White spots on paper.

[McGirton]

Hi guys,

I did some direct positive paper shots and some weird tiny white spots show up on the developed prints. Might it be a problem with my chemicals? Not long enough fixing? Could the water I'm using be the problem?

Here's how the spots show up on the scan.You can't see them when you hold the photo.

Thanks for the input!

141947

[Vaughn]

If the spots are sharp and the size of dust spots, then that may be your answer.

[McGirton]

Hmm yeah. The spots are sharp (see my scan). I developed in trays, tiny dust particles might be an explanation.

[Doremus Scudder]

Culprits to look for:

Dust (a lot of it, by the look of the scan) on the paper when exposed.
Dust (-"-) when scanning.
Fixer or other chemical dust getting on the paper before processing.
Not well-mixed developer with particles floating around in it still.

In any case, it seems to be a case of lack of cleanliness. Clean up your loading/processing and this should go away. :)

Best,

Doremus

[McGirton]

Thanks Doremus! I think I can rule out dust while loading it because my holders were freshly cleaned and I was really clean and careful loading them. My guess would be my freshly set up darkroom in the basement didn't settle down yet and particles got into the trays.

[Liquid Artist]

I am thinking dust on before loadind is still the likely cause.

If your change tent isn't spotless there is your problem.

I wipe mine down on the inside regularly plus Have a damp cloth on the inside to hopefully attract most of the dust.

Film appears to develop a static charge at times, so any little dust is drawn to it.

If it came from within your darkroom after processing you should be able to rinse the film again.
If the spots are still there and have not moved you then know for sure that it was there before taking the image.

Oh, I also often have dust attach it's self to my darkslides in the field. When that happens I use a squirt of lens cleaner and the lens cloth to clean it before sliding it out.

[McGirton]

That's a great tip with the tent. I load my film in the dark without a tent, I wiped the surface I worked on with anti-static wipes before taking out the paper and the cassettes. Do you think I should use a dark bag instead of doing in the open?

[Liquid Artist]

If I had a dust free dark room available I would use it over the tent.

The damp cloth trick still works in any room.
Some automotive paint booths still use the same idea today, dampening the walls before the paint job.

[Bill Burk]

McGirton,

You said "you can't see them when you hold the print".

I used to see white spots on scans which were not white spots on the print. They were reflections of the surface of the silver gelatin emulsion.

I got rid of them by shooting prints on a copyboard with two lights polarized one way, shots taken through a polarizing filter set the other way to cancel out reflections.

[Jerry Bodine]

I'm confused by the apparent (to me) terminology:

...spots show up on the developed "prints"...

...spots show up on the scan...

...can't see them when you hold the "photo"...

Would you plz clarify?

After posting it seems Bill may have it figured out.


Hi guys,

I did some direct positive paper shots and some weird tiny white spots show up on the developed prints. Might it be a problem with my chemicals? Not long enough fixing? Could the water I'm using be the problem?

Here's how the spots show up on the scan.You can't see them when you hold the photo.

Thanks for the input!

141947

[ic-racer]

If you can't see the spots on the print what is the problem? Posting them to the forums here?

[Liquid Artist]

now that Bill mentioned it I've had white spots on drum scanned negatives that didn't show up on my darkroom prints. I know that my friend did a good job cleaning the negatives, and I was too lazy.
So it could well have been the reflections of the surface of the silver gelatin emulsion.

[Vaughn]

I have found that the packaging of photo paper is generally not as dust-free as the packaging of film.

So if you can see these dust marks on the print (perhaps using a magnifier), then the dust may be coming from the photo paper itself, and you may need to brush off each sheet before loading it into your clean holders.

[Vaughn]

...Oh, I also often have dust attach it's self to my darkslides in the field. When that happens I use a squirt of lens cleaner and the lens cloth to clean it before sliding it out.

My first workshop (LF in Page, AZ) was back in 1985. A few participants were from the computer industry in Silicon Valley. They had measured the static generated by pulling the darkslides at different speeds. Pulling faster created a significantly more static compared to pulling slowly.

[McGirton]

If you can't see the spots on the print what is the problem? Posting them to the forums here?

General interest. And if I use expensive film I wouldn't want those spots on there when scanning.


now that Bill mentioned it I've had white spots on drum scanned negatives that didn't show up on my darkroom prints. I know that my friend did a good job cleaning the negatives, and I was too lazy.
So it could well have been the reflections of the surface of the silver gelatin emulsion.

Now that you said this I checked the print itself with my 8x loupe. I cannot find any spots whatsoever! So it might just really be the paper reflecting the scanner light in some weird way!