I just processed some B/W film with shots I took in Thailand I had the rol in my Camera for a period of a week and past through 3 airports and now the prints i got back are blue is this due to bad developing and printing or were the X ray's responsible for this

Can anybody explain

-- no no no (gwailoo@hotmail.com), May 09, 2002

Answers

What type of film was it? If it was a C41 B&W i'd suggest printer. Try scanning and then converting to B&W - see how it goes. If you look at the negs are they blue?

-- Adrian Morgan (mourges@dingoblue.net.au), May 09, 2002.

Blue prints from B+W? Since there shouldn't be color in B+W (hence the name) I'd say your printer is to blame for the blue pictures. Of course, maybe your camera was going through a "blue period".

X-ray damaged film tends to get fogged and streaked. Color shift is frequently seen in color films, and both black and white and color tends to lose a lot of contrast and look almost like you hit a lot of nasty flare. Basically ruined. But if the negs look good- i.e. decent contrast and even development, they should be fine- see aside below about color.

On a side note, I shoot chromogenic films a lot for some clients (I like the Kodak products, TCN and Portra B+W better then Ilford's XP-2, for those who care) and I often have the prints done in blue cast intentionally- I just ask the lab and get some images in a cyan effect and counter them with some "sepia" versions. You can get them in any color shift you like- it's one of my favorite things to do with these C-41 B+W films. Just go to a good lab that knows what they are doing and ask. It's a real cinch if your lab uses Fuji Frontier or similar system.

-- drew (swordfisher@hotmail.com), May 09, 2002.

I used kodak C41 film I guess it must be the lab could it be that they used the wrong paper to print the negatives look fine to me

-- no no (gwailoo@hotmail.com), May 09, 2002.

Your lab simply used colour printing paper. Asking them to print on "real" B&W paper will solve your problem.

Kodak shows X-ray effects in this article.

-- Oliver Schrinner (piraya@hispavista.com), May 10, 2002.

In relation to this topic: Swordfisher, you mention you like the Kodak over the Ilford C-41 process B&W... how come? I am thinking of getting some B&W c-41 this weekend for a trip to europe, and want your opinion on why you like the kodak better. Thanks! Phillip

-- Phillip Silitschanu (speedin_saab@hotmail.com), May 11, 2002.