Getting rid of tiny white spots

[12pmc]

I also have the experience from time to time, totally random. I use deep tank, one shot dev, one shot citric acid stop and normal fixer but reuse several time. Water is house hold supply through a domestic water softener. Reading above comments I will thoroughly clean all my containers, and look at using distilled water for mixing.

Thomas above suggested spotting the negatives - can I use the same ink used to spot prints, but on the negatives?

Thanks for any comments
Peter

[alfredian]

I just developed a couple of batches of Ilford FP4+ (5x7) in Poilot 2550 drums w/their 5x7 spool (six in first batch, four just tonight). I used Rodinal 1:25 (12ml up to 300ml). Tap water to dilute, then Kodak Indicator Stop Bath, then either Kodafix or Sprint Standard fix w/hardener. Half the negs have clear white specks which appear to be pits in the emulsion. I rinse w/distilled water as last step before hanging, the the pits are there before the DW. At holding a wet neg edgewise to the light the water is visibly flowing around something - a pit, distinct from a few actual tiny bits of some grit that I can wash off with bubbly tap water. I make my diluted chems up with DW (the stop bath & fixer). From now on I'm using white coffee filters for anything that goes into the tank. I find this all a bit odd given that I use rotary drums & a Beseler reversing roller - tough job for something to stay in one place long enough to eat all the way through the emulsion to the base. A Luddite, I'm just guessing that once I have the negs scanned I can then point & click at the bright spots on the scanned image & "solve" the problem. Look on the bright (no pun intended) side, fellow Analogites - my colleagues over on Rangefinder Forum are constantly gnashing teeth & rending garments over dust speck on the photosensor. That, and the inevitable "dropped-out" pixels that occur in every single sensor that comes out of the "clean room". -alfredian