Metallic Sheen on B&W Negs

[Mackinaw]

I was given an unopened bottle of Tmax developer that is probably 15-20 years old. I’m unsure of storage, but it was probably stored in an outside shed for all of these years (northern Michigan so exposed to sub-freezing temps). Kodak says an unopened bottle of Tmax will be good for two years, but I decided to shoot a test roll just for the hell of it. I shot a roll of Ultrafine 100 Extreme (which I believe is rebranded Kentmere 100) and used the developer at its recommended 1+4 dilution (8’ at 68 F). I was pleasantly surprised to see properly developed negatives when I pulled the film out of the soup, but I also noticed a strong metallic sheen on the surface. I’m just curious though, can anybody offer a suggestion as to what’s going on? The stop bath I used was fresh, and the fixer (Ilford Rapid Fix) was relatively fresh. As funny as the negs look, they scan beautifully. I’m going to shoot one more roll, this time on Tri-x, to see if the same thing happens.

Jim B.

 

[Joao]

Was it something like this ??





I don't know what this is.
I found this strip of FP4+ lost between old documents.
I used this film more than 10 years ago and I cannot recall the development process I used then. I kept it apart intending to find the original roll - when I have time and patience. If your film looks like this, I look forward for an explanation..
Regards
Joao

 

[FrozenInTime]

Fixer exhaustion ?

Try dropping a clipping from roll into fix for 6 minutes and washing - it should become completely clear.

 

[Mackinaw]

The negs aren't quite as dramatic as yours, but they definitely have a veiled look to them. And kind of a greenish tint. I also thought that the fixer was exhausted, but a roll of 5222-XX that I processed a day before (in Xtol) came out fine. Again, they scan fine, just look very non-conventional.

Jim B.

 

[Hcompton79]

I have a couple opened gallons of Tmax developer that were given to me over a decade ago when a school darkroom closed, they were probably ten years old at the time then. Still works fine in all the film I've developed in it, no sign of unusual metallic effects or veiling.

 

[Joao]

I recovered a RFF thread I started in 2020.
I reported silver deposits on the inner surface of a glass bottle containing Ilford Rapid fixer that had been used to fix film and prints (a mistake)

Re.using fixer

Hello Will any of you be able to give me an answer ? I use Ilford Rapid Fixer in the recommended dilution for films. Always did it without problems and I recover and keep the used fixer until it is not able to clear a piece of film. The recovered diluted fixer is cristal clear Recently I...

rangefinderforum.com

It seems that, as stated above, exhausted fixer can cause those deposits.
I am not at home until mid-June, I will test these film strips with new fixer.
Regards
Joao

 

[p.giannakis]

Isn't this a problem though? If the fixed is exhausted and has not totally removed the silver from the negatives, the pictures will start fading with time?

Am i wrong?

 

[skahde]

Unsufficient fixing seems to be involved as the metalic sheen is also visible north and south of the perforation where fixing should have removed any silver-halide.

 

[Freakscene]

I recovered a RFF thread I started in 2020.
I reported silver deposits on the inner surface of a glass bottle containing Ilford Rapid fixer that had been used to fix film and prints (a mistake)

Re.using fixer

Hello Will any of you be able to give me an answer ? I use Ilford Rapid Fixer in the recommended dilution for films. Always did it without problems and I recover and keep the used fixer until it is not able to clear a piece of film. The recovered diluted fixer is cristal clear Recently I...

rangefinderforum.com

It seems that, as stated above, exhausted fixer can cause those deposits.
I am not at home until mid-June, I will test these film strips with new fixer.
Regards
Joao

Image-forming metallic silver has a filamentous structure. When film is under-fixed, however, there are 'loose' silver ions that have not been reduced to metallic silver in the emulsion. 'Loose' silver ions migrate through the gelatin and reduce as very small particles of colloidal silver, re-depositing in new locations. When these small particles redeposit near the surface of the gelatin, they produce a reflective metallic sheen, sometimes faintly blue or iridescent (this is caused by the physical thickness of the colloid and depends on specific circumstances of redeposition). This is usually called silver mirroring. Mirroring can be seen clearly on the emulsion side of the film when viewed in reflected light.

In many cases, you can see silver mirroring along the edges of old sheet film. When this happens, it usually suggests that air pollutants, in the presence of moisture and heat, have caused oxidation that releases silver ions, which then reduce again to form the colloidal silver. Silver mirroring can also be caused by poor quality storage materials, and can manifest locally or over the entire image area. But in this case leaving unfixed silver in the emulsion has provided a head start.

The unfortunate part is that once the silver has reduced and mirrored out, re-fixing won't help because there is no ionic silver to remove/'fix'.

 

[Mackinaw]

Thanks for all of the comments. I'll be shooting a roll of Tri-X either today or tomorrow and will be sure to use fresh fixer when I process.

I'm mostly glad to know that the 15-20 year old Tmax developer is still good, even after being stored in an old shed for all of that time. Saves me the expense of buying new developer.

Jim B.

 

[Freakscene]

Thanks for all of the comments. I'll be shooting a roll of Tri-X either today or tomorrow and will be sure to use fresh fixer when I process.

I'm mostly glad to know that the 15-20 year old Tmax developer is still good, even after being stored in an old shed for all of that time. Saves me the expense of buying new developer.

Jim B.

TMax developer uses a glycol solvent. It is quite protective against oxidation of the developing agents. The shelf life of the old HC-110 syrup, which also used a glycol base, is legendary. TMax should be similar, or at least have good storage life, but I have never tried it or, until now, read of anyone trying it after a long time. It’s good to know. I liked TMax RS (different product) a lot in the commercial lab environment. Very stable and predictable.

 

[titrisol]

It is called bronzing, I've seen it prints and its caused by bad fixing or insufficient washing

what causes bronzing degradation of a silver print?

Hey all, I have a couple of prints on my wall that have started to degrade, I only noticed it when looking closely (cleaning the frames). They've started getting a reflective (the metamerism is what I noticed first) bronze appearance in the shadows/lower-midtones. It's uniform across the...

www.photrio.com

 

[Mackinaw]

It is called bronzing, I've seen it prints and its caused by bad fixing or insufficient washing

What I observed on my negs was caused by improper fixing. The following day, I shot a roll of Tri-X and used fresh fixer. The negs looked good, with no bronzing.

Jim B.

 

[titrisol]

you can refix /rewash the other ones and wil save them