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X-Ray film and the SP-8x10 Tray system

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tim48v

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We've had numerous requests lately regarding processing X-ray film in our SP-8x10 Tray system. The appeal is obvious, it's only $0.75/sheet for 8x10. However, it has light sensitive emulsion on both sides and this raises two concerns:

  1. Scratching the emulsion on the bottom side.
  2. Getting enough chemistry under the film for proper development.
In theory, it should work. Details here: https://shop.stearmanpress.com/blogs/news/x-ray-film-and-the-sp-8x10-tray-system



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You don’t need to remove the emulsion layer from the X-ray film; by making a holder to secure the film, you can prevent scratches. I used Foamex as the material and designed it so that magnets allow the holder to attach and detach easily. By raising the film about 5 mm from the bottom and placing it in the developing tray, you can process it cleanly.


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Thanks @momopost - and welcome to Photrio! However, I think that @tim84v's intention in sharing his solution was mainly to show the usability of his own Stearman Press development tank product for x-ray film. It's an alternative to a tray or other means for developing sheet film. Having said that, I do like your solution, although I imagine it affects the development along the very edges of the film. This may not matter to everyone.
 
I guess no one followed our links! Short answer: it worked fine. The film just floats above the bottom of the tray and developed perfectly. The only scratches we dealt with were from the camera film holder.

I'd be concerned that this frame would block chemistry flow underneath the film and give you uneven development on the bottom side.
 
Thanks,Tim for posting that!

Looks like the Whole Plate camera will get more use now...
 
I guess no one followed our links!

In all honesty, I did and I also saw the uneven development that's so difficult to avoid with this film. Sorry...E.g. in the image of the silo there's a very 'hot edge' on the right, and many artifacts in the part of the sky that should have been more even. The one with the big roll has an odd artifact bottom left and the shadow areas show how the insufficient density was subject to salvage attempts in digital post processing, resulting in a coarse and uneven transition form the black point into differentiated shadows. For printing, these negatives would not work very well.

1769881611616.png

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Also, the images very clearly show the significant underexposure that's to be expected by rating this so optimistically, although that did help reeling in the skies which would otherwise have been lost in a virtually featureless block of density.
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Some of the issues may be due to the scanning step; I'm not sure how that was done, but e.g. the 'hot edge' and the odd density artifact in the bottom left of the other sheet could also be explained by that. However, the Foma sheets have come out reasonably clean in comparison.

Mind you, I think the results are relatively good given the simplicity of your solution compared to a tray-based system, which requires a little more attention to dial in correctly (don't expect this to work like normal camera film).

This is just a very tricky film to work with and I think that this example demonstrates how there's really no easy answer to its inherent challenges.
 
And those trays need to be oversized to avoid uneven processing, like 11x14 for 8x10. Mild agitation always. I just got 9 flat bottomed plastic trays 10x14.
 
Most of what you're showing is a scanning issue. As mentioned elsewhere, the photo of the hay bales had a light leak in the camera film holder. Also as mentioned, maybe on Facebook, SP-Ultra is probably not the best developer for X ray film.

The purpose of the experiment was to find out if double sided x ray film can be processed in the SP-8x10. The answer is yes.
 
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