I started tray developing and I noticed as the film was washing that I had some severe finger prints on the them.
I don't remember having touched the films surface other than when I shuffled them for a pretty wash and then after I shuffled them in fixer after development. I used a slosher for development so I know I didn't touch the surface during development.
I'm pretty sure the negatives are damaged beyond redemption but I need to know how to avoid this.
Last edited by RodinalDuchamp; 1-Mar-2015 at 07:18.
I would try doing a test with only one sheet of film. If the issue is under-fixing of some kind, processing a single sheet should offer some insight.
A major cause of fingerprints is contaminated fingers. I once had some damage from fixer stuck in glove finger that had seeped in through a pinhole in the glove. Other than that, I've never had a fingerprint from tray developing... Hundreds and hundreds of sheets with and without nitrile gloves.
Also, maybe your fingerprints are from another step, e.g., loading/unloading holders, etc.
That said, I haven't used every film out there. Some may be more susceptible to fingerprints than others. Which film is this?
And do try a fix/rewash and see if it helps.
Doremus
One word. GLOVES
You should be wearing them anyway.
As Doremus noted, this is most likely from chemical cross-contamination on your fingers during processing. These are not just "fingerprints." Exactly how you cross-contaminated, and during which step, only you can tell...
OK now that I analyze it is possible that I went from fix back to dev to retrieve the next neg without properly cleaning my hands.
Keep 2 buckets, one with soapy water(alkaline), and one with plain water. If you need to go "backwards", you can neutralize acids from stop/fix in the soapy water and rinse before going back to the developer. Best to avoid this if possible, but if you think you might need to do it, it can help. I may have read about this from Michael A. Smith in regards to developing by inspection, aka DBI.
Thanks guys. I have modified my process so I take all negs out of slosher at once and then into individual fix trays so no cross cont. I probably had fix on my hands while retrieving. Luckily this was a test run but I now have important negs I don't want to ruin.
+1 or develop in tanks. LOriginally Posted by vinny
What's been said above. Also, if you're doing trays -you should have at least 4 trays, right? Dev, stop, fix, hypoclear /post fix? so your chances of going from fix to dev are reduced -at best, you'll contaminate stop a bit.
Another thing you can try is use one hand only to remove film from dev tray the other to remove from fix tray.
Best thing is to wash hands between solutions. And gloves work well too.
Btw you can still
Print these. I bet they'll Print okay.
One question -aren't you handling the film only at the tips?
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