Problem with kodak Tmax 400 film

NDP_2010 · Dec 14, 2010

I developed 2 rolls of kodak tmax 400 in lc29 following instructions from the developing chart website, however after taking out the film from the spool it appeared almost white opaque with pink tinge. The next morning after drying it looked better but still there was opaque areas on the film where it should have been clear. The result when printing is a much longer time for exposure, approx 2-4x longer, and the contrast seems lower.
One roll is slightly better than the other, and if i remember correctly, the roll that suffered the most I made an effort to fix for longer than the other, approx 2-3 mins with constant shaking. And also washed more throughtly.

Here is an example of what is happening to the film.

Is there any way to solve this problem, or avoid this in the future. I was using ilford rapid fix, and ilford stop bath as well as lc29 ilford developer.

Thankyou.

also: the opaqueness is uniform on the film, except a few mm from the top and bottom edge seen in the photo.

jp498 · Dec 14, 2010

It is probably not fixed enough. It needs twice the fixing time of normal films. Fix it for twice as long as it takes to become clear. You can put this back in the fixer and correct your already processed images.

Jerevan · Dec 14, 2010

Fix for a longer time and if that does not clear the pink tinge, use HCA. If you mean that you fixed the film for 2-3 minutes, it is a too short time for Tmax. Always use fresh fixer.

hpulley · Dec 14, 2010

Yeah, the Ilford Rapid Fixer suggestion of 2-5 minutes seems like it should be more like 4-5 at least for Delta and that is what I use. I always clip test my fixer before I develop a roll and if it is slow I pitch it, the recommendation is when it takes twice as long to clear as fresh. I also count rolls of film through it and dump it after I hit the 24 roll / litre mark though I find with 4-5 minute fixes it rarely lasts more than 20 rolls / litre before the clip test shows it is done.

For Ilfostop, I use it until it loses its yellow color (before it actually turns purple it goes kind of colorless), or after the recommended 15 rolls per litre.

Same goes for use in paper, always clip test the fixer and watch the color of the stop bath. Count pages as well as they die after a certain time and improperly fixed paper is harder to see than in cloudy film. Fiber sucks up a lot more so it only goes half as far than with resin coated.

NDP_2010 · Dec 14, 2010

thankyou, this information was very helpful.
I suspect I have also not been fixing some of my other films long enough as some show similar patches of opaque areas.
Learn something new every roll I develop

photoncatcher · Dec 14, 2010

Which is why I only use PXP, or Tri X. The fixing time with Tmax drove me nuttier than normal, and I always thought the T max emulsion was lacking in contrast compared to PXP. Just my 2 cents.

J Rollinger · Dec 14, 2010

I have read so many post about Tmax and the trouble with fixing but i have never had an issue with it at all. TMY2 is my main film choice and when fixing it clears just as fast as any other films. It clears inn about 2 minutes but i leave it in for 4 to 5 minutes. The pink will come out completely with rinsing. It fixes as well and fast as any other film. The only issue is that TMAX films exhaust your fixer about 40% faster than other films. I think people are having issues with fixing it because they are trying to remove all the pink in the fixing processing when they should remove it during a longer rinsing process.

bblhed · Dec 14, 2010

Fix it longer as others have said. I will do a normal 7 minute fix in Kodak fixer, and then let it stand in the fixer a few minuets while I clean up then a few inversions, let stand about 30 seconds while I put the funnel into the fixer jug, a few last inversions and dump out fixer and rinse. It's not like you can over fix is it?

I have also found that a little bit of UV exposure can clear up any of the remaining pinkish purple on the negatives. I learned this lesson while making cyanotypes, the negatives would go into the UV table purple looking, and come out crystal clear in about 2 minuets with no degradation of the image on the negative that I can see. I don't know how UV might effect archival quality of the negatives, and I check my negatives that I did expose to UV every now and then and they still look fine.

pentaxuser · Dec 14, 2010

TMax 400 was the late U.K. Photographer Harry Fearn's favourite film and he recommended 10 mins in fixer. Longer fixing times compared to say Ilford films is just the way it is with TMax.

pentaxuser

BetterSense · Dec 14, 2010

It's practically impossible to overfix films. I never really noticed Tmax taking longer to fix because with any film I typically just go do something else once the film is in the fixer, and come back in 10-30 minutes.

37th Exposure · Dec 14, 2010

According to Ilford Monochrome Darkroom Practice (J. Coote) and the Film Developing Cookbook (Troop/Anchell) film should be fixed for three times the clearing time rather than the traditional two times due to the nature of modern films. I determine the clearing time by saving a scrap of the film I am about to develop and drop it into a sample of the fixer I will be using and note how long it takes for the piece of film to become clear. I triple that time to get the fixing time. The new Tmax 400 (TMY2) takes forever to clear, probably the longest of any film I have ever used. It takes almost 10 minutes just to clear in fresh hypo fixers and nearly 4 in fresh rapid fix. Foma films on the other hand almost "flash" clear in fresh rapid fixer. Kentmere would be the next fastest to clear. Followed by Fuji and Ilford. Kodak's take the longest.

tkamiya · Dec 14, 2010

10 minutes? Wow. For me, using Kodak fixer it takes about 6 minutes to clear. (TMY2)

msa · Dec 14, 2010

tkamiya said:
10 minutes? Wow. For me, using Kodak fixer it takes about 6 minutes to clear. (TMY2)

I normally fix most 'new' films for 10 minutes when using powdered fix, and T-Max gets 12. Old emulsions (old stock Tri-X, Plus-X, etc.) get 5-7.5 minutes.

After that, T-Max still needs hypo clear and a long final rinse to get all the pink out. But the OP is clearly under-fixing if the base is still more translucent than transparent, and the pink won't go away.

NDP_2010 · Dec 14, 2010

Thanks for all the replies.
I have a question. If the negative is clear, but there is still a pink colour, does this affect the image produced in printing?

2F/2F · Dec 14, 2010

If it is milky or cloudy, it has not even cleared, let alone properly fixed. Don't worry. You can refix it. Wet it with water first, and just put it through another fixer bath.

Do you know how to do a leader test? Even with freshly mixed fixer, my fix times for T-max when using this test and tripling the clear time are about 9-10 minutes. Without doing the test, I'd use 8 minutes as a standard time. That should cover you. I do triple the clear time, but only double is really necessary. With fresh fixer, my clearing time for T-Max is usually about three minutes (using the method with the reference drop placed on the leader first). By comparison, HP5 and such clear in under a minute for me in fresh fixer.

Don't worry about the pink color. It will not reduce your print quality IME. (Do worry about the uncleared silver, though.) The longer the film is wet, the more dye comes out, so if it bothers you, try using a longer process. Try a one minute post-fixer rinse, 3 to 5 minutes in Hypo Clearing Agent with constant agitation, another one minute post-HCA rinse, and then a ten minute wash. You can also do a pre-development soak, which will remove a large amount of the dye up front.

ic-racer · Dec 14, 2010

People that shoot this film in 8x10 will soon never experience any problems like this... (sarcasm)...

Problem with kodak Tmax 400 film

Privacy & Transparency

Privacy & Transparency