale ‘hobby lab’ market. >So should I buy 10 bottles of the stuff and stock up for years in advance It’s probably too late for that now – either production has stopped and you’re too late, or it’s still going ahead and your hoarding will only help to freeze the price, whilst you’ll have to front the cost of your consumption for the next few years. >Regards, Simon A Mosel expat? There was/is a Simon Weber in the neighbourhood. Roman

SimonWeber

Hmm... well, I suppose I’ll just buy one bottle for now... @Fotoimpex Or is the Sistan in your catalogue still ‘old stock’ and should be snapped up quickly? And ONE MORE question for FOTOIMPEX: if Sistan becomes unavailable in the long term, can you get Fuji Ag Guard as a replacement? Best regards, Simon PS: No, unfortunately not a Mosel expat, but commuting between England (university) and Frankfurt... otherwise I’ve “always” been a Frankfurter. Sorry :)

SimonWeber

I sent the following email to A&O; let’s see what they say: "With regard to your company’s recent takeover of Agfa’s mini-lab and chemical production facilities, I would be interested to know whether your company will continue to produce any of the Agfa chemicals used in black-and-white processing, such as film and paper developers, wetting agents, stop baths and fixers. If so, which brand names do you intend to use for these chemicals, and how and when will they be available? I am particularly interested in the future of Agfa Sistan, which appears to have been a unique product on the European market; the only comparable product, Fuji Ag Guard, is only available in Japan and parts of the US. Kind regards, Simon Weber"

MirkoBoeddecker

Simon, A&O is a German company. You don’t need to write to them in English :) There are also alternatives in the UK and the US. Best regards, Mirko

SimonWeber

Oh. :) The website was in English, so I thought... Well. If there are alternatives, that’s great! As an ordinary user, I’m only familiar with Sistan and Ag Guard, of course... Best regards, Simon

Gast

Hello, I’ve got a question (purely about terminology). Sistan has been described here as a wetting agent. Is that correct? In my mind, I’d categorised Sistan rather differently. After all, Sistan is a ‘protection against silver staining’, as Google has just confirmed for me. Can we really call it a wetting agent? Best regards unadodox

Gast

Hello Unadox, It’s actually both. Sistan is a brilliant image stabiliser – without altering the image tone – but it also has the properties of a wetting agent. So I really wouldn’t want to be without Sistan and hope that someone will continue to produce this mixture in the future :-) Best regards, Martin

Gast

I’ve just been on the phone to a&o. They assured me that the entire range of Agfa chemicals will continue to be produced. That includes Sistan. They’re currently working on updating the website. Orders can already be placed directly with a&o. BUT: don’t order a single bottle; you must purchase at least one original box, and preferably a whole pallet. And since not everyone has that kind of demand, it’s now up to the dealers to step in once again.