Tri-X processed at a drugstore.

[galileo42]

<p>A friends' young student daughter is taking photo courses and she had two rolls of Tri-X to develop. For some reason, she decided to drop them at a drugstore for processing. Not the best idea, but, hey, sometimes your priorities may wander a bit. Anyway, now she's got her negatives back and she says they're slightly purple all over. I haven't seen them, but she says they look like they have details in the shadows and highlights and that the markings on the edges are crisp. Only this purple hue is strange. What do you make of that? Can she still print them in the darkroom? Thanks for your insight.</p>

[peterbcarter]

<p>Sounds perfectly normal.</p>

[jim_appleyard]

<p>The purple color is from a sensitizing dye found in most films today. Dropping your b/w film off aqt the drugstore is, like you said, not the best idea; you never know what you're going to get for quality. It is probable that the lab did a minimum fix & wash on this film. Your friend's daughter can take to her scholl darkroom, give them a re-fix and wash and that will remove more, if not all, of the purple color. Yes, they can be printed the way they are, but it is more aesthetically pleasing when they are not purple.</p>

[galileo42]

<p>Thanks, friends. Peter, you say «normal»? I've never had a purple TX negative myself, in D-76, Xtol, HC-110, Rodinal, DDX... you name it. I've had purple XP2 and orange T400CN, if I remember well, but TX? Jim, that sounds sensible. Insufficient fixing? So, you mean do a re-fix, like a normal fix, three, four minutes with standard agitation? Then wash as usual? Would you wet the negs before fixing? Thanks again.</p>

[bob_sunley]

<p>If they were processed in colour soup, the bleach would have removed most if not all the silver leaving blank film. Try a refix, normal time, there is no need to pre wet the film.</p>

<p> </p>

[lex_jenkins]

<p>The slight purplish tint is normal. I've seen it described as everything from purple to magenta to blue. I suspect this is because some b&w photographers don't have a finely attuned sense of color perception.</p>

<p>The tint is usually very faint but definitely different than Tri-X of past decades. My Tri-X negs from the 1960s-'80s finished with a neutral steely gray. Since the late 1990s, increasingly in the 2000's, most have finished with a very slight tint.</p>

<p>The developer will make a significant difference. The tint tends to remain with ID-11, Diafine and Microphen. It's slightly less noticeable with HC-110. Rodinal so aggressively strips out the dyes the used Rodinal will actually pour out looking like grape Koolaid and leave the Tri-X negs looking like they did decades ago.</p>

<p>But don't worry about the tint. It won't interfere with printing or scanning.</p>

[galileo42]

<p>Yes! I stand corrected. I just checked a neg recently processed in D-76, and what do you know? There is this slight purple hue. But it is very, very subtle. I hadn't noticed it. I had to put a neg of Plus-X next to it to see the difference. But, Lex, tell me if I got this right: the purple hue is apparent only in the new Tri-X emulsion? I guess it's the one called «400 TX», am I right? I am just going back to b&w film, and I don't remember. Thanks again, all.</p>

[joe_plumber]

<p>They should be a bit purple...<br>

If they are very purple, refix and rewash them, but im guessing that they were done right.</p>

[lex_jenkins]

<p>Nah, Michel, it's common with many emulsions from Kodak and Ilford. I first noticed it with T-Max films about 10 years ago. Then it began appearing in Tri-X and, to a lesser extent, HP5+ and FP4+.</p>

<p>I've consulted several experienced b&w photographers and researched it fairly extensively online. It appears to be directly related to differences in not only emulsions but also the film base itself. Some folks believe it has to do with the silver content or "skimping on the silver," but as far as I can tell it's an honest effort by manufacturers to provide better true speed, finer grain, less halation and greater consistency in development. Some of the patents I've researched specifically indicate that a slight tint is a normal adjunct to this process.</p>

<p>Over the years here there have been dozens, possibly hundreds, of discussions related to this issue, including many recommendations to "solve" the problem. Personally, I don't find any indication that there is a problem to solve. It's just a change from what photographers were accustomed to. And since none of the European films I've tried finish with a tinted base, even new b&w photographers are noticing the difference when they compare negatives. Dyes used in European films are usually readily soluble in water and it appears the dyes are in the emulsion only, not in the film base. But, again, I'm not seeing any indication that the tint is a problem, other than that it offends the aesthetics of traditionalists.</p>

[larrydressler]

<p>Lex being color blind helps me... :-) Ok Not color blind but I still get in fights with people over Purple and Blue.</p>

[vincent_peri]

<p>When I had a darkroom back in the early 1980s, I developed my own Tri-X. Way back then I noticed the slight purple cast in my negatives. Prints made from the negatives came out excellently, by the way.<br>

Today, I use a professional lab to develop my B&W film. I still see a faint purple color in my negs.</p>

[larrydressler]

<p>Today the Purple of Tmax films means incompleat fixing. I have learned also to remove it from modern Tri-x.</p>

[mjferron]

<p>Not arguing with anyone but I've only noticed it on tmax films before. Ya have to fix and wash the hell out of them. (Not on the new tmx)</p>

[tim gray]

<p>From the people I've talked to, a very slight purple tint on Tri-X is due to the base. I'm quoting Photo Engineer here (Ron Mowrey) from a thread at APUG, specifically about the tint in Tri-X:</p>

<p>"There is a slight tint to some bases. The base itself has a conductive agent in it like the conductive plastic bags for electronic equipment. This conductive agent causes a minute even gray-purple tint that is entirely harmless. This agent is there to prevent static discharge during coating and packaging as well as during processing. It cannot be removed."</p>

<p>I think if you leave your negs out in sunlight long enough, it will bleach out the tint, but if you ask me, that doesn't sound smart. The tint found in TMAX films, the pink one, apparently comes from one of the dyes responsible for green sensitivity. It sounds like a tenacious dye, and needs the full cycle of good fixing, good washing, and good final rinse to remove. Anyway, I've never had a problem of having my TMAX negs come out colorless, but have never been able to get rid of the purple tint on Tri-X.</p>

<p><br /></p>

[galileo42]

<p>Well-informed replies, all. Thank you.</p>

[chromatik]

<p>I hope this person gets to experience the thrill of developing her own negatives. I still get goosebumps when a roll or sheet proves unexpectedly beautiful.</p>