T-max100,pinkish cast, fix for 24 minutes too long?

[Jfnphotography]

Just finished developing 6 4x5 sheets of T-Max 100. I'm having a problem getting the pinkish cast out of the negative. I develop my film in a light tight box, D-76 at 68 temp. for 9.5 minutes, stop bath 2 minutes, Kodak Fixer for 18 minutes (Kodak recommends 10 minutes for 4x5 film), water rinse, then Kodak Photo-Flo for 2 minutes, then rinse with water and re-fix for 6 minutes or until the pink is out. Than photo-flo 2:00 minutes. All my chemicals are 1:1 dilution and new only 3 days old. I haven't noticed any fogging on my film.

Is fixing for 24 minutes too long?

Is it better to fix or wash with photo-flo to get the pink out?

Thanks, Jacob

[eddie]

i learned the longer you fix the longer you need to wash.

here is what i do for tmax 100. develop (hc110), stop, fix for 4-6 min or until clear. ( you can take off the top and look to see if it is clear not milkly/foggy) then i rinse. i use a daylight tank normally so i fill and dump it ten times. then i fill and let it soak for a few min. i repeat this till the pink is gone. usually i let them soak for 10-25 min all total. i dump when i think about it. then i use photo flo then hang.

cheers
eddie

[David A. Goldfarb]

24 minutes is longer than necessary, and at that point it's not getting the dye out. Fix for the recommended time for T-Max films, rinse and use a wash aid like hypo clearing agent or Permawash, final wash, then PhotoFlo or Agfa Sistan, and then hang. Do not wash after PhotoFlo, or you are defeating the purpose of using PhotoFlo, which is to prevent drying marks.

PhotoFlo should not remove the pink dye. A proper fix, wash, and hypo clearing agent or Permawash does.

[Oren Grad]

>> Is it better to fix or wash with photo-flo to get the pink out? <<

Neither.

Even 18 minutes is way too long for fixer. If you're having trouble clearing the dye, add a wash aid step after the fixer - Kodak Hypo Clearing Agent, Heico Perma Wash, or Ilford Wash Aid. Agitate the negatives in the wash aid until the dye clears, then do a final water wash, then dunk briefly in Photo Flo before hanging up to dry.

[Ed Richards]

Do the wash aids really do anything to the dye? I thought they were aimed at the fixer, and really for paper, not film. Tmax is on an impervious base and is a really thin emulsion, it should not be hard to get the fixer out. I would presoak, that really helps clear the dye, plus it can help even out development.

[Oren Grad]

Do the wash aids really do anything to the dye?

Yes. I first learned the trick in Phil Davis' darkroom. He used Perma Wash to clear TMX negatives that came out of the BTZS tubes with residual dye. Although my standard size sheet films all clear completely when processed in Jobo Expert drums, which maintain excellent circulation on the base as well as the emulsion side, I've pressed the trick into service recently to clear some J&C/Forte 400 7x17 negatives that had residual dye when I pulled them from the Jobo print drum I used for processing.

[David A. Goldfarb]

Yes, I also use PermaWash, and it makes a huge difference in removing the dye.

[Jfnphotography]

How long do you presoak? Do you agitate when presoaking?

[Jfnphotography]

I will give the presoak and PermaWash a try.
Thanks for your help. Jacob

[Brian Ellis]

PermaWash preceded by a brief (1-2 minute) rinse will definitely help remove the dye. However, a slight magenta tint isn't going to hurt anything so I wouldn't become fanatical about removing every last trace of it.

[Gene McCluney]

I think I read somewhere, possibly on this forum or APUG that you can just put dry sleeved T-max negatives on your light table with the light on for a while and the light will actually clear the residiual dye....I hope I am not hallucinating.

[Ken Lee]

Sandy King gave me this tip, and it works nicely:

After a normal fix, and a brief water rinse, soak the negatives in a 10&#37; solution of Sodium Sulfite for ten minutes. In my experience, this removes almost all the magenta cast, and the rest goes out with normal washing.

It just so happens that the active ingredient in typical formulas (http://www.digitaltruth.com/techdata/washaid.php) for "washing aids", is Sodium Sulfite. It is often combined with Sodium Metabisulfite, which acts as a preservative - but if you mix it yourself and toss it, there is no need for any preservative.

Around 1 teaspoon per liter of water, makes the right concentration. Sodium Sulfite is very affordable - especially when used in tiny amounts such as this - Much more affordable than commercial preparations.

[Ed Richards]

I presoak for about a minute, but I use a jobo expert drum on a roller base, so it really gets agitated front and back. You might use 5 minutes if it is just sitting in a tank. I also belong to the do not worry too much about getting the last of the magenta out school.

[Paul Fitzgerald]

Hi all,

the fastest way I have found is to fix TMX in TF-4 fixer for 5 min. and a normal wash cycle will remove all the magenta stain. Use fresh TF-4, and TMX does beat it up fairly quickly, much faster than other films. Less wet time and fewer chems.

Works well every time, has for years.

[Jim Noel]

When using films with difficult to remove anti-halation I use a pre-soak of 1 TBS sodium sulfite per liter of water. I use this same formula for my hypo eliminator.

Rarely do I have any residual color.

[Ed K.]

Hi -

I find that a 3 minute prewash in the Jobo, BEFORE doing development, does wonders. Most of the dye comes out right then and there. Next, some kinds of developers remove more of the dye than others. Ilford DDX kills most dye on contact, but again, a prewash does the trick most of the time.

I use a very small quantity of Permawash at the end of processing, about 1/8th of the recommended amount, then wash normally. That's enough to help washing, and at least the slime of the Permawash comes off in the wash too.

With presoak, I never get dye by the end of the process.

Without a presoak before development, you can also try letting your neg sit in standing distilled water for a bit. You'd be surprised how much dye will go away if just allowed to diffuse into water.