C-41 negatives too yellow

[srs5694]

Hi,

I've just processed my second roll of C-41 film using Dignan's NCF-41 developer. The first one (Walgreens' store-branded Agfa ISO 200) was fine in color balance, although a bit grainy. This one (Konica VX100) has an orange mask that's a bit on the yellow side. I've compared it side-by-side with a store-processed roll of Konica VX100, and the difference is quite noticeable by eye. I'm still able to get decent scans, but the color difference has me concerned, particularly if this is something that might cause long-term stability problems. Any clues as to the cause? I followed the same procedure as for my first roll (which I developed yesterday), but I re-used my blix, and everything but the developer (both baths) was at a slightly higher temperature (it's hotter today than it was yesterday, and I only controlled the developer temperature). Thanks for any suggestions.

 

[Photo Engineer]

In my experience, all color negative films seem to respond 'normally' to authentic C41 developers from Kodak and Fuji-Hunt, but vary with the off brand or home formulated C41 developers. Some of the results were shown a few years ago in a magazine article featuring several off brands of C41 chemistry.

In addition, some films respond poorly to blix chemistry rather than the bleach then fix chemistry. Silver is retained, or dyes are damaged.

Formalin in the stabilizer for most C41 films is a must if one wishes to prevent premature fade or buildup of an orange cast to the negative with storage.

I don't have Dignan's developer formula, nor do I know the blix formula, but chances are they are both incorrect based on what I have seen in posts here and on other sites. In particular, the developer must be properly balanced to get good sharpness, grain, and color. The temperature requirement for C41 is based in part on having proper diffusion of the chemistry through the layers, and at 75 deg F, the bottom layer will probably be underdeveloped due to diffusion problems.

If you wish to experiment with good film and good exposures, you have to accept what you get. It has turned out to be too much of a gamble for me.

PE