Use of X-ray film: technical discussion with example images

[Andrew O'Neill]

Hey Jim, That's very nice. Nice "ortho" tones, eh?

[Jim Fitzgerald]

Andrew, thanks. It should work nicely on the Hollywood style stuff I intend to try. I can change the look if I print this a little lighter.

Jim

[Andrew O'Neill]

Are you going to use this film for carbon printing?

[Jim Fitzgerald]

Are you going to use this film for carbon printing?

Yes, I'll see what it does. I have some images that I need to develop and then I can tell if this is sharp enough for my carbon work.

Jim

[Andrew O'Neill]

That's great Jim. Please keep us updated here as well as over at the carbon printing forum!

[mrpengun]

I wish I had found this thread before ordering that x-ray film. Oh boy, what fun. But, Z & Z Medical, Cedar Falls was just the ticket. http://www.zzmedical.com/zencart/8x1...ilm-p-419.html

The first problem I noticed was that the negatives were really dense, having two exposed sides on a single base material. So, I taped the 8x10 negative to a clean surface using cellophane tape, sealing all four edges to that surface. Then using a soft 1/2" wide artist brush I reduced one side of the negative using common household Clorox bleach. That only takes a minute. A good wash, and now I have a single-sided negative. Of course this experiment is non-scientific and requires more refinement, but it immediately remedied three odvious problems. The double density issue, the bromide drag marks on the back that were caused from drum processing, and scratched emulsion on the back that was also caused by drum processing.

out of curiosity, Do you have any scans of the pre-post bleach difference?

[mrpengun]

Thanks! If only i knew how to read, I would have seen that earlier. :-)
do you feel that the bleached parts of the negative are significantly sharper? They appear so on the scans, but that could be simply because they are lighter due to having less emulsion :-)

[Jason Greenberg Motamedi]

There couldn't possibly be an anti-halation layer, as it would defeat the purpose of the double emulsion.

I wonder if, rather than developing both sides and then bleaching one side, it might make more sense to develop one side only. Perhaps this could be achieved through a modified form of your bleaching technique--taping the negative onto the bottom of a tray and then pouring in the developer.

The xray film I am using (green-sensitive CXS) has pretty limited resolution (I am not sure if this is because of the double emulsion or possibly some other reason), however I have not found it to be a problem as I am using the film only for Kallitypy, which doesn't produce high resolution prints.

[Jimi]

I wonder if, rather than developing both sides and then bleaching one side, it might make more sense to develop one side only. Perhaps this could be achieved through a modified form of your bleaching technique--taping the negative onto the bottom of a tray and then pouring in the developer.

What about brushing on the developer with a soft brush? I have never done this, so I am acting on hearsay and what have you here.

[EdWorkman]

Thanks for your continuing work!
I got Full Blue and Green Latitude yesterday.
Gotta get the new parts for the lens board retainer on the 2D and then I have a spot to make tests: Green lawn, dark green trees, orange brick building , red-orange roof tile, and if the record June gloom will permit , blue sky for sunny-sixteen testing.
regards
Ed