B/W print turned mottled gold

I use a lot or Gekko RC and haven't seen this happen I do
have a Polycontrast !!! contact sheet in hand that has
started turning, I know for a fact it was inadequately fixed
(old fixer) and washed. It was done where I work and the
fixer was always left in the tray. Prints I do at home in
my darkroom do not exhibit this issue since I process and
wash one print at a time.

Nicholas O. Lindan wrote:
"Jim Stewart" wrote

after about a year,
the black areas turned an ugly mottled gold
color. I used Ilford chemistry and Mitsubishi Gekko
paper.

This happens to RC paper - the reason for it is a
matter of debate. Titanium dioxide in the paper
reacting with UV light is one current suspect,
sulfur from pollution or the mount material is
another.

The history of RC materials is one of
problems followed by Kodak/Agfa/Ilford/xxx
claiming 'we have fixed the problem'
followed by either the reemergence of the
old problem or the creation of an entirely
new problem. I greet any explanation or
solution with suspicion.

Agfa RC was very prone to bronzing. I haven't seen
any on Ilford RC but that may be a matter of luck/time.

To keep it from happening again you might try using
Ilford paper. Err on the safe side: use fresh fixer
for 5 minutes, a hypo eliminator, wash for 1/2 hour.
There are all sorts of fast processing methods but
the old methods are known to not contribute to the
problem.

If the picture is in a frame then make sure you
use acid free board for the mat and mount board -
"4-ply 100% cotton museum board" is considered the
safest: the core of the board should be pure white,
not grey.

By accounts I have reference to; that is personal conversations and
experience some RC Papers from 1980's and before do have this issue.
Especially machine printed RC silver based papers- Like Agfa RC's.


Not fixing properly always can produce the issue: bronzing, the silver
will migrate out to the surface if the fixer does not seal the top most
silver molecules, having an airspace between paper surface and glass
also seems rather important.

Its probably also a result of how certain papers were once made with
regard to the placement of the silver layer within the emulsion.



In article ,
"Pieter" wrote:

I don't know that RC has a history or a current problem like this, but I
think the suggestions offered below are excellent. I immediately thought of
incomplete fixing or incomplete washing, but mounting materials could also
be a problem as suggested ny Nicholas below. I have never had a problem
myself, but I frequently test fixer and fix with a timer then use an
effective print washer. Hypo eliminator would remove any fixer left on the
paper. I have only seen strange coloration and fading occur as the result
of chemical contamination, usually in group darkroom settings.

"Nicholas O. Lindan" wrote in message
...
"Jim Stewart" wrote

after about a year,
the black areas turned an ugly mottled gold
color. I used Ilford chemistry and Mitsubishi Gekko
paper.

This happens to RC paper - the reason for it is a
matter of debate. Titanium dioxide in the paper
reacting with UV light is one current suspect,
sulfur from pollution or the mount material is
another.

The history of RC materials is one of
problems followed by Kodak/Agfa/Ilford/xxx
claiming 'we have fixed the problem'
followed by either the reemergence of the
old problem or the creation of an entirely
new problem. I greet any explanation or
solution with suspicion.

Agfa RC was very prone to bronzing. I haven't seen
any on Ilford RC but that may be a matter of luck/time.

To keep it from happening again you might try using
Ilford paper. Err on the safe side: use fresh fixer
for 5 minutes, a hypo eliminator, wash for 1/2 hour.
There are all sorts of fast processing methods but
the old methods are known to not contribute to the
problem.

If the picture is in a frame then make sure you
use acid free board for the mat and mount board -
"4-ply 100% cotton museum board" is considered the
safest: the core of the board should be pure white,
not grey.

--
Nicholas O. Lindan, Cleveland, Ohio
Darkroom Automation: F-Stop Timers, Enlarging Meters
http://www.darkroomautomation.com/index.htm
n o lindan at ix dot netcom dot com


--
Reality is a picture perfected and never looking back.