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I ran out of Pyrocat so I tried developing my HP5+ in DD-X. Much to my surprise, there was almost none of the magenta dye which appears when I use PyroCat. I'm not even certain there is any at all.
Sandy King recommended a Sodium Sulfite bath after fixing, to remove the dye, and it works fairly well, but it sure is nice not to have any to start with.
Does DD-X contain something in it which eliminates the dye ? Is the dye not really dye per se, but an artifact of Pyrocat ?
I don't think there's anything special about DD-X in this respect - I've never had residual dye after processing HP5+ in any standard developer.
Although I recommend a sulfite after-bath for TMAX-100 and TMAX-400 films, which do come out of the develoepr with a magenta tint, I have never seen any color dye with HP5+, regardless of developer.
Pyrocat is a staining developer. That may be the difference.
steve simmons
Yes, Sandy - Your suggestion was for TMax films. My mistake, and thanks for the clarification.
Then what I am removing from the HP5+ is a remnant of the developer. I wonder if my use of tap water instead of the recommended distilled water, when mixing the developer, is to blame. As Steve has pointed out, it must be the stain itself.
My HP5 negs have magenta residual color after they come out of my fixer (TF-4 when I'm using PyroCat) but it seems to wash away completely with a thorough washing. I haven't needed to use any additional treatment beyond that. A slow water flow for about 15 minutes is my recent habit and this seems to remove the tint completely.
I use HP5+ and DDX all the time and never see a stain ( I also don't use distilled water).
I do presoak the film in my Jobo for 5 minutes before adding developer (which is a no no according to Ilford, but I have always done it and never had development issues). You might test a sheet or two with a pre-soak and see if that helps.
Sorry misunderstood, sounds like it must be the Pyrocat.
I suspect DDX contains enough sulfite to remove the tint, and P'cat doesn't. If your fixer is also low in sulfite, you might have some residual tint leftover that doesn't come out completely, without a clearing bath and a long wash.
Jay