Tray developing problem - 8x10

[MIke Sherck]

If its any help, I pre-soak emulsion side down for three minutes and process film in oversized trays, also emulsion side down. The pre-soak water comes out a lovely emerald green! I also believe that the anti-halation layer is your culprit and note that a longer fix and final wash may help. With Tmax film I have noticed that some of its notoriously stubborn A-H layer even stains the wash-aid a faint pink!

Mike

[Tony Lakin]

I have not read all the replies thoroughly but it occured to me that you could be using a tray heater to keep your developer at your working temperature, with a ribbed tray the dev in the groove could get locally warmer than elsewhere, in a flat bottomed tray I could imagine there being a hot spot in the centre, I am probably way off with this theory but believe to be a possibility.

[James Morris]

Don't use gentle agitation -- it was a mistake I made initially with tray developing. Try lifting each side of the tray up to about an inch, then dropping it. You want to be able to hear the negative hit each side of the tray. Use a tray one size larger than the negative size, and use plenty of developer. e.g. 1.5L for an 8x10 sheet.

You can also try agitating by lifting the negative out of the tray and letting it drain, then slipping it back in. Agitate every 30 seconds to start with.

[John Olsen]

Don't use gentle agitation -- it was a mistake I made initially with tray developing. Try lifting each side of the tray up to about an inch, then dropping it. You want to be able to hear the negative hit each side of the tray. Use a tray one size larger than the negative size, and use plenty of developer. e.g. 1.5L for an 8x10 sheet.

You can also try agitating by lifting the negative out of the tray and letting it drain, then slipping it back in. Agitate every 30 seconds to start with.

I agree with James, having suffered from nonuniform development with tray rocking. I lift and drain once a minute and give the tray two firm sloshes just after I've slid the film back in. I prewet face-down and develop face up (referring to the film here, not me). Good luck.

[Maris Rusis]

This is how I get even development in a tray. I use a Rubbermaid washing up tray for sheet film development. It's a fraction over 8x10 size, sculpted bottom, rounded corners, and six inches (no splash, no spill) deep.

Agitation is a slippery variable so I decided on continuous agitation for all films. It also gives me something to do because some of those dark minutes and hours can drag. The agitation sequence goes like this:

Slide the film quickly into the developer face up.

Lift the front edge of the tray until a wave of developer travels to the back. Lower the front edge and wait for the wave to return to the front. You can feel the wave because the tray sends the changing force to your finger tips.

Now do the same with the right edge of the tray, then the back edge, then the left edge, then return to the front. Keep going until the development time is up. If you are really fussy turn the tray through 180 degrees half way through development.

This system gives me perfect, even, scratch-free results for all films. The down-side is a one-sheet-at a-time system that means slow work, occasional tedium, and effortful labour. But I don't care. Large format photography is like travelling first class cabin and I'm not going to carry a 4x5 or 8x10 all day and then botch film development because I was desperate to finish early.

[TimeShare]

This is how I get even development in a tray. I use a Rubbermaid washing up tray for sheet film development. It's a fraction over 8x10 size, sculpted bottom, rounded corners, and six inches (no splash, no spill) deep.

Agitation is a slippery variable so I decided on continuous agitation for all films. It also gives me something to do because some of those dark minutes and hours can drag. The agitation sequence goes like this:

Slide the film quickly into the developer face up.

Lift the front edge of the tray until a wave of developer travels to the back. Lower the front edge and wait for the wave to return to the front. You can feel the wave because the tray sends the changing force to your finger tips.

Now do the same with the right edge of the tray, then the back edge, then the left edge, then return to the front. Keep going until the development time is up. If you are really fussy turn the tray through 180 degrees half way through development.

This system gives me perfect, even, scratch-free results for all films. The down-side is a one-sheet-at a-time system that means slow work, occasional tedium, and effortful labour. But I don't care. Large format photography is like travelling first class cabin and I'm not going to carry a 4x5 or 8x10 all day and then botch film development because I was desperate to finish early.

I don't mind doing one sheet at a time for 8x10 after all the work you put into lugging an 8x10 camera around ! Just loaded about 18 sheets of 8x10 so will have to experiment with the adjustments to my developing workflow and see how it goes.

[TimeShare]

If its any help, I pre-soak emulsion side down for three minutes and process film in oversized trays, also emulsion side down. The pre-soak water comes out a lovely emerald green! I also believe that the anti-halation layer is your culprit and note that a longer fix and final wash may help. With Tmax film I have noticed that some of its notoriously stubborn A-H layer even stains the wash-aid a faint pink!

Mike

"Eureka" ... I finally got a cleanly developed 8x10 negative. The culprit ... the anti-halation backing or layer on the Arista EDU Ultra film.



I left the lights on and tested how long it would take to remove the anti-halation layer from a sheet of 8x10 Arista EDU Ultra.

I couldn't believe how much dye came off the film and how long and how much I had to agitate the film to remove the layer completely. From now on, when using this film, I will make sure I give the film a healthy pre-soak in water to remove the layer.

This negative is not as sharp as I had hoped however as it was a windy day and with a 1 second exposure, the overall crispness of the image was effected.

f32 @ 1sec + ND Filter

Kodak Eastman No.2 View Camera + Ilex Paragon 12" (305mm) f6.3 + Arista EDU Ultra 100 @ 25 iso + D-76 1:1 @ 8 minutes

[Light Guru]

"Eureka" ... I finally got a cleanly developed 8x10 negative. The culprit ... the anti-halation backing or layer on the Arista EDU Ultra film.

I left the lights on and tested how long it would take to remove the anti-halation layer from a sheet of 8x10 Arista EDU Ultra.

I couldn't believe how much dye came off the film and how long and how much I had to agitate the film to remove the layer completely. From now on, when using this film, I will make sure I give the film a healthy pre-soak in water to remove the layer.

And how long did you presoak?

When I use Arista EDU Ultra 4x5 I presoak for a minute and its fine.

[ROL]

You weren't pre-soaking?!? DOH!

2 1/2 minutes with agitation every 30 secs is a good general pre-soak practice for sheet film. Stubborn anti-halation, ala TMAX films, generally comes out in the wash.

[AtlantaTerry]

Back in the '70s and '80s there was a company making developing trays that were curved and that had curved sides. The idea was that you would rock the tray and the developer would (mostly) remain inside due to the curved sides.

I wonder if one of those would be better for processing large sheet film?