I got Lines in my negs and I'm going crazy. Also negs getting loose in drums.

Hi all,

Still working on not screwing up my negatives. Seems like an endless problem.

Currently I'm using Chromega 8x10 and 11x14 drums on Chromega bases (the bases have assymetrical wheels that create waves in the tube). I also am using one Unicolor 8x10 drum. I have been doing 4 5x7s in the 11x14 drums, and also 2 5x7s in the 8x10 drums. Also...4 4x5's in the Chromega 8x10 drums.

So:
Problem 1: I'm getting light lines in my negatives parallel to the edge. They are very straight.

Problem 2: I recently switched to all Arista.edu. In the 11x14 drums, they are getting loose and ruined, pretty much 100% of the time. Not sure why.

#1: Some examples:
https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-N...720/img128.jpg
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-C...720/img132.jpg
This is a 5x7
https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-V...576/img119.jpg

This is happening both on the Arista.edu film and on a couple of sheets of HP5 I had left over. It doesn't happen on every picture, even when I shoot two of the same negative. It generally seems to be paralell to the rails in the tubes, which would make me think it's something to do with the developer splashing over the side, but then in this negative, it's appears perpendicular to the others:
https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-y...800/img121.jpg

So...any thoughts? My only thought is that it could be from developer splashing over the rails that hold the film in. Not sure though about the last one though. This is from two different cameras, two different films. So it appears I'm screwing something up in development.

#2: I've used these 11x14 drums quite a bit with 5x7 HP5 with generally good results, at least as far as the film staying secured. With the Arista.edu, the film is coming loose almost 100% of the time. I've tried several times and lost a lot of shots. It appears to be secure with the rails and the sliding clips (I only have one per drum), but by the end of development, usually two shots have come loose.

There are several slots to slide the rails into. There is a slightly tighter slot that just almost fits 5x7 but it's a few mm too tight. I'm not able to get my developed film to fit it. I'm just wondering if the film expands slightly while being developed? I think that's a ridiculous thought, but it doesn't, does it? I'm not sure why I had no problem with HP5 coming loose but the Foma is flying all over the place. They appear to be exactly the same size.

I may have to give up this whole rotary thing. I can't afford a jobo and I'm not getting perfect results. But I do enjoy the convenience of it, if I could get it to work, I'd be psyched.


Sorry for another nebulous question, I'm not sure there are going to be any super clear answers for these ones. But I appreciate your thoughts.

Paul

With results like that, I'd be despondent, too. Do you have a "darkroom" or are you loading with a changing bag?
Can you slow down the rotation rate so the film will stay put?
On your last image, not only do you have something at the top, you also have something bad in the lower-left-hand corner.
How about using a CombiPlan for the 4x5?

Paul, I have an unorthodox suggestion, but bear wit me. If you have a film tank, like a Paterson, etc., large enough to accommodate a sheet of film, try the following:

Put your single sheet of film, emulsion side towards the center, in your tank, being sure to include the center column (if your tank is of such design). If you have a Nikkor-type SS tank, fill it with water, and slip your sheet of film in smoothly and quickly, and then put the cap on. Now you can process in daylight. If you have the Paterson-type tank you can optionally use a water pre-soak, or just fill with your developer. If you're using a Nikkor-type tank, you're already soaking in water, in which case you dump the water when you're finished, and then add your developer.

The reason for the difference in the approach based on the difference in the tanks, is because the center fill column of the Paterson-type tank fills from the bottom and prevents developer splashing across your film as you fill, while the Nikkor-type offers no such protection.

Now, the volume of developer you use, is up to you, but more solution is safer than less solution.

Once your tank is filled with developer, begin agitation by gentle inversion, and continue for the duration of development.

The above is essentially a single sheet version of taco development, making the taco part unnecessary -- the downside is that it develops one sheet at a time, but the upsides are daylight and almost foolproof processing.

Give it a try, and I think you'll find you'll reliably get defect-free negatives.

Good luck!

hi paul

i used to get lines iike that when i had a few bad hangers and i processed all my film
in deep tanks ... it drove me to give up on hangers and tray process, i haven't had trouble in
almost 20 years ( and i process way more than 1 or 2 sheets at a time ) ... jay's taco method is good, but i would be processing film for days on end
to get through /process exposed film ... it might make you uneasy to have to shuffle film in a tray of chemistry
but after the first few times, and figuring out a "method" that works for you it is painless ... well,
it is kind of a pain to stand there shuffling film, but you won't have lines to worry about.
and there is no extra equipment to purchase just trays ... ( unless you don't have them )

good luck !
john

What developer are you using and how much? I think the developer going over the shape that holds the film in is causing extra turbulence/agitation at that location causing your lines. Some developers are more prone to this than others. It was made for paper not film.

I'm happy with my combiplan for daylight developing of 4x5 using gentle inversion every 30s or minute depending on the developer. For bigger film I haven't tried taco, but it's do-able. I don't like shuffling film in a tray either. I do sometimes put a magnetically held divider in a tray to develop 2 at a time of 8x10 in a larger tray.

For arista-100, I like water, pyrocat hd 1+1+100, water, tf-4 fixer, water wash, then either a distilled water or a squirt of alcohol for a final cleaning.