In the case of color materials with the usual processing times, bleaching and bleaching/fixing baths containing an iron(III) ion complex salt as bleach and, in addition, a 5- to 7-membered heterocyclic compound containing at least one N-atom and at least one other hetero atom from the group consisting of O,S,N which is substituted by --S.sup..crclbar. and, at a quaternary ring nitrogen atom, carries a positive charge arranged in such a way that no tautomeric charge compensation to a neutral thione form is possible, provide for good bleaching, i.e. for black areas free from residual silver in the case of color negative materials and for low minimum densities in the case of color reversal materials, by virtue of their excellent bleaching rate and, at the same time, their high stability.