ornate_wrasse
Moderator
Last night I developed two rolls of Arista Premium that I'd purchased from Freestyle. The film was fresh and the expiration date was late in 2011. The film was developed using the same times as those used to develop Tri-X. The film actually spent 6 minutes in the fixer rather than the usual 5 minutes.
After I took the negatives out of the tank and prepared to hang them up to dry, my darkroom instructor commented that they looked a bit pink in color. He advised me to leave the film in the fixer for 10 minutes instead of 5 the next time I developed Arista Premium 400.
I found myself wondering if anyone else had experienced their negatives having a pink cast to them when using Arista Premium film from Freestyle and, if so, what did they do about it.
Ellen
After I took the negatives out of the tank and prepared to hang them up to dry, my darkroom instructor commented that they looked a bit pink in color. He advised me to leave the film in the fixer for 10 minutes instead of 5 the next time I developed Arista Premium 400.
I found myself wondering if anyone else had experienced their negatives having a pink cast to them when using Arista Premium film from Freestyle and, if so, what did they do about it.
Ellen
sepiareverb
genius and moron
I find the pink tends to wash out, but in any case it won't harm anything. The fixer might be in need of replacement- do you test it before fixing?
ohoyer
Member
I remember that discussion with Rollei Retro 100 IIRC- the pink stuff is about to vanish when exposed to light, so one day on the window sill will do also.
ornate_wrasse
Moderator
I don't make a practice out of testing it. I develop in a darkroom at the local community college and I assumed that the instructor had taken care of testing the fixer.
Ellen
DriesI
Established
Yes I did.
Solution: longer in the fixer
Solution: longer in the fixer
Roger Hicks
Veteran
Dear Ellen,
The pink is almost certainly leftover sensitizing dye, which can be removed by more time in the fixer (which is not quite the same thing as longer fixing, as it's not the silver halide you're removing). Usually it can also be removed with longer washing (more time consuming and wasteful, and no more effective) or by simple fading, though it will fade faster in good light. Longer in the fixer is easiest, though apart from a slight prolongation of printing time, the pink shouldn't be important.
Cheers,
R.
The pink is almost certainly leftover sensitizing dye, which can be removed by more time in the fixer (which is not quite the same thing as longer fixing, as it's not the silver halide you're removing). Usually it can also be removed with longer washing (more time consuming and wasteful, and no more effective) or by simple fading, though it will fade faster in good light. Longer in the fixer is easiest, though apart from a slight prolongation of printing time, the pink shouldn't be important.
Cheers,
R.
atlcruiser
Part Yeti
I use a LOT the arista premium 100 and 400 from freestyle. I have yet to see what you describe and i bet have souped 50+ rolls of it. I use d76 stock for 8 minutes, s bath, kodak fixer for 5 minutes, wash for 2-3 minutes, kodak hypo clear, wash 2-3 minutes, then squiggee and hang. Maybe some part of that process fixes it?
mark-b
Well-known
I use that stuff on a regular basis. When I'm rinsing the film (post fixer), the water comes out a light pink. A thorough 20 minute wash will get rid of it.
ornate_wrasse
Moderator
Freakscene
Obscure member
The hypo clear (mostly sodium sulfite) will help remove the dyes. As an aside, this step is unnecessary, KHCA is for FB paper. Fixer washes out of film emulsions easily and fully with water. It's unlikely to be harmful, but it's probably not helping either.
Marty