[LargeFormat] tmax film pre wash gets the red out!

[Les Newcomer]

If Your talking Tmax films, I was always told that was a dye they added 
for better spectral response.

I've processed Tmax in rolls and sheets since it was a test product back 
in '88.  I ALWAYS had this brilliant magenta pre wash water every time.

I ordered some more Tmax about a month ago. Notice we are in transistion 
at this point from the old coating alley at Kodak to their new one.

What I bought had the old catalog number, and the old notches, the old 
logos, it just came in the new 50 sheet box.

I processed some test stuff to tweak the dev time before I jump into my 
100 sheets of exposed stuff from my recent trip out west...  I got the 
film into the fix, covered it and turned the lights on, to my shock the 
prewash water was CLEAR!!!.

The negs look great with not magenta cast either, or very very slight.


I called Kodak pro tech support.   "No you definietly have the old 
stuff, the magenta dye varies quite a bit from time to time, sometimes 
they put a lot in, other times they don't."    BULLLLLL-ONEY!!!!

Sometimes I think the mouthpieces at Kodak were trained by Pravda.  He 
didn't have a clue, or if he suspected I had the new film (which is what 
I think) he wouldn't/couldn't say.  Just like the latest PR stuff about 
the old coating ally being so ancient they couldn't keep anything in 
spec. They made it sound like it was being held together with chewing 
gum and paper clips, but if you thought you got a bad batch of 
something, they had a very different story!


On Thursday, August 8, 2002, at 06:09 AM, Pete Caluori wrote:

> From: Richard Knoppow <dickburk@ix.netcom.com>
> Date: Wed, 07 Aug 2002 22:46:21 -0700
>
> <snip>
> Previous stuff snipped...
>   The anti-halation backing on most B&W film is a dye in the anti-curl
> gelatin coated on the back of the support. It is not removed but
> decolorized by the developer. The fixer usually will decolorize it too, 
> but
> more slowly.
>   Color films, and some B&W films have the anti-halation layer coated 
> under
> the emulsion next to the subbing. Again, its decolorized by the 
> developer.
>   Now, you are correct that the back coated anti-halation dye will 
> remain
> if the processing solutions can't get to it. Color film doesn't have 
> this
> problem.
>   AFAIK, the only backing which are actually removed are the Remjet
> backings used by Kodak on Kodachrome and many motion picture films. 
> This is
> designed to be blown off using a water spray at the entrance to the
> processing machine.
> ----
> Richard Knoppow
> Los Angeles, CA, USA
> dickburk@ix.netcom.com
>
>
> Greetings Richard,
>
> They say you learn something every day...  WRT to the anti halation 
> coating, if what you say is true and I don't have reason to doubt you, 
> why does the water turn a dark color on a presoak?  Isn't that the 
> antihalation coating disolving?  That's what I've always thought; 
> please enlighten me.
>
> BTW, I'm specifically referring to certain (non-chromogenic) B&W films.
>
> Regards, Pete
>
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