C41 washing and pink stabiliser

Recently got hold of a Jobo for my c41 and have started to develop a large batch of 120. I started out using one of Jobos film washers for the 2 wash cycles (10 mins for each wash) from a tap tempered to 38c but found that at these times the fix was quite brown and the final rinse was still pink. I re washed the film, in the Jobo this time, with changes of water and managed to get them clean enough to only turn the final wash very slightly pink.

Next batch of film I decided to wash on the Jobo (with 38c water) and stopped washing only when the wash water was clear. For the first wash, after the bleach, it took 8 changes of water (each in there for 30 secs) to get clear water. The wash after the fix took 24 (yes, 24!) changes to finally be clear. I then did final rinse/stab and guess what? Pink stabiliser!

Just how important is it to have clear/clean rinse/stabilizer after the process? Anything I can do to both shorten wash times and get fully washed negs?

I should note I’m developing 6 rolls of 120 in a 1520+1530. I’m using fujihunts bleach 3, and fujihunt negacolor ultra fixer.

SteD said:

Just how important is it to have clear/clean rinse/stabilizer after the process?

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Not really. It seems to be mostly sensitizing dyes that keep washing out of the emulsion. It seems that no matter how long you wash, the water always comes out a little pink...if you dislike this, try a wash with a weak sodium carbonate solution, which helps the emulsion to swell and the wash will be a bit more effective. Follow with several washes to get rid of the carbonate.

But I find that the minute amount of pink/magenta dye doesn't do any harm, so I usually stick to 4-5 washes of 1-2 minutes each and then usually a final rinse. The last wash bath is only very slightly magenta. I enlarge optically and have never noted any issue due to these remaining dyes.

I use a five minute pre wash with the Jobo processor which sheds a lot of the pink dye for both C41 and black & white processing. For the final wash I use eight 500ml rinses for 30 seconds each. That leaves no pink on the film.

Thanks Koraks, that’s reassuring. It’s not that I dislike it rather I was trying to find the cause for the pink stabiliser ‘issue’ and read on here that it indicates an insufficient wash, which can cause archival problems.

Sirius Glass said:

I use a five minute pre wash with the Jobo processor which sheds a lot of the pink dye for both C41 and black & white processing. For the final wash I use eight 500ml rinses for 30 seconds each. That leaves no pink on the film.

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Thanks. I also use a pre wet x 2 of 2 min, mainly to warm the film.

koraks said:

try a wash with a weak sodium carbonate solution,

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Is this just household soda crystals? What would be a weak solution?

SteD said:

Is this just household soda crystals?

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Yes, that will work fine.

SteD said:

What would be a weak solution?

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Half a teaspoon to a liter or so. It's entirely non-critical. It's just to raise the pH a little so that the emulsion swells a bit. Since there's no buffering going on, even a tiny bit of carbonate immediately raises the pH significantly. And since it's carbonate, it'll never raise to the point of posing a danger to the emulsion.

Ok thanks, maybe I’ll try that along with the film washer, which is so much more convenient than changing water anyway and see how it goes.