Pink or purple stains on B&W negatives

[Jeff Bannow]

Pink or purple can be a sign of a few different things, based on the type of film being used and your developing process. It can be a sign of under-fixing your negatives; this should be ruled out first. Make sure you used fresh fixer of the proper dilution, at the proper temperature, for the proper time. If any of this is in doubt, refix immediately, then wash and dry as normal.

Note: The reverse is not true – you cannot use the lack of dye color as an indication of proper fixing.

If this doesn’t resolve the issue, then you probably have a sensitizing dye in your film that didn’t wash out. You can safely ignore this dye if you wish, as it will not affect the life of the film or its use in printing. If you wish to remove this dye, try the following:

- Wash for a longer period. The amount of time that the film spends wet seems to have an effect, and the dye may wash out. Wash water at 80ºF / 27ºC may also help.
- Fix for a longer period of time. This is especially the case with some Kodak films, which require a longer fixing time. An alkaline fix will help with this as well.
- Use a sulfite-based hypo clearing agent / wash aid after fixing.

If you want to remove the stain after the film has been dried, try one of the following:

- Immerse your negatives into a bath of 1% sodium sulfite and agitate them until the color is gone from the film. Wash and dry as normal.
- Expose the film to UV light, such as sunlight, for 1-5 hours. This may remove the color, although some question if this might harm the negative as well.


Note: This is my summary of the thread here - Pink or Magenta Cast with T-max, new Tri-X, and other films (not blue or green cast)

[Petr]

I found that with Tmax films, a good prewash (prior developing) at 21°C for 5-10min removed most of the film sensitizing dye. Remainder of dye was then easily removed with extended fixing (requirement for Kodak stocks) and final wash.

[RalphLambrecht]

I found that with Tmax films, a good prewash (prior developing) at 21°C for 5-10min removed most of the film sensitizing dye. Remainder of dye was then easily removed with extended fixing (requirement for Kodak stocks) and final wash.

Yes, a prewash removes part of the anti-halation layer but also a few other things in the emulsion, which are added to aid development. In my opinion, it's better to add some wet time post development. A second fix, a treatment in HCA, and a brief wash in between are particularly useful to remove the dye completely (not that it does any harm).

[dfoo]

Why does this stain bother anyone anyway?

[hpulley]

Magenta changes the contrast of multigrade paper.

If you plan on reusing developer it is the wrong dye perhaps for other films and you wonder if dyed developer should be used again.

I don't presoak black and white film and don't reuse black and white film developer but I do presoak and reuse C41 chems.

[RalphLambrecht]

Magenta changes the contrast of multigrade paper. ...

That does not matter in a consistent process. The influence is minimal and consistent.

... If you plan on reusing developer it is the wrong dye perhaps for other films and you wonder if dyed developer should be used again. ...

A literature search reveals no known influence of one film's anti-halation dye on another film's development behavior, but it is another reason for one-shot processing. Anyway, a 5-minute presoak does not remove the entire dye. It just makes it easier for the following process steps to remove it. The pre-soak does not free the developer from the dye, nor does the dye hamper the developing process.

The whole concern about the dye is more a cosmetic issue than anything else.

[tmharter]

If my fixer is old and I didn't notice the color until the next day, will it keep getting darker?
Thanks

[hpulley]

Refix, HCA and rewash if you don't like the stain though it shouldn't get darker and may even fade on its own when exposed to light.