Film Processing Quirks

[Yoricko]

1) Is there any adverse effects if I process my film at temperatures much higher than 24 degrees Celsius?

2) Can't seem to get rid of the purple tint of my Tri-X negatives. I Thought it was normal at first, only noticed it when an experienced lecturer pointed it out. I know this purple problem purple haze thing has been going on for a long time now with the new Tri-x and TMax, but all the answers are very unclear and vague.

Could you readers tell me what worked for you or what do you normally do for your processing to get rid of the 'purple problem, purple haze'. ---

- Presoaking
- Sodium Carbonate (Washing Soda) Presoak/Wash
- Use of HCA (Perma Wash)
- Use of distilled water for processing
- Much vigorous agitation during wash/rinse
- Extended wash times
- Different Developer and Fixer combination
- Fresh Fixer
- Extended Fixing time for TX/TMax films
- Sunning for a day or two (!)

I've tried some experiments (separately) like purchasing and using some HCA, extending fixing time, and presoaking. But there was no obvious differences. Never did try to do all of them at once; maybe it'll work, I don't know. Trying to find out the source of this 'purple problem'

My recent standard procedure goes like this:
- Chill all chemicals and water used to 28 degrees C (due to difficulty to keep/get chilled water/cooling).
- Two rolls/reels | Paterson 4 Tank
- No presoak
- HC-110 (Dilution H, 1:63, 10ml syrup to 630ml water | Not recycled). 6mins 30seconds, 4 inversions for 30 seconds to start and one inversion every minute thereafter
- Stop: Water Rinse, 30 seconds
- Ilford Rapid Fixer (1:4, working solution not kept more than 2 months, recycled up to 3 times [4]), 5mins. Agitate 20 inversions for 30seconds to start and 4 inversions every 30 seconds thereafter
- Wash: Ilford Rinse (5 inversions, 10 inversions, 20 inversions)
- Running Water 10-15 mins
- Photofol 1:300 (or a few droplets). Agitate 30 seconds continuously

 

[Roger Hicks]

Some films just are a bit purple. Extended fixing or washing will only get rid of leftover sensitizing dye (pink not purple). The extra wash after the Ilford sequence is only wasting water. Does your 'experienced lecturer' use Tri-X and if so, what colour are his/her negatives? And, finally, why worry uness they are unprintable? How much does a small purple tinge matter? Frances just checked a lot of her negs and you can see a purple tinge in some if you look for it.

Cheers,

R.

 

[Chriscrawfordphoto]

Modern Tri-X is purple, no matter how long you wash it, though Tmax 100 and 400 will go colorless with 20 minutes of washing. The purple in Tri-X is not a problem, negs print and scan fine.

 

[KenR]

I started doing another 30 shake water rinse (10-20-30-30) after I chanced to pour the rinse through the funnel that I used to pour the fixer back in the bottle and noticed that the rinse water was still slightly purple. So I added another 30 shake rinse. I then use Heiko wash aid for a minute and wash for ten minutes. Kodak negs are colorless with this treatment, but Ilford negs still come out purple.

 

[nikon_sam]

This is what I do if there is a tint left on the negs after fixing & washing...
I'll normally wash for 5 to 10 minutes then fill the tank up with slightly warmer water than I just washed with...then I just let it sit...I come back later and dump out the water watching for a slight tint in the water...then I do it again...I might do this three of four times or until I cannot really detect a tint in the discarded water...at this time I'll add Photo-Flo fill it back up...then hang it up to dry...the negs are pretty clear at this point...
Letting the film just sit in the water saves water and it does remove the tinting...

 

[damien.murphy]

As others have commented, the purple is the norm with modern TriX.

I haven't experienced any negative side effects from the purple base layer, but wonder if the purple is due to the increased dyes in modern emulsions ?

 

[shadowfox]

I know this purple problem purple haze thing has been going on for a long time now with the new Tri-x and TMax, but all the answers are very unclear and vague.

That ought to be a lyric of a song...

sorry, can't resist 🙂

Ignore the experienced lecturer, the purple does nothing to contrast whether you scan or print.

Keep on.

 

[nikon_sam]

Whether it does or does not have any effect on a final print or scan I DON'T LIKE IT...
there I got that off my chest...feeling better...what else have you got...???

 

[Yoricko]

Thanks for the quick and helpful replies.

Got some further doubts though.

---

Some films just are a bit purple. Extended fixing or washing will only get rid of leftover sensitizing dye (pink not purple). The extra wash after the Ilford sequence is only wasting water. Does your 'experienced lecturer' use Tri-X and if so, what colour are his/her negatives? And, finally, why worry uness they are unprintable? How much does a small purple tinge matter? Frances just checked a lot of her negs and you can see a purple tinge in some if you look for it.

Cheers,

R.

The lecturer have used both new and old Tri-X emulsions and claimed (though never seen) that her film was mostly tintless.

She advised me to presoak and wash new Tri-X longer than usual.

That ought to be a lyric of a song...

sorry, can't resist 🙂

Ignore the experienced lecturer, the purple does nothing to contrast whether you scan or print.

Keep on.

Modern Tri-X is purple, no matter how long you wash it, though Tmax 100 and 400 will go colorless with 20 minutes of washing. The purple in Tri-X is not a problem, negs print and scan fine.

How about Variable Contrast/Multigrade papers? Any subtle/obvious effects from the purple burden 😕?

---

This is what I do if there is a tint left on the negs after fixing & washing...
I'll normally wash for 5 to 10 minutes then fill the tank up with slightly warmer water than I just washed with...then I just let it sit...I come back later and dump out the water watching for a slight tint in the water...then I do it again...I might do this three of four times or until I cannot really detect a tint in the discarded water...at this time I'll add Photo-Flo fill it back up...then hang it up to dry...the negs are pretty clear at this point...
Letting the film just sit in the water saves water and it does remove the tinting...

Any idea how long does it take for film to dangerously swell up in water? 2 hours? 3 hours?

---

Gotta get this purple off me chest.

Does anyone have any idea about #1?

 

[shadowfox]

How about Variable Contrast/Multigrade papers? Any subtle/obvious effects from the purple burden 😕?

Not if you know how to print properly.

And the hardest part of the above statement is to raise your standard high enough so you know how good B&W prints should look like.

When you do, there are a lot of techniques and methods that you can learn, practice, and finally employ that can compensate for almost anything that the negative has to throw at you.

Purple base will not be a problem, especially with VC paper.

 

[shadowfox]

Whether it does or does not have any effect on a final print or scan I DON'T LIKE IT...
there I got that off my chest...feeling better...what else have you got...???

Sam, take a deep breath... 😛 😀

 

[Denverdad]

Good Lord.

Well, at least this is one time where you can have your cake and eat it too:
You don't need to overdose your Tri-X with either water or other chems, just hang the film to dry in the presence of UV (unsleeved, obviously) and the purple will go away. Honestly.

One less thing to pin your frustrations on when you're scanning or printing.

Best,

Shane

I agree, except that I don't find that the film needs to be unsleeved in order to clear the tint. Generally, just leaving the sleeved film on my light table for a couple hours seems to do the trick. In the future I may experiment with either exposing the strip to sunlight or perhaps rigging up a different light source to see if I can speed up the process. But I don't think I would want to do any of this if the film weren't already sleeved. Then again, I am a bit of a stickler for avoiding dust. 🙂 I am fortunate to have a film dryer, which goes a long way towards meeting that goal already.

 

[ZorkiKat]

AFAIK the pink residue should only be a concern with Tmax negatives. Kodak instructed that proper fixing and washing were needed to remove the pink stain, and that the negative should come out clear.

The TX I have have a greyish looking base.

Try sodium sulphite/ sodium bisulphite as your clearing bath. These are also the main components of wash aids. Avoid using carbonate in the final washes for film. They make the gelatin emulsion swell and soften.

 

[Yoricko]

Right... time to give sunbathing a try when I get back. Short exposures to UV shouldn't harm the lifespan that much.

 

[Yoricko]

Just gave some of my filed negatives a bit of sunning (during a rainy day). Surprisingly, it works!

Looks very nice compared to my 'untanned' negatives hiding in the dark, with full protection from the sun. I've also noticed that different lighting will exaggerate the 'purple' differently.

Will do a proper 'experiment' when I have time, with a proper control and etc.