Pinkish tinge on B&W negatives

[Cal Eng]

I just started doing my own B&W development with the end result of an throughout pink tinge on the negative. I used a rotary processor, T Max RS 1:9 at 24 degr ees C. I presoaked the 10 negatives for 4 minutes, developed for 8 minutes with 800 cc., followed by the 30 sec Stop, 1 min fixer, and the rinse.

I'm not sure what went wrong. Any suggestions?

[Jeff White]

I would suggest that you fix your negatives longer. I assume that you are using T-Max 100, with a rapid fix you will normally need about a 6 minute fix time. This will not get rid of the pink cast. You then need to do complete wash, I use a 15 or 20 minute wash in a very good film washer.

[bmgmusic]

I got that pinkish neg too. You may try 5-10% Sodium Carbonate or Sodium Bicarbonate solution(Hypo remover) to wash it for a couple minutes. Let us know if it works for you.

[Pat Kearns]

Cal, the answer is definitely with too short of time with the fixer. Tmax films exhaust fixer very quickly. Kodak recommends rapid fixer for these films. I fix Tmax for 7 minutes and never have the pink cast. Try putting the films back into the fixer and it should remove the pink. Good luck & happy shooting. Pat.

[Douglas P. Theall]

Cal, You might want to invest in a Kodak black and white darkroom data guide. It gives all the characteristics of the film and how long they should be processed and in what. If you are using tmax you need to fix for at least 4 minutes with a rotary drum. Longer doesn't hurt anything but I beleive 4 minutes will cure the pink eye for you. Good Luck.

[Andre Noble]

Cal, most ingenious yet: load your film holders with Iford next time you're shooting B&W. :>) Andre

[john g]

The trouble is that the negs are not washed properly. Try rewashing a neg for the recomended time and the recomended temp before you change your fix time. Also call Kodak at 1 800 242 2424 ex 19. They are quite helpfull.

[Mark Minard]

I live in NY, and in my basement darkroom during winter months the temp. drops to @45 deg.F... Is temperature with you a factor? I need to increase fixing time about 50% when using cold fix - otherwise I get the magenta cast.

Mark

[Gary L. Quay]

I know this is an old line of inquiry, but I've had a slight pink tint to my FP4 negaitves. I noticed it the next day, so I pit them back into the fixer for an additional 5 minutes (4 minuted in Ilford rapid fix), then I washed for 30 minutes, using a wash aid for 10 minutes. strangely, I processed a batch of T-Max 400 at the same time and didn't get the same results. I checked the fixer with Hypo Check. Is there something I'm overlooking, or is Hypo Check ineffective.