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

[seezee]

I suggest sitting down.

I actually work on the bathroom floor so I get as little red light on the film as possible while I work (the pedestal sink blocks most of it). I put a lintless cotton rag (actually an old pair of worn pajama bottoms cut in to rag-sized pieces) under the cutter so the cut-offs drop onto it, and not the bathroom floor.

[LabRat]

Wouldn't work with my current setup. I work on top of my washer in the bathroom at midnight after blocking out the back porch window and the seams of the door. Thankfully, the bathroom itself is windowless. There really isn't any other room that would work for this purpose in my apartment. The amount of space left in that room does not accommodate a chair and a lower table.

Do you have a bathtub in your bathroom??? I'm asking because my film processing room is a small spare bathroom with a tub, and for an extra work surface I cut 2 pieces of 2X4 lumber to go across the length of the tub about 1' foot apart, that rests on the upper ends of the tub, and took a old Ikea-like pine tabletop (I found in a dumpster) to rest on the wood rails to make a VERY sturdy table top over the tub, for cutting and tray development processes... I sealed the wood pieces well, so they can be clean wiped down easily, or can even be hosed down after spills, and it works GREAT!!!! The pieces are removable and hide behind the open bathroom door when not in use...

You can cut & process easily that way!!! And you can get a small "milking" stool to sit on while processing in the dark...

Steve K

[LabRat]

It's my understanding (correct me if I'm wrong) that green/blue refer to the spectral sensitivity of the emulsion, not the color of the substrate. AFAIK, all x-ray film uses the same base: blue tinted polyester.

So, I started thinking that maybe the reason some users are having excessive contrast issues with this stuff is because if using MG papers to print on, the deeper than normal blue base could act a little like a contrast filter, as the contrast layer of the MG paper is more sensitive to blue light, the film base would pass more blue, and it would somewhat filter out a little more green light (green is the flatter contrast layer) so could it tilt the print contrast higher???

Hmmm... Made me think...

Steve K

[Jim Fitzgerald]

Do you have a bathtub in your bathroom??? I'm asking because my film processing room is a small spare bathroom with a tub, and for an extra work surface I cut 2 pieces of 2X4 lumber to go across the length of the tub about 1' foot apart, that rests on the upper ends of the tub, and took a old Ikea-like pine tabletop (I found in a dumpster) to rest on the wood rails to make a VERY sturdy table top over the tub, for cutting and tray development processes... I sealed the wood pieces well, so they can be clean wiped down easily, or can even be hosed down after spills, and it works GREAT!!!! The pieces are removable and hide behind the open bathroom door when not in use...

You can cut & process easily that way!!! And you can get a small "milking" stool to sit on while processing in the dark...

Steve K

Steve, this is how I did all of my developing and carbon printing for years except I had a piece of Hardi Backer board cut to fit the tub. Cement board. It was rigid and I developed and printed all the way up to 14x17. I finally have a darkroom in the new house with plenty of space.

[senderoaburrido]

Do you have a bathtub in your bathroom??? I'm asking because my film processing room is a small spare bathroom with a tub, and for an extra work surface I cut 2 pieces of 2X4 lumber to go across the length of the tub about 1' foot apart, that rests on the upper ends of the tub, and took a old Ikea-like pine tabletop (I found in a dumpster) to rest on the wood rails to make a VERY sturdy table top over the tub, for cutting and tray development processes... I sealed the wood pieces well, so they can be clean wiped down easily, or can even be hosed down after spills, and it works GREAT!!!! The pieces are removable and hide behind the open bathroom door when not in use...

You can cut & process easily that way!!! And you can get a small "milking" stool to sit on while processing in the dark...

Steve K

That's a dang good idea. I live in a big city, so scrap lumber shouldn't be a hard find. It doesn't affect your ability to apply leverage on the guillotine by being in a sitting position? That was my only other concern. I'm so used to doing all this stuff standing up.

[Rick A]

So, I started thinking that maybe the reason some users are having excessive contrast issues with this stuff is because if using MG papers to print on, the deeper than normal blue base could act a little like a contrast filter, as the contrast layer of the MG paper is more sensitive to blue light, the film base would pass more blue, and it would somewhat filter out a little more green light (green is the flatter contrast layer) so could it tilt the print contrast higher???

Hmmm... Made me think...

Steve K

I think you are correct. I have a devil of a time getting the contrast down to where I like printing on VC paper. I've had to really work on getting flat/low contrast negs with xray film.

[Peter De Smidt]

Try using a graded paper.

[LabRat]

That's a dang good idea. I live in a big city, so scrap lumber shouldn't be a hard find. It doesn't affect your ability to apply leverage on the guillotine by being in a sitting position? That was my only other concern. I'm so used to doing all this stuff standing up.

I've always used a roller cutter to trim film... Seems to buckle less, and self-sharpens (on some, or some have cheap replaceable blades), the only drawback is the film has to go under the cutter guide bar (not too bad, though)... I have even tried those cheap Fiskars cutters and can they work pretty good, too... But just do one sheet at a time...

Steve K

[senderoaburrido]

Has anyone tried using this stuff for UV photography? I was looking at getting a cheap U330 glass filter, a small one, just to try it out. It seems like an appropriate filter as it would line up well with the sensitivities of this film on the red side.

[Andrew O'Neill]

Try it and please do share your results here.