Yellow Black and White Negs

[HopALong]

I have just processed two rolls of 120 Ilford Delta 400 Pro.
I have changed the developer I was using and am now using Ilfosol 3 with Fotospeed SB40 Stop Bath and Fotospeed FX20 Rapid Fixer.
I have done everything as normal and hung the negs to dry.
Recently I checked the negs again to find the whole strip of film has turned a light yellow colour. The images are still there, but now have a yellowy tint.
I can only think that my Fixer has died and not fixed the film correctly. I know developer can stop working but does this happen to fixer with age, as this particular bottle is about a year old.

[Dave miller]

Fixer should last a year unused, but this certainly sounds like improper fixing. Refix in fresh fixer as soon as possible and rewash.

[Richard Gould]

I agree with Dave,fixer should last at least a year, was the fixer mixed fresh for n the film or had you used it diluted for several films prior to this one, It certainly sounds like inproper fixing,so try mixing fresh fixer and re fixing and washing,Richard

[jonsparkes]

I had a problem with odd colour to the negs, I cut one neg of the strip and placed in a new mix of fixer and the neg soon looked like it should.
I dumped the old fixer after that.

[Richard Gould]

IT is important not to overuse dilute fixer, the best way is to use a leader from a 35mm film, and if the clearing time has doubled then discard the fixer and mix new, this is a good rule of thumb, I would normally use the dilute fixer 5 times then discard and mix fresh, but fixer concentrate should keep, even in part filled bottles, for at least a year,and if in doubt test it as above, and if all is well then use it, if not discard it, Fixer is cheap compared to a irrelaplacable image on a film,Richard

[HopALong]

Thanks everyone, looks like its as I thought.
The fixer mix was freshly made up before I started as I felt the diluted mix already in the bottles had sat to long without use.
I did try to refix once I found the yellow perils hanging there, I left the negs in the fixer for 15 minutes to give the fixer a chance, just in case it had lost its umph. The negs are still have a yellow tint to them.
Hopefully I can get some prints off them.
I will do as you suggest in future Richard, and try a test strip.

[Dave miller]

Originally Posted by HopALong

Thanks everyone, looks like its as I thought.
The fixer mix was freshly made up before I started as I felt the diluted mix already in the bottles had sat to long without use.
I did try to refix once I found the yellow perils hanging there, I left the negs in the fixer for 15 minutes to give the fixer a chance, just in case it had lost its umph. The negs are still have a yellow tint to them.
Hopefully I can get some prints off them.
I will do as you suggest in future Richard, and try a test strip.

Just a thought or two.
I once took a bottle of stock fixer and diluted it for use only to find, like you, that it didn't work. It took me a while to work out that I had diluted working strength fixer that then was too dilute to complete the job.
A second point to consider is that unless your negatives are refixed they will continue to deteriorate.

[Paulographic]

This hapened to me several times in the past and I passed the negs briefly through neat fix and all was well.
Real problem was rewashing film cut into strips. Drying them again was easy, stood on edge on a piece kitchen towel (the slight curve kept them upright) with another piece laid on top to keep off dust.
The fix in question I was using then was "Barclay" which I found after a few films was anything but "rapid". Never had the problem with Ilford, or even Jessops own brand.

Paul

[Les McLean]

It could be that the problem is "dichroic fog" which is a staining that occurs sometime after incomplete fixing. I had this problem about 12 months into my photographic life and was told by an old member of the camera club what the problem was. His advice to clear the fog was to use a mixture of thourea and citric acid and place the neg in the solution until the fog cleared. What he didn't tell me was that if left too long in the solution the emulsion turned into a jelly which washed off the surface of the acetate when placed in a water rinse. However before that happened I noticed that the stain was gone????? but it was somewhat alarming to watch the emulsion slide off the acetate and litereally go down the plughole.

Luckily I used a rubbish negative to test the process. I used s second rubbish neg to calculate the correct time and hey presto I ended up with a cleared printable negative.

I've never repeated this process since that experience because as I watched the emulsion slide off the emulsion I decided never to over use fixer.

[Daud]

Originally Posted by Les McLean

it was somewhat alarming to watch the emulsion slide off the acetate and litereally go down the plughole.

One of those 'Oh s..t! moments' but as they say s..t happens.

david.

http://davidalockwood.wordpress.com