Purple TM-Y and stop baths

michaelwj

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Hi,
I've been using TM-Y for about a year now, developed in TMAX, then Ilford stop and fix. I always had purple negs that needed heaps of rinsing. It was putting me off using the otherwise wonderful film simply because it was taking ages to rinse.
Anyway, I recently replaced the Ilford stop with Kodak stop, everything else the same. Now the purple is gone. Just the usual 20/15/10/5 inversions with water then hang to dry. I must say, I'm bemused. Could changing the stop bath to a different one really effect the film that much? They're both just a mild acid aren't they?
Does anyone has an explanation or any other information? I'm no longer resenting TM-Y, which is a plus.

Cheers,
Michael
 
Strange. I always associated the purple cast with the fixer, if the fixer is somewhat exhausted.
 
I use TMAX fixer, and yes you do get a purple cast. Even with fresh fixer. Need to rinse for maybe 12-15 minutes get rid of the tint.
 
Maybe the recommended dilution of the Kodak product has a lower (more acid) pH. But neither of them are only acetic acid, they both have pH indicator and other components in them - maybe it's one of those that de-purples TMY. At the lab where I worked I recommended to people who were bothered by the purple cast that remains in many well-processed Kodak films what someone at Kodak told me - to put the negs in direct sunlight for a few minutes, or put them by a window until the purple was gone. It's an anti-halation product that is purple and remains after processing, and it gets degraded by UV.

Marty

Marty
 
The purple in TMAX films is the anti-halation dye.

It's possible that different additives in photochemicals will "loosen" or dissolve it move efficiently.

I use the Ilford wash method which works fine, and when you first see monochrome negatives afterwards - you have an "aha" moment

I've also heard the "expose them to sunlight" method - however I find that inconvenient and haven't tried
 
I use the Ilford wash method which works fine, and when you first see monochrome negatives afterwards - you have an "aha" moment

True!

Late to the party, but I get no purple tint at all.

1. XTOL, usually 1+1.

2. 30 s tap water rinse to stop.

There's no visible dye eluted in steps 1 or 2.

3. Fixation in Formulary TF-5. I use a two-bath method to ensure that the fixer is not exhausted.

The fixer baths get a little purple with use.

4. Rinse using a variation of the Ilford method: tap water 1X with 5 inversions, 1X with 10 inversions, 2X with 20 inversions.

You see plenty of dye eluting in the first two rinses. Most of the antihalation dye is gone by the third rinse.

5. Brief rinse in wetting agent freshly prepared in distilled water.
 
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