diagnosis of purple tinge after development

[Dikaiosune01]

I do know there have been similar questions posted in this forum. And I do apologize if it is redundant.

I generally shoot HP5 and Arcos 100 in various formats at various speeds. My primary developer is HC110. Ilford rapid fixer and stop. I cut a hole in a bottom of a plastic pitcher and generally run the film through the pitcher for around 10 to 15 minutes. Sometimes after washing and I've hung the film to dry, i notice a slight purple tinge. Sometimes it is across the film. Sometimes it is localized on the edges (I use plastic reels). I'm wondering what is the source of the purple tinge. After using the search function and reading the various threads I've come to three possible conclusions, and I wanted your input based on my specific case please.

(1) Is it because the film is still wet and the purple tinge will fade as it dries
(2) the fixer is exhausted
(3) Not long enough in the wash.

What is the risk of the films keeping that purple tinge. Do I need to fix it or wash it again?

Thank you.

P.S: After conducting a fixer-leader test (where i put a piece of the header into the fixer, to see how long it takes for the film to clear), the film leader still clears. So It appears that the fixer is still fine. Which doesn't seem to correlate with other posts i've read about this topic.

 

[JLP]

It could be a combination of your processing regiment. Exhausted fixer or lack of agitation during the fixing process. I always run my fixing process with constant agitation.
Lack of wash after fix can also contribute to the pink stain.
There is no risk really, you can re soak and fix again and run your film through another wash cycle which should clear the last pink stain.
A pre soak before developing will help but you will need to run some test as your development time will change a little with a presoak.

 

[Truzi]

Oddly, with HP5+ I've gotten the purple tinge doing a clip-test of the fixer, but after the whole developing process on the same roll there is no tinge. However, when fixing the actual negatives, I was more vigorous in agitation, and fixed triple the clearing time (because of the tinge). I've searched APUG, and the best I could find was related to fixing, though am not positive. I don't worry too much at the moment as I'm still just testing and learning B&W, so I have no "important" photos yet.

I was using HC-110 at the time, and Kodak's powdered fixer.

 

[Rudeofus]

(there was a url link here which no longer exists) explains why the stain is there, and (there was a url link here which no longer exists) you can read how to avoid it or get rid of it. There was a long thread about TMAX and magenta/purple cast (there was a url link here which no longer exists), but it seems to have fallen into a void :confused:.

As time goes by, more and more films seem to use newer sensitizing technology, so the magenta dye issue seems to affect more and more products now.

 

[David Allen]

What works for me is:

1. I use a two minute pre-soak (but this is mainly because I reuse a two-bath developer).
2. I fix for two minutes in rapid fix diluted 1 + 4
3. I then remove the films from the tank and place into a large jug of plain water and agitate vigorously for two minutes and then leave it for another 3 minutes,
4. I then return films to the fix and agitate vigorously for a further two minutes.
5. I then use a version of the Ilford washing system:

• Remove film from tank and place in a jug of clean water.
• Pour fixer out of tank and then thoroughly wash the tank.
• Fill the tank with clean water and return films to tank.
• Prepare 4 jugs with clean water
• Pour water out of tank and pour first jug in and then invert 10 times
• Pour water out of tank and pour second jug in and then invert 10 times
• Pour water out of tank and pour third jug in and then invert 20 times
• Pour water out of tank and pour fourth jug in and then invert 20 times
• Remove film and place into a jug with clean water and a few drops of wetting agent.
• Leave for 3 minutes and then hang films to dry

Using this system I have never had any residual dye and testing the film demonstrates that they are archivally washed.

Hope this helps.

David
www.dsallen.de

 

[Ronald Moravec]

Fresh fix. Over agitate. Use forproper time say 3-5 minutes. Water soak after proper wash time with running water will clear the color. I use a modified Ilford sequence by repeating step 3 two times. Just soak replacing the dye color water once per minute until it no longer picks up dye.

The fresher the fix, the easier the dye comes out. Dye in one edge indicates insufficient agitation somewhere.