Wash Problem

[nworth]

Last night I processed some Kodak TMax 100 (D-76 (1+1), water, Kodak Fixer. 35 min wash). The processing went fine, but when I inspected the film this morning it had severe magenta staining (from the sensitizing dye, probably) along the upper edges. Except for the stain, the negatives appeared to be properly processed. I refixed in F-34, which had little effect on the stain but somewhat degraded the shadow areas of the negative, and then rewashed the film in a tray (11 changes of water). The rewashing removed the stain.

I processed the film in an old Anscomatic tank, which is similar in construction to the Patterson tanks that are now popular. I haven't had any problems with these plastic reel tanks before, but this experience shows that it is possible to have inadequate washing near the reel flanges even when the rest of the film is adequately washed. (I usually wash the film in the tank, channeling water through the center column and letting it flow out the top.) The cure is probably a one hour wash. The experience also shows that washing, rather than refixing, is the way to get rid of the stain.

 

[jfish]

The stain came from the film...TMax have a lot of it. One way to get rid of it, besides rewashing as you did, is to expose them to a lot of light, like leaving on a lightbox for a few hours. Sounds strange but this was Kodak's answer when the lab I owned questioned them about it in the early days of the film. You CAN refix and rewash if that is better for you, but then again you are exposing it to much more wetness than it needs and you run the risk of swelling. The stain isn't harmful but it does look crappy and I too never wanted to leave it on clients film.♦

Anyway, hope that helps.

 

[Neal]

Dear nworth,

A 2-3 minute soak in Hypo Clearing Agent seems to do a nice job of removing the magenta stain. Reduces the water needed for washing as well. Give it a try, even if it doesn't work for you, it won't cost much to try.

Neal Wydra

 

[juan]

I've been shooting old, expired TMX 8x10. It has a lot of the dye. I've found that by washing in circulating water for awhile, the dye is removed. I use a submersible aquarium pump to circulate the water in a large tray. After the dye is removed, I wash normally with several changes of water.
juan

 

[jim appleyard]

Nworth, are you using plain, old Kodak fixer, Rapid fix, or Kodafix? This might make a difference.

 

[synj00]

Exactly! Tmax will be pink / purple until you wash it for a good long while (or wash it in hotter water, although I don't do that anymore because I care more about not getting reticulation). I thought that I was underfixing as well for a while until I learned that a longer wash gets rid of it. Quite annoying. But not as annoying as the curl that Ilford Delta 100 gives me.

 

[Trevor Crone]

I use a rapid fixer diluted 1:4 and agitate the film quite a fair bit when washing. I don't allow the water to just flow in and out I completely change it regularly with vigourous agitation by using up and down movements of the film.

 

[Dave Miller]

Exactly! Tmax will be pink / purple until you wash it for a good long while (or wash it in hotter water, although I don't do that anymore because I care more about not getting reticulation). I thought that I was underfixing as well for a while until I learned that a longer wash gets rid of it. Quite annoying. But not as annoying as the curl that Ilford Delta 100 gives me.

Curl? Delta! How do you manage that:confused:

 

[synj00]

Dunno, It just dries that way when I hang it. Clothespin on the top and one on the bottom

Edge to edge Tmax dries like | and Delta dries like )

 

[jim appleyard]

Dunno, It just dries that way when I hang it. Clothespin on the top and one on the bottom

Edge to edge Tmax dries like | and Delta dries like )

Maybe if you weighted the clothespin with something???

 

[Edwardv]

Expose it to the sun between 5-15 minutes, this depends how bright the sun is. Then place it on a white sheet of paper to see how much the magenta has disappeared.

Good luck

 

[srs5694]

I have an entirely different thought on the cause of the problem: It could be that some non-wash solution (fixer, probably) was a bit low in volume. I've noticed that at least some of the AH dyes come out with the fixer when I process T-Max films. If the fixer volume was just a smidge low, it could be that this would reduce the pre-washing dye removal just enough to leave a bit of dye after washing was done. This might not leave visible signs of underfixing, since the film might still clear from the fixer that moves around during agitation, even if it wasn't completely immersed.

Thus, I suggest that you double-check the solution volumes required by your tank, particularly if you've never measured them yourself. (Many tanks have volumes printed or inscribed on them, so I don't know if you use those values or have measured them yourself.) Of course, it's also possible that you simply mis-measured the fixer volume this one time or that your fixer, if you've re-used it a few times, has dropped in volume because of loss over those previous uses.