Pre wet Delta 100 or not?

[Jehu]

I've been assured that Ilford films don't require any presoaking. I've also heard that it's best to break that rule. Judging from my results without any presoaking, I probably ought to try it. Does anyone that has been down this road care to share an opinion?

[ic-racer]

Why do you want to pre-soak?

The picture posted looks like it needs to be printed on a higher contrast paper with less exposure. Pre-soaking slows development and will make the negatives even thinner. How do your negatives look?

[dsphotog]

Looks like a lot of uneveness on the image.
Short developing time can cause that... What processing method, developer & dev time did you use?
I always presoak & have never had that problem.

[Jehu]

The image I posted is a scan of the print on Ilford MG-IV. I printed it with settings for 2.5 contrast filtering. I made a total of three prints and they all have the same irregularities so I know that the negative is the problem.

I processed this one with HC-110. I don't remember the exact time but it wasn't short. I'm pretty sure It was about 6 minutes. The negative is pretty well balanced.

I used 2509 reels in a Jobo. It may have been the test tank or the bigger one. Is there a chance that this is from insufficient fluid volume? I'm learning that the volumes on the side of the Jobo tanks aren't really the best option.

Thanks for the comments guys.

[cyrus]

Pre-soaking supposedly makes development more even, or it washes away any dust that may be on the film, or appeases the Gods of development - take you pick for reasoning, but none have been proven to be true. I think really be best reason to presoak is to bring the temp of the developing reel/cannister to the same temp as the developer before you pour in the developer. And that's about it.

[tgtaylor]

Ilford doesn't recommend pre-rinsing Delta 100: "A pre-rinse is not recommended as it can lead to uneven development."

The volume printed on the Jobo tanks are the minimum amount of chemistry required to cover the film and has nothing to do with the amount of a particular developer to use. Check the films fact sheet for that information.

Thomas

[SergeyT]

I always pre-soak for 5 mins (2509 reels in a Jobo) on a rotary base. I also develop in HC-110. The only uneven development I see on my sheets are some narrow strips along the edges where the film touches the reels ... I'm thinking of switching to an expert drum to get rid of those strips

SergeyT.

[Ari]

I always pre-soak, no matter what film, or no matter the manufacturer's recommendations.
I only do it for one minute, enough for the film to get splashed.
Whether it's proven to help with evenness or not, my film has never looked uneven since I began doing it.

[Jehu]

When you presoak with the 2509 reels, do you fill the canister upright or just use the appropriate coverage amount of water and rotate in the processor?

[tgtaylor]

I always pre-soak for 5 mins (2509 reels in a Jobo) on a rotary base. I also develop in HC-110. The only uneven development I see on my sheets are some narrow strips along the edges where the film touches the reels ... I'm thinking of switching to an expert drum to get rid of those strips

SergeyT.

I doubt that those strips along the edge (in the sky) are due to the film touching the reel. There's something else going on there. I started getting them with hand inversion with that tank but they disappeared when I started rotary processing in the same tank. I think they are a result of improper volume or insufficient circular agitation which disappeared when I switched to rotary processing B&W. A tip off was they they never appeared on C-41 or E-6 sheets which I always rotary processed when using 2509N reels.

Thomas