Still getting spots!!

Hello,

I posted a couple of weeks ago about Fuji Acros 100. The problem was spotty
negatives (airbells). Well I took the advice offered, which was to make sure
to agitate during the pre-soak, and the spotty negatives persist. Could it be
that I have a bad batch of film. The film is 120 Fuji Neopan Acros 100. Three
minute pre-soak. Developer: D76 1:1 per instructions of film box. Stop bath.
Ilford rapid fixer 4 minutes.

Curt Blood


CBlood59

"CBlood59" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote

> I posted a couple of weeks ago about Fuji Acros 100. The problem was spotty
> negatives (airbells). Well I took the advice offered, which was to make sure
> to agitate during the pre-soak, and the spotty negatives persist.

I'll take a guess it is your water. You say you are using D-76 1:1, so I take
it you are diluting just before use. The water you are using for dilution may
have a lot of dissolved air in it. If you let a glass of tap water sit do you
get little bubbles on the side of the glass?

Boiling the water will drive the gas out. Boil it, let it cool and keep it
a bottle/jug for use at the next developing session. I boil water 1 qt.
at a time in a Pyrex jug in the microwave.

You may want to make up your stock D-76 using boiled water. Gas in the water
shortens developer life.

An alternative is to use distilled water. At $0.69 a gallon it is pretty cheap
when considering the cost of a gallon of developer. I use distilled for all my
film developing, not because of gas, but because of the variability and general
cruddiness of Cleveland water.

--
Nicholas O. Lindan, Cleveland, Ohio (E-Mail Removed)
Consulting Engineer: Electronics; Informatics; Photonics.

<< Subject: Re: Still getting spots!!
From: "Nicholas O. Lindan" (E-Mail Removed)
Date: Wed, Jul 16, 2003 10:13 AM
Message-id: <bf3mk7$dbf$(E-Mail Removed)>

"CBlood59" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote

> I posted a couple of weeks ago about Fuji Acros 100. The problem was spotty
> negatives (airbells). Well I took the advice offered, which was to make sure
> to agitate during the pre-soak, and the spotty negatives persist.

I'll take a guess it is your water. You say you are using D-76 1:1, so I take
it you are diluting just before use. The water you are using for dilution may
have a lot of dissolved air in it. If you let a glass of tap water sit do you
get little bubbles on the side of the glass?

Boiling the water will drive the gas out. Boil it, let it cool and keep it
a bottle/jug for use at the next developing session. I boil water 1 qt.
at a time in a Pyrex jug in the microwave.

You may want to make up your stock D-76 using boiled water. Gas in the water
shortens developer life.

An alternative is to use distilled water. At $0.69 a gallon it is pretty cheap
when considering the cost of a gallon of developer. I use distilled for all my
film developing, not because of gas, but because of the variability and general
cruddiness of Cleveland water.

--
Nicholas O. Lindan, Cleveland, Ohio (E-Mail Removed)
Consulting Engineer: Electronics; Informatics; Photonics.





>>


I might agree with you, except that I don't have trouble with Tri-X or Plus-X.
Is it possible that the tape which holds the paper backing onto the film is
causing this? I tear the paper off, instead of cutting the film past the tape.

"CBlood59" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:(E-Mail Removed)...
> Hello,
>
> I posted a couple of weeks ago about Fuji Acros 100. The problem was
spotty
> negatives (airbells). Well I took the advice offered, which was to make
sure
> to agitate during the pre-soak, and the spotty negatives persist. Could
it be
> that I have a bad batch of film. The film is 120 Fuji Neopan Acros 100.
Three
> minute pre-soak. Developer: D76 1:1 per instructions of film box. Stop
bath.
> Ilford rapid fixer 4 minutes.
>
> Curt Blood

Curt,

One thing you may try is putting two or three drops of wetting agent
(Photo-Flo, etc) in the developer. I do this with almost all my developers
used in a tank (even Technidol). Doesn't change the process at all, and
reduces the surface tension enough to prevent problems like this. You still
should make sure you tap the tank unless you are using a motor of some type.

Jim



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On Wednesday 16 July 2003 01:50 pm, CBlood59 wrote:

> Hello,
>
> I posted a couple of weeks ago about Fuji Acros 100. The problem
> was spotty
> negatives (airbells). Well I took the advice offered, which was to
> make sure
> to agitate during the pre-soak, and the spotty negatives persist.
> Could it be
> that I have a bad batch of film. The film is 120 Fuji Neopan Acros
> 100. Three
> minute pre-soak. Developer: D76 1:1 per instructions of film box.
> Stop bath.
> Ilford rapid fixer 4 minutes.

If you're using an inversion type tank, immediately after agitation,
rap the bottom edge of the tank, smartly, a couple of time on the
counter. This should dislodge the air bells.

Also, you may be agitating too vigorously, creating too many air
bubbles. 3 inversions in 5 seconds with a quarter turn between each
inversion should be sufficient.

--
Stefan Patric
(E-Mail Removed)

"CBlood59" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:(E-Mail Removed)...
> Hello,
>
> I posted a couple of weeks ago about Fuji Acros 100. The
problem was spotty
> negatives (airbells). Well I took the advice offered,
which was to make sure
> to agitate during the pre-soak, and the spotty negatives
persist. Could it be
> that I have a bad batch of film. The film is 120 Fuji
Neopan Acros 100. Three
> minute pre-soak. Developer: D76 1:1 per instructions of
film box. Stop bath.
> Ilford rapid fixer 4 minutes.
>
> Curt Blood

What do these spots look like? They may not be air bells.
Pre-soaks by themselves tend to eliminate air bells as does
a couple of hard whacks on the tank after putting the film
in.
Air bells generally have a dark ring around them and a
clear center. The ring is from the lack of reaction products
right at the border of the bubble. While air bells don't
always have this ring it is typical of them.
I am suspicious this is something else.

--

---
Richard Knoppow
Los Angeles, CA, USA
(E-Mail Removed)

I had a persistent problem with Plus-X, mostly in 35mm, developed in D76, in
Jobo tanks. This was a known problem that both Richard Johnson (former
head of BW technical assistance at EK) and Jobo acknowledged. The "new"
Plus has reduced but no completely eliminated the problem, which only seems
to occur in the Jobo 1500 tank system using hand agitation. The problem is
emulsion voids, very similiar in appearance but not identical to air bells.
The emulsion voids tended to occur more in the middle 50% of the negative,
would look like dark spots agains a light background.

Perhaps this problem is occuring for you. I have no real absolute cure.
One idea is to put a drop of LFN for each 16oz of developeing solution.

Rick Schiller

In article <bfofkg$lpb$(E-Mail Removed)>, (E-Mail Removed)
says...
>
>
>"CBlood59" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
>news:(E-Mail Removed)...
>> Hello,
>>
>> I posted a couple of weeks ago about Fuji Acros 100. The
>problem was spotty
>> negatives (airbells). Well I took the advice offered,
>which was to make sure
>> to agitate during the pre-soak, and the spotty negatives
>persist. Could it be
>> that I have a bad batch of film. The film is 120 Fuji
>Neopan Acros 100. Three
>> minute pre-soak. Developer: D76 1:1 per instructions of
>film box. Stop bath.
>> Ilford rapid fixer 4 minutes.
>>
>> Curt Blood
>
> What do these spots look like? They may not be air bells.
>Pre-soaks by themselves tend to eliminate air bells as does
>a couple of hard whacks on the tank after putting the film
>in.
> Air bells generally have a dark ring around them and a
>clear center. The ring is from the lack of reaction products
>right at the border of the bubble. While air bells don't
>always have this ring it is typical of them.
> I am suspicious this is something else.
>
>--
>
>---
>Richard Knoppow
>Los Angeles, CA, USA
>(E-Mail Removed)
>
>