TRIX FIX PROBLEMS

rubenmg · Dec 14, 2008

hello to all,

last I have problems when fixing the film trix400, after fixing during 10 minutes the negative leaves completely violet. Before this did not happen to me. Work with new fix device, I develop with d76 and stop with water. to somebody but it has passed this? as it is solved? Thanks, greetings,

Ruben

mikebarger · Dec 14, 2008

mine does it on the presoak. Do you soak the film before you develop it?

Mike

rubenmg · Dec 14, 2008

no, never I give a previous bath, this him in the last happens lot to me that it buys of this film, where the package has changed slightly reason why I deduce that is made recently. Thanks,
Ruben

David A. Goldfarb · Dec 14, 2008

The new Tri-X has the same purple dye that is found in the T-Max films. The solution is the same--once you've assured that you've fixed adequately (about twice as long as for regular films), rinse, and use a wash aid like Permawash or Hypo Clearing Agent, and the dye will come out.

MikeSeb · Dec 14, 2008

Man, this question comes up so often we should make a sticky thread on it---and then hope someone actually uses the Search function.

I wonder why this has everyone so exercised? Once the film is adequately fixed, it doesn't really matter, does it?

nickandre · Dec 14, 2008

If you don't fix enough and it doesn't come out in the permawash, you'll have to refix and wash and permawash (a pain).

David A. Goldfarb · Dec 14, 2008

We actually already do have a sticky thread about the T-max purple cast, but not everyone realizes, I suppose, that this is the same issue even with different films.

rubenmg · Dec 14, 2008

I request excuses not to search for the subject, I do not understand the English well and I use translators to be able to write in this page. The next time will try it, thanks,
Ruben

Phillip P. Dimor · Dec 14, 2008

If you reuse your fixer and it's getting old, try fixing it again with fresh fixer.
Sometimes I need to fix for 3 minutes in one bath and then another fix for about 2 minutes in another bath.

The HCA/Permawash also helps. Generally speaking, the purple doesn't hurt your negs but underfixing them will.

wogster · Dec 14, 2008

David A. Goldfarb said:
The new Tri-X has the same purple dye that is found in the T-Max films. The solution is the same--once you've assured that you've fixed adequately (about twice as long as for regular films), rinse, and use a wash aid like Permawash or Hypo Clearing Agent, and the dye will come out.

One wonders, with all the trouble with this dye and Tmax, why Kodak would make Tri-X suffer the same fate. Unless the "new" Tri-X is just Tmax in a different package....

David A. Goldfarb · Dec 14, 2008

Presumably, the dye does something positive. It's not there just to make the film hard to wash. I think in general the purple dye is a sensitizing dye.

wogster · Dec 14, 2008

David A. Goldfarb said:
Presumably, the dye does something positive. It's not there just to make the film hard to wash. I think in general the purple dye is a sensitizing dye.

They had no problem making the film with out it, between 1954 and now, so why the change now. Although looking at a roll from 1977 just now, it does have a very very slight purple cast, so maybe it's always been there, just not as strong as it is now. Most likely they used to use a different dye for Tri-X and now they use the same one as T-max, but considering the problems with it, you would think they would start using the dye from Tri-X for Tmax rather then go the other way. Makes me kinda glad I switched to Ilford films back around 1980, never had a problem.....

David A. Goldfarb · Dec 14, 2008

Modern Tri-X has finer grain than earlier versions. The sensitizing dyes are probably relevant to that. Older versions of Tri-X may have had components that are no longer used for environmental or cost or availability reasons, so the film has most likely been reformulated a number of times since the 1950s.

Harry Lime · Dec 14, 2008

Oddly enough when I process the current Tri-X in 135 I get purple / pink negs with Ilfords fixer, but not with Kodak's Tmax fixer. The pink cast seems to fade away, if I leave the clear file with the negs on my desk for a few days.

Pat Erson · Dec 15, 2008

Harry Lime said:
Oddly enough when I process the current Tri-X in 135 I get purple / pink negs with Ilfords fixer.

I get exactly the same thing. It doesn't scare me though; don't worry rubenmg yourn negs will be fine as long as your washing is adequate and your fixer fresh.

dancqu · Dec 17, 2008

rubenmg said:
hello to all, last I have problems when fixing the film
trix400, after fixing during 10 minutes the negative
leaves completely violet. Ruben

I'd work backwards to solve the problem. The Across
I process comes out of a very dilute one-shot fix very
pink. By the time it has had a leisurely three soaks with
some little agitation the hue is very very faint. Good
results from Room Temperature Distilled water.

Certain water impurities may contribute to the retention
of film color. Warm water will wash more thoroughly
and do so in no more or even less time. Test with
Room Temperature Distilled. An easy test. Dan

geoferrell · Dec 18, 2008

I thought Tri-X took about five minutes, but could be extended some for safety and with Tmax adding some extra time works best. I know the Tmax films always seemed to use up the fixer solution much faster, and that often the film had to be redone.

dancqu · Dec 18, 2008

geoferrell said:
I know the Tmax films always seemed to use up the
fixer solution much faster, and that often the film
had to be redone.

The halides of silver, chloride, bromide, and iodide,
make up the silver content of the usual film emulsions.
They become less soluble in the above order. Actually all
three are considered insoluble though a very few compounds
will combine with the silver and form one or more soluble
compounds. Thiosulfate is one of the few compounds.

Silver iodide being extremely insoluble requires a greater
excess of thiosulfate. So more fixer must be used. Also,
ammonium fixers lose much of their 'rapid' character.
The ammonium ion compared to the thiosulfate ion
has little affinity for silver and that especially in
in the presence of iodide. Dan

Owen Luck · Dec 29, 2008

TX Fix ???

Hi,

I have had similar clearing probs with TX 400. I Use a jobo processor. I pre wash 2:00 min. Presently using HC 110, Acid stop, Heico Rapid fix for 10:00 min. H2O was 2:00 min.., Heico Perma was 1:00 min., wash in archival washer 10:00 min. This seems to do the trick. But there are times that there is stil a purple cast.

Hope this helps

SilverGlow · Dec 29, 2008

I'm a bit confused. I read some posts that say do blah, blah, blah and the purple tint is gone, or the film clears. However I've never seen TMAX nor TriX ever completlely clear, no matter how long I fix and wash, the purple tint is still there, ever so faint...is this how it is supposed to be? The purple tint can never completely be removed? Having it there does not bother me, however I just want to know if a faint purple is expected...

Thomas Bertilsson · Dec 29, 2008

For me the color cast changes depending on developer (HC-110 (slight blue), Rodinal (clear), Pyrocat (stained brown), Edwal 12 (slight red) - all different). I use Ilford Hypam fix, and I always presoak. Sometimes they even come out clear!

Bottom line is - they all print fine. Looking at the films available out there, Foma 120 film has a blue base that is more tinted than the Tmax and Tri-X negatives and their sensitizing dyes. Guess what - they print fine too!

- Thomas

Lanline · Mar 25, 2011

Having recently switched over to TRI-X, my first rolls came with a violet tint. My beloved Neopan 400 washes clear, so I was unsettled by the tint. My second batch of Tri-x today was 2 pre wash, develop in d76 1:1, fix for 4 minutes with fresh rapid fix, hypo clear and wash. Still the same time tint. So I am assuming this is normal just like the Foma's blue tint - I think it's my long experience with Neopan washing clear that has me unsettled.

Pat Erson · Mar 26, 2011

"Having recently switched over to TRI-X, my first rolls came with a violet tint. My beloved Neopan 400 washes clear"

Same here. So the purple tint is a TRI-X problem not a fixing problem, Ruben!

Don't worry, you're not making any mistakes

Thomas Bertilsson · Mar 26, 2011

Pat Erson said:
So the purple tint is a TRI-X problem not a fixing problem, Ruben!

It's a mistake to call it a Tri-X 'problem'. The negatives print just fine, and that's the only thing that matters.

brian steinberger · Mar 26, 2011

I struggled at first with Tri-x in 120 with sharpness issues. It just wasn't as sharp as other 400 speed films I was used to (Neopan and HP5). I finally decided to try NOT pre-soaking the film and the negatives came out sharp. I was amazed. Since then I've ditched the pre-soaking of all my films and no longer recommend it, especially for Tri-x in 120. 2 minutes in a hypo-clearing agent then a long wash (6-10min) in warm water gets most of the tint out. A little tint isn't going to hurt anything, as long as you know the film was fixed enough, and it does tend to clear somewhat if left out to ambient light a few days.

TRIX FIX PROBLEMS

rubenmg

mikebarger

rubenmg

David A. Goldfarb

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MikeSeb

nickandre

David A. Goldfarb

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rubenmg

Phillip P. Dimor

wogster

David A. Goldfarb

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wogster

David A. Goldfarb

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Harry Lime

Pat Erson

dancqu

geoferrell

dancqu

Owen Luck

SilverGlow

Thomas Bertilsson

Lanline

Pat Erson

Thomas Bertilsson

brian steinberger

TRIX FIX PROBLEMS

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