Green tinge to my negatives

[Ces1um]

I process my film using dental xray chemicals (because of easy access to an automated developer. Occasionally I find some brands of film develop with a distinct green-blue shade to the black and white negative. Ilford film does not (4x5, 120 and 35mm), nor does Tri-x (35mm). However, Arista 4x5 does as does lomography film (120). I wish I could give you more information about the kind of developer in the processor, but I've hit a brick wall trying to find info on it. Does anyone have any idea what could cause this colour shift? Doesn't affect the image really once scanned- it just looks odd holding a green/blue black and white negative.

 

[removed account4]

if it looks like a metalic sheen it is dichroic fog. the only way you can get rid of it using farmer's reducer.
good luck !

 

[Gerald C Koch]

Films contain an antihalation layer consisting of a dye. The dye discolors the developer. Different films use different color dyes. Not to worry.

 

[btaylor]

As I am sure many will chime in, Arista has a strong green anti halation coating, so I suspect that’s where the green tinge is coming from. I usually go through a couple of pre-washes to wash it off before development, I just don’t want it in my replenished developer.

 

[Ces1um]

As I am sure many will chime in, Arista has a strong green anti halation coating, so I suspect that’s where the green tinge is coming from. I usually go through a couple of pre-washes to wash it off before development, I just don’t want it in my replenished developer.

I've never prewashed a negative. Do you simply run it under tap water or do you use your fingers at all to help remove the coating?

 

[Pentode]

In small tanks I just soak for about 30 seconds and then rinse and dump a few times. I only do this for films that have dyed coatings like Efke and Foma.

I don’t know how a dental X-ray processor holds film, but if there’s a tank I would just try rinsing and dumping a few times.

 

[removed account4]

I've never prewashed a negative. Do you simply run it under tap water or do you use your fingers at all to help remove the coating?

youi can just soak the film for a few mins, tap the tank to get the bubbles off and put it into the developer afterwards ..
does the stain look brownish when wet and when you hold it to the light ( when dry ) shimmers greenish yellowish ?
it might not be AH layer but the dreaded fog i mentioned before due to the developer and your processing.
it happens and might because of using the wrong developer for certain types of film in your processor / processing
it is what happens if you use regular tmax developer ( instead of tmax rs developer ) and sheet film.
if soaking your film to remove the AH layer ( which is usually removed by the developer anyways) look up dichroic fog on the interwebs
and you can compare notes ... i got it years ago when tmax developer first came out, i was confused which developer was which
and called kodak's pro hotline and the person there was confused too seeing i was advised to use the wrong developer ... it didn't happen
right away, i processed a bunch of film 1 shot to test and tweak my times and film and i was fine, then when i had a big job .. i was hosed.
when i called kodak they told me to throw away my film and shoot the job again. i had to go to a local photochemist ( paul krott who founded sprint )
and he told me to use farmer's reducer ( kodak's own packaged product ! ) kodak also told me the person who advised me didn't exist .. seems
i dreamt the whole thing up ... even her name ... thankfully scully and moulder helped me out afterwards ..

 

[Ces1um]

youi can just soak the film for a few mins, tap the tank to get the bubbles off and put it into the developer afterwards ..
does the stain look brownish when wet and when you hold it to the light ( when dry ) shimmers greenish yellowish ?
it might not be AH layer but the dreaded fog i mentioned before due to the developer and your processing.
it happens and might because of using the wrong developer for certain types of film in your processor / processing
it is what happens if you use regular tmax developer ( instead of tmax rs developer ) and sheet film.
if soaking your film to remove the AH layer ( which is usually removed by the developer anyways) look up dichroic fog on the interwebs
and you can compare notes ... i got it years ago when tmax developer first came out, i was confused which developer was which
and called kodak's pro hotline and the person there was confused too seeing i was advised to use the wrong developer ... it didn't happen
right away, i processed a bunch of film 1 shot to test and tweak my times and film and i was fine, then when i had a big job .. i was hosed.
when i called kodak they told me to throw away my film and shoot the job again. i had to go to a local photochemist ( paul krott who founded sprint )
and he told me to use farmer's reducer ( kodak's own packaged product ! ) kodak also told me the person who advised me didn't exist .. seems
i dreamt the whole thing up ... even her name ... thankfully scully and moulder helped me out afterwards ..

No brown and no shimmer. It just looks like the acetate sheet was dyed green/blue (more towards green) rather than being clear.

 

[Ces1um]

As I am sure many will chime in, Arista has a strong green anti halation coating, so I suspect that’s where the green tinge is coming from. I usually go through a couple of pre-washes to wash it off before development, I just don’t want it in my replenished developer.

will this coating harm the developer in any way?

 

[paul ron]

Films contain an antihalation layer consisting of a dye. The dye discolors the developer. Different films use different color dyes. Not to worry.

+1

arista and fomapan have a green back. pre wash the film for 2 min to remove it before developing.

 

[removed account4]

No brown and no shimmer. It just looks like the acetate sheet was dyed green/blue (more towards green) rather than being clear.

that's good, than disregard everything i wrote

 

[btaylor]

I process in daylight tanks for the most part, so I do a couple of 30 second water washes before I pour in the developer. When I am processing sheet film using hangers I do a single pre-wash in a water tank before it goes in the developer. I don't think the anti halation dye does any harm to the developer, but I like to keep the developer clear for the most part so I can see discoloration that might indicate it's going off. Probably no good reason for it, it's just me.

 

[Doremus Scudder]

If it is anti-halation dye that is discoloring your negatives, you can likely remove it again by simply washing the film. I'd give an HCA bath followed by a wash of the recommended time using either running water or a fill-and-dump regimen. If it is very faint, I'd likely ignore it.

Best,

Doremus

 

[Gerald C Koch]

The anti-halation dye will not harm development of film not will it harm the developer in a replenished system. The color will usually be discharged by the time the film has been fixed and washed. Therefore a pre-wash is really not needed.

 

[removed account4]

The anti-halation dye will not harm development of film not will it harm the developer in a replenished system. The color will usually be discharged by the time the film has been fixed and washed. Therefore a pre-wash is really not needed.

but it is so much fun to pour the AH dye'd prewash water into the developer and wash it vanish !

 

[Ces1um]

The anti-halation dye will not harm development of film not will it harm the developer in a replenished system. The color will usually be discharged by the time the film has been fixed and washed. Therefore a pre-wash is really not needed.

except in my case because I'm getting green negatives. Likely due to the rapid transit time through my automatic processor. It's four minutes to develop/fix/wash and dry. Maybe if it was spending more time in the wash cycle I'd be better off. Glad to know it won't harm the developer though as the processor is used for developing xrays the next day. I didn't want to risk any damage to those.