What can cause TINY TINY white spots on a neg?

[Merg Ross]

From my experience, Freestyle is good to work with on such matters. I had a problem a few years ago with a paper that was not behaving as it should. They replaced the entire order without a problem. Of course, it probably helps to have been a loyal customer for many years!

I hope you get tis sorted out, and report back. Good luck!

[richydicky]

Attachment 204730Are you using Fomapan 100 film? I have identified a problem with a box of this film (4x5 inch) 50 sheets, expiration date April, 2022, batch no. 021354-03, purchased from B&H. See the attached scans of the negative.
Attachment 204728

Oh dear. That is exactly the issue I had with the last two rolls of Fomapan 200 in 120 size. I love this film and so far have had no problems with sheets but I haven't had a good roll in 120 from the last 3 years. One lot had a backing paper, storage issue, which put me off buying again and I never heard back from Foma about it; then at the end of last year I tried another two rolls and experienced the problem you have detailed.

I need to place an order for both 4x5 and 8x10 but am very reluctant to do so now. Have you contacted Foma about this or B&H?.

Richard

Edit: Actually I've looked at mine and realise that your marks are opposite to mine and that of the OP who is reporting WHITE marks on the NEGATIVE resulting in black marks on a positive image.

[Gary Samson]

Oh dear. That is exactly the issue I had with the last two rolls of Fomapan 200 in 120 size. I love this film and so far have had no problems with sheets but I haven't had a good roll in 120 from the last 3 years. One lot had a backing paper, storage issue, which put me off buying again and I never heard back from Foma about it; then at the end of last year I tried another two rolls and experienced the problem you have detailed.

I need to place an order for both 4x5 and 8x10 but am very reluctant to do so now. Have you contacted Foma about this or B&H?.

Richard

Edit: Actually I've looked at mine and realise that your marks are opposite to mine and that of the OP who is reporting WHITE marks on the NEGATIVE resulting in black marks on a positive image.

The OP reported tiny white dots on the positive image and purple dots on the negative image that create the white dots in the positive image. Please see my original post.

[ericantonio]

FYI, got a new box of 8x10 EDU 400 today via UPS. Freestyle was able to replace. Hope they run a test with that emulstion so it doesn't seem I'm really crazy!

[Pringles]

Any updates on this? I just did my first test shot from a box of fomapan 100 (4x5) last night and got the purple spots. If I’d seen this thread then maybe I would have just bought fp4+ again instead.

I did 1 shot of foma100 at 50 and my last sheet of fp4+ at iso 100 and I definitely like fomapan better... other than unreliability.

I was hoping someone would come on with a solution to dissolve the spots :-/

[ericantonio]

Any updates on this? I just did my first test shot from a box of fomapan 100 (4x5) last night and got the purple spots. If I’d seen this thread then maybe I would have just bought fp4+ again instead.

I did 1 shot of foma100 at 50 and my last sheet of fp4+ at iso 100 and I definitely like fomapan better... other than unreliability.

I was hoping someone would come on with a solution to dissolve the spots :-/

Yes, the update is I sent it back to Freestyle and they got me a new box. Unfortunately, there isn't a way to dissolve the spots. Like the old Prego commerical says "It's' in there".

[Jim Noel]

"Sit in Fix for a while."
Not agitating in the fix can allow sediment of undissolved chemicals and other materials to settle on the film. Agitation is a good thing to do until the filmis hung.

[Pat Kearns]

I agree with Doremus on the particulate matter in the chemicals. I've had that happen to me before. I mix all my chemicals with distilled water, use developer as a one shot, and when I use the fixer I filter it before use to reduce any particulate matter. That resolved the problems for me.

[urnem57]

Lots of good advice here. Is there a difference between coffee filters and a filter funnel w/filter paper? How many microns of filtration is a good idea? I just mixed a new batch of Legacy Pro Fixer and there were black specks, a wood colored speck, and some other flotsam floating in it. I filtered it with a coffee filter before pouring into a clean jug. The polypropylene graduate is completely clear. If the filtering route doesn’t work, I’m going back to liquid Kodak or Ilford.

[Pat Kearns]

I use a regular coffee filter and filter the fixer before use and again after use. That might be considered as excessive but it works for me. YMMV and good luck finding the best method for you.