Harman Positive paper: magenta cast problem

Hello, my very first post here, great community, proud to be here!!!!

I'm experiencing some magenta cast issues with the Harman Positive paper...I have to say that I've not experience in black and white darkroom printing, I've been always shooting color film and I always had all my prints made by a lab, but some months ago I started a portrait project here in my studio and began shooting with Harman Positive paper in 8x10", actually I didn't have any problems until now, I've just finished developing a couple of prints and I noticed a magenta cast, and I don't know why...

I loaded the paper in complete darkness (no red light), but I have to say that it's been 7 months since the last prints, so the fact is that the Harman paper is 10 months old (but when I purchased it they told me that it will last for 2 years), the developer, the stop bath and the fixer are open and are 8/9 months old...I'm suspecting that the magenta cast is due to the chemicals that are expired, but please if someone can confirm or advice it would be greatly appeciated...btw, after developing the prints I found the result more pleasing to my eyes, i.e. they are less contrasty, more "softer" compared to the prints I made some months ago, and I have also to say that the fixer has a strange smell so definitevely I think that it is expired

Another question: is it possible to freeze the Harman Paper in order to extend its "life" and avoid expiring issues?

Thank you!!!!

Marco

Welcome to APUG .

Best thing is that you try once more with fresh chemicals. How do you wash the papers? When (in which step of the process) do you notice this magenta cast?
8/9 monts old --> not a good idea in any case, but we are speaking about opened concentrate or working solution? Which fixer and developer? Ilford multigrade and rapid fixer?

Hello and welcome to APUG.

The magenta colour is most likely the effect of light on undeveloped silver in the emulsion, due to your no-longer-working fixer not having removed it prior to being washed.

Keep the prints in the dark and (soon) find some fresh rapid-fixer concentrate, dilute 1:4, fix for a minute, rinse, wash in hypo-clear, wash in water.