why are my photo negatives purple?

Question

i just went to cvs, picked up my pictures and the negatives are purple and the pictures are green-tinted

Answer 1

I had a roll come back like this the other day.

Please see the below thread on photo.net for the consensus

http://photo.net/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg?msg_id=00M7yC

Answer 2

I'll jump on the exhausted fixer bandwagon. When the first roll film came out (for Kodak cameras) the film was backed with black paper. The film was transparent and the light could pass all the way through. There needed to be something to absorb the light so it didn't reflect back up through the film which would cause a ghost image and loss of image quality. 120 and 220 roll film is still backed with paper.

35mm film isn't backed with paper. It contains a light absorbing dye on the back side of the emulsion. The dye has a purple tint. The fixer removes the dye so the transparency of the film is restored, i.e., exhausted fixer = purple tinted negs.

Answer 3

Maybe you can catch the lab manager there and ask them to run the negative strips through just the fix and stabilizer bath again. I'll bet their chemistry has been in over-control for quite a while. You can tell when the fix needs dumping by paying close attention to rolls of 800 speed film. They get a sort of "film" on them long before a control strip will show anything amiss.

I have seen rolls of Ilford c-41 b&w film look rather purple after processing.

There is a possibility that your film was very old or heat damaged, which can also cause off color to negatives. But I'm betting on exhausted fix in the lab.

Answer 4

Probably just their mistake, regarding the fixer and the time of the dye. I have some photographic experience but I also searched for other opinions regarding this matter and they all seam to agree with me...
You can find my sources below if you want to read more about the subject.
Hope it helps!

Answer 5

because thats the coler of the chemical that captures the light.
the guy above me is a suck up