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Thread: 5x4 processing marks. Wetting agent?

  1. #1

    5x4 processing marks. Wetting agent?

    Hi,

    I have an issue with processing marks on my Ilford FP4 5x4 sheet film. I appears to be like a greasy deposit on the emulsion side of the film. It does clean off, once the negative has dried, leaving marks to the emulsion. I suspect it has something to do with the wetting agent. I am using Kodak Photo Flo - just a few drops in a litre of water. Am I using too much or too little, or is something else happing to my film? Your expert knowledge would be greatly appreciated. I don't want to waste anymore time/film.

    Thanks

    Paul

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  2. #2

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    Re: 5x4 processing marks. Wetting agent?

    Is it just one sheet or more and if so, is it on the same place every sheet?

  3. #3

    Re: 5x4 processing marks. Wetting agent?

    It has happened on several sheets and always in the same place. I appears on the upper most corner when drying.

  4. #4
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    Re: 5x4 processing marks. Wetting agent?

    are you certain your fingers are NOT a culprit

    I wash my hands with Dawn and thoroughly dry them with fresh cotton towel just before touching any film
    Tin Can

  5. #5

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    Re: 5x4 processing marks. Wetting agent?

    You'd mentioned that these artifacts occur in the "upper-most corner" - which implies the same corner from which they are hung to dry. This makes me want to ask what you are using for hanging clips? Wood clothes pins? Metal or plastic clips? Are they clean, dry, and free of residual wetting agent (or any other residues for that matter) prior to each use?

  6. #6

    Re: 5x4 processing marks. Wetting agent?

    Thanks John. I use Paterson film clips. There is only the point of the pin touching the film.

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  7. #7

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    Re: 5x4 processing marks. Wetting agent?

    Tray development ? Tank development ?

    You might find it helpful to clean your hands and fingers with Isopropyl Alcohol whenever handling your sheet film. That means before taking it out of the box, before loading the film holders, before removing it from the film holders, before development, etc. Be sure to clean your trays or tank with a solvent to remove any grease as well.

    When unloading sheets before development, do you place them in a box or set them somewhere briefly, or do you place them right into the first tray - like a water bath ? If you set them down somewhere temporarily, be sure to determine if that place is free of a grease spot too.

    Have you inspected an unexposed and undeveloped sheet, right out of the box ? This will remove almost all the variables. If every sheet is contaminated this way, you may have a "defective" box of film. Perhaps the person who initially packed it, forgot to wear gloves or clean their hands properly.

    Have you tried developing an unexposed sheet ? Without Photo-Flo ? This will remove several other variables, including any grease or dirt inside the film holders and additional handling. If it's easier to see the greasy deposit on a more densely exposed area, then leave the lights on while you process the film. You'll find out how often you touch the corners.

  8. #8

    Re: 5x4 processing marks. Wetting agent?

    Thanks Ken. I use a Combi Plan tank. I loaded the sheets from a combination of sheets stored in an old film box and from the dark slides. There were marks on both. I think there were more marks on film that had a few drops less wetting agents. I will take your advise and degrease my hands before touching the film. I use other formats like roll film and 35mm, where I haven't had the same issues. I might try heating the drying area before hanging up the film to speed up the drying. Also, I could try to remove most of the water before hanging up the film.

  9. #9

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    Re: 5x4 processing marks. Wetting agent?

    Quote Originally Posted by Paul Greeves View Post
    Thanks Ken. I use a Combi Plan tank. I loaded the sheets from a combination of sheets stored in an old film box and from the dark slides. There were marks on both. I think there were more marks on film that had a few drops less wetting agents. I will take your advise and degrease my hands before touching the film. I use other formats like roll film and 35mm, where I haven't had the same issues. I might try heating the drying area before hanging up the film to speed up the drying. Also, I could try to remove most of the water before hanging up the film.
    I use a combi plan tank and have found I get the occasional mark on the film if I don't make sure the emulsion side of the film is facing away from the middle of the tank. Also make sure you thoroughly clean the tank after use by unscrewing the valves and rinsing them out, they can hold wetting agent from the previous dev session which can land on your film before development starts leaving a patch or mark. Other thing to check for is that possibly two sheets touched during development. I always give the sheets a little pull with my finger tip to check they are secure.

  10. #10

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    Re: 5x4 processing marks. Wetting agent?

    Quote Originally Posted by Paul Greeves View Post
    ... Also, I could try to remove most of the water before hanging up the film.
    There's your problem. And I concur with your diagnosis in the first post: wetting agent residue.

    I know a lot of people say to not touch the film after the final bath in wetting agent, but (and especially, if you're not mixing your Photo Flo carefully, which you aren't) leaving lots of water on the film to just run off and dry leaves lots of residual wetting agent on the film after the water has evaporated if it hasn't dripped off like it is supposed to. So...

    1. Mix your Photo Flo as per Kodak's directions (1:200) or weaker. You can use a weaker than recommended solution if, and only if, the surface tension of the water is definitely broken, i.e., the water sheets up on the surface of the film leaving no drops or discrete puddles.

    2. Make sure your final bath of wetting agent is freshly mixed (Photo Flo working solution does not keep well) and mixed in distilled water (this latter especially if you have less-than-perfect tap water). I keep a jug or two of distilled water around just for this purpose.

    3. Soak your film, with gentle agitation, in the wetting agent solution for at least 30 seconds. Longer won't hurt and is recommended if you have lots of dissolved minerals in your tap water. I do, and soak for three minutes or more.

    4. Lift a sheet from the wetting agent and squeegee it gently between index and middle finger vertically along one side. Flip the sheet along the vertical axis and repeat for the other side. Make sure your fingers are clean, smooth and have been dipped in the wetting agent first. This removes most of the standing water on the film. The rest should be fine as long as you...

    5. Hang the film to dry by a corner, so that there is a bottom corner functioning as a collecting point for the remaining water to drip from. After a few minutes, remove the collected water that is no longer actively dripping from the bottom corner of the film by touching the tip with a finger or a paper towel. You don't want to wipe, just coax the water to run off to your finger or into the paper towel.

    6. Leave everything alone till the film is completely dry.

    Hope this helps.

    Doremus

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