New PX 125 antihalation backing?

[lemastre]

I processed 220-length rolls from a new batch of Plus-X 125, and the pre-wet

water poured out of the tank looking like ink. I feared that the emulsion had

washed away, but the negatives look okay. This film seems to be a new version

of Plus-X and apparently has a water-soluble backing. No mention of that on the

Kodak web site, though. Shocked hell out of me, however. Wonder how the

backing affects processing if you don't pre-wet.

[chris_waller]

The AH layer varies between manufacturers. Some wash off in water if pre-soaked, some wash off in the dev, some bleach in the fixer. I processed some TMX over the weekend and, as you say,the AH layer washed out in the pre-soak. If you don't pre-soak then it will simply wash off in the dev. Some films I have tested (Jessops Pan 100 and 400 - probably 'old' Agfa technology - don't wash off in the pre-soak but wash off in the dev (possibly because it's more alkaline).

[Andrew in Austin]

About a year ago, Kodak began manufacturing all their B&W film in the US in a new plant. Now both Plus X and Tri-X have the inky antihalation layer. Unless you reuse your developer, I doubt there is much difference between pre-wetting and not pre-wetting the film.

[conrad_hoffman]

I just got back into roll film and discovered that my usual combination of FX2 and TF-4 fixer wouldn't kill the purple/blue dye on Plus-X. Even after washing it looked like a tungsten to daylight conversion filter! It may have been the old manufacture, but it needed an acid fixer to get most of it out, and even then a trace remained.

[wclark5179]

I use T-Max Kodak films in the various ASA's. What I do is after fixing, for the first 10 minutes I wash my film in 90 degree water. I do this by filling up the film tank with water and after about a minute you'll see the color of the water change to red. You can let the water stay longer if you wish. Then after about 4 to 6 changes of the warm 90 degree water you'll gradually notice less and less of the red stuff. You can look at the film and see if it's clear. Then gradually lower the temp of the water, changing at longer time intervasls, then I try to stay around 68 to 70 degrees and keep it that way until wash is complete. I wash my films around 30 minutes with this method.<P>The reason I recommend taking the water to a lower temperature as washing progresses is so when you are finally done and you use a device to wipe the film before hanging to dry you won't have any problems because of soft emulsion.<P>This works fine for me and I haven't had any problems whatsoever and always get rid of the magenta color.