Ilfochrome: magenta shadows

[Wayne]

What might be the cause of deep magenta-purple shadows? I printed some Ilfos for the first time in 7 years just the other night, and I just assumed I goofed something. With fresh chemicals tonight I got the same result. Highlights are clear or nearly so. I am using slightly different chemicals than I've used in the past. I used to mix my own generic developer from scratch that included 1/4 teaspoon of hypo/liter. I felt lazy so I just tossed the 1/4 hypo into some Ilford Multigrade developer when I mixed it up. That shouldnt make a difference. I'm using P3 bleach instead of P30 I always used before. I'm positive it is mixed properly. I'm trying to do it at the recommended 86F for 3 minutes each step (except washes), in drums, but I havent checked to see what temp it is coming out. It could be dropping significantly during those 3 minutes, I suppose. I always did P30 at about 72. Lastly, and perhaps most importantly, I'm using 8 year old paper that has been in the freezer most of that time. I'm suspicious of the paper but I'm open to other errors. I'm no newbie to Ilfochrome and I've never had this problem before.

 

[Erik L]

Wayne, I am a newbie to Ilfochrome but I notice a magenta cast in the black border where the easel blades cover but not in the actual shadows of the scene. I am using old paper as well but with the P30 chemicals. I am using a much higher temp however 34C I believe. I don't have an answer for you, but I can relate to the magenta cast.
regards
Erik

 

[E76]

It could be related to the water hardness of your washes. I remember reading something about soft water needing to be used for one wash and hard for the other in order to prevent color shifts such as those you describe.

 

[2F/2F]

Does the cast remain after the print has dried?

 

[Wayne]

Soft water in the final wash is a possible cause but doesnt seem too likely. That should give a red cast in the shadows. I would call this magenta-purple, and its already present when I put it in the final wash-well, I do a one minute rinse before taking it out of the drum and washing it in a tray. Hardness in the chemical baths should not matter. I never had soft water trouble before, though the P3 might be more sensitive to it. It is a very deep cast, it must be more than 40cc because I cant eliminate it with my Kodak Viewing Filters.

I wonder, does the paper go bad in a predictable color direction? It doesnt seem to have lost a lot of speed.

 

[Lopaka]

The paper does tend to shift in the magenta direction as it ages. You need to play with the filtration some. I have used paper as old as 10 years, and found it to be a bit slower than fresh paper and needing some filter adjustments.

Bob

 

[wogster]

What might be the cause of deep magenta-purple shadows? I printed some Ilfos for the first time in 7 years just the other night, and I just assumed I goofed something. With fresh chemicals tonight I got the same result. Highlights are clear or nearly so. I am using slightly different chemicals than I've used in the past. I used to mix my own generic developer from scratch that included 1/4 teaspoon of hypo/liter. I felt lazy so I just tossed the 1/4 hypo into some Ilford Multigrade developer when I mixed it up. That shouldnt make a difference. I'm using P3 bleach instead of P30 I always used before. I'm positive it is mixed properly. I'm trying to do it at the recommended 86F for 3 minutes each step (except washes), in drums, but I havent checked to see what temp it is coming out. It could be dropping significantly during those 3 minutes, I suppose. I always did P30 at about 72. Lastly, and perhaps most importantly, I'm using 8 year old paper that has been in the freezer most of that time. I'm suspicious of the paper but I'm open to other errors. I'm no newbie to Ilfochrome and I've never had this problem before.

One of the issues with older materials, refrigeration and freezing is like with food, it slows down the ageing process, but doesn't stop it. Keeping consumer materials (films and paper) in a refrigerator might add a year, the freezer 2 years, to the expiry date, usually fresh materials are dated about 3 years from manufacture. So keeping them in the freezer might extend that to 5 years. Eight year old paper even though frozen, is going to be past it's best before date. Colour materials tend to not not age at the same rate, and expiry dates are picked so that the shift is not noticeable. a colour shift is to be expected, with paper that old. Whether you can filter to compensate or not, is the big question.

 

[Wayne]

I dont think it can be compensated. I've got white highlights and deeply colored shadows. if I compensate I'll have deeply colored highlights. Thats the one thing holding me back from the old paper explanation. I'm not sure why aged paper would act differently in different densities, though there may be a good reason. I only know of one other person near me who does Ilfochrome, maybe I can borrow a fresh sheet from them.

Wayne

 

[wogster]

I dont think it can be compensated. I've got white highlights and deeply colored shadows. if I compensate I'll have deeply colored highlights. Thats the one thing holding me back from the old paper explanation. I'm not sure why aged paper would act differently in different densities, though there may be a good reason. I only know of one other person near me who does Ilfochrome, maybe I can borrow a fresh sheet from them.

Wayne

Don't forget Ilfochrome works opposite of most colour papers in that the dyes are already in the paper, and processing removes the appropriate dyes and all of the silver, leaving a colour image. This is why it's so stable. I would expect a pure white area to not have shifted, because all of the dyes are removed leaving the white paper base, and dark shadow areas which still contain the dyes to have a cast.

 

[Wayne]

See I knew there was a good reason. I think that clinches it. 8 years I could have had the freezer stuffed with salmon fillets, all for nothing....Fxck.


Wayne