Thick lines and patches on negative

[rpagliari]

I'm facing this problem after developing, successfully, about a dozen negative. White stripes and patches on the positive.

My procedure, is always the same:

Pre-rinse (no agitation) for 5 mins
Tmax 100 in DDX 1:4 (N-1), Ilford stop and Fixer as per massive dev recommendations.
3 washes with 5, 10 and 20 inversions
Ilfotol for 2 mins
final wash (everything with distilled water in sp445 tank).

Am I doing something wrong with the procedure above? Like I said, I haven't seen it before.

I'm scanning another negative which was developed in the same tank, at the same time, and there is no issue this time, that's strange..

[Fred L]

no agitation during pre rinse would be my best guess.

[rpagliari]

no agitation during pre rinse would be my best guess.

I usually pre-rinse for 5 minutes. Would you agitate the whole time?

[jim_jm]

Just noticed you said you did a final rinse in distilled water after the Ilfotol? Ilfotol should be the final step as it is a wetting agent designed to prevent water spots and streaks as the film dries.

[Gary Beasley]

Looks to me like the film was mishandled before exposure and what you are seeing is finger smears on the emulsion.

[jim_jm]

First off, use the Ilford data sheet for your processing times and procedures. I never use the Massive Dev chart unless I can't find the information anywhere else.
Also, why pre-soak for 5 mins? I don't pre-soak sheet film, and most manufacturers, including Kodak, don't mention it in their instructions. All this is doing is swelling the emulsion, and without agitation you may introduce air bubbles and also uneven development.
You shouldn't need to use distilled water for the wash cycles, only to mix the Ilfotol. Since the Ilfotol is the last thing to touch your film before hanging to dry.

[rpagliari]

First off, use the Ilford data sheet for your processing times and procedures. I never use the Massive Dev chart unless I can't find the information anywhere else.
Also, why pre-soak for 5 mins? I don't pre-soak sheet film, and most manufacturers, including Kodak, don't mention it in their instructions. All this is doing is swelling the emulsion, and without agitation you may introduce air bubbles and also uneven development.
You shouldn't need to use distilled water for the wash cycles, only to mix the Ilfotol. Since the Ilfotol is the last thing to touch your film before hanging to dry.

Thanks for the advice. It didn't happen with the other negative in the same tank though. I will be careful not to wash after ilfotol.
Initial pre-rinse should help the developer reach the entire surface, but everyone seems to have their own opinion.

[rpagliari]

First off, use the Ilford data sheet for your processing times and procedures. I never use the Massive Dev chart unless I can't find the information anywhere else.
Also, why pre-soak for 5 mins? I don't pre-soak sheet film, and most manufacturers, including Kodak, don't mention it in their instructions. All this is doing is swelling the emulsion, and without agitation you may introduce air bubbles and also uneven development.
You shouldn't need to use distilled water for the wash cycles, only to mix the Ilfotol. Since the Ilfotol is the last thing to touch your film before hanging to dry.

I have a cheap machine for producing distilled water so it's not a problem for me. I'm getting much cleaner negative when using distilled water in all stages of the process.

[Bob Salomon]

You do know that the longer the wet time the larger the grain?

You should minimize your presort time, eliminate the final rinse and perfect your agitation routine.