120 film edge trouble

[hchapman]

I'm consistently having trouble with my 120 film (usually Neopan 400 developed in PMK in a Jobo drum on a roller base) showing 3 bands along one edge and some uneven spots on the opposite side. Am pretty new to film developing and was hoping someone with experience would be able to recognize the issues right away. Here is an example. Thank you in advance.
-Harlan

 

[mpirie]

I'd be very surprised if ANY processing problems were able to give such a defined marking on the frame right edge.

The edges of the reel in your Jobo don't come anywhere near the marked area. Are you sure it's in the processing? They look "mechanical" to me.

They look to me like fogging from light leaks?

The markings on the left look like the type you'd get from improper development or fixing.

 

[Martin Aislabie]

Harlan - welcome to APUG - this place is a gold mine of useful information on just about any area of photography you can think of.

I agree with mpirie

The marks on the Left side of the film look like process contamination

How well do you wash you reels and tank after processing?

If you don't give a good wash (hot water works better than cold) you can carry some contaminants into your next development process.

It is very important that you do not let Wetting Agent dry on your reels and tank - as it can be difficult to wash off afterwards.


Another possibility is the marks could be are flow marks - are you getting enough drum speed during development?

Yet another is that you are crinkling the film slightly when you are loading it - are the reels properly dry before you start ?


The streaks on the right side look to me like they are mechanical pressure damage.

If they were light leaks they would not be so uniform across the width of the film

Have you checked your Cameras film handling mechanism is running smoothly ?

Martin

 

[Nicholas Lindan]

PMK in a Jobo drum on a roller base ... showing 3 bands along one edge and some uneven spots on the opposite side.

PMK is known to produce strange artifacts when used in drums.

Try developing in D-76 and see if that eliminates the problem.

If you are determined to use Pyro in a Jobo then Pyrocat HD might be a better choice. There is also something called "Rollo Pyro" that I am not familiar with, but is compounded to solve the same problem.

 

[ic-racer]

I agree with Nicholas

 

[hchapman]

Thank you for your thoughtful replies. You bring up possiblilites I hand't thought about.
The vertical streaks on the right side of the film turn out to be scanning artifacts. Don't know how to fix that but at least I know where to direct my efforts on the problem.
The blotches on the left side could be from crinkling on loading the roller (shame). I also switched roller bases and the base used for this
processing is slower. Will try again with good loading and a faster roller base.
Happy Developing,
Harlan

 

[eye_of_wally]

the semicircles on the left could also be from the 120 film not winding tightly on the take up spool (Also known as "Fat Roll") it is a common problem with a lot 120 cameras not winding the film tight enough

 

[Lee L]

If you look closely, I believe you'll see the same artifacts on the right as on the left. They are just masked a bit by clouds on the right.

I had similar problems with Rodinal at 1:100 on 35mm and roll film in the early 80's on a CPE2 at the then recommended slow rotation speed, about 25 RPM, with no presoak. I quit using it for film, but did a test roll with Rodinal 1:100 on PanF+ within the last two years. I changed to Jobo's current recommendations: fast rotation speed, about 65 RPM, and a minimum 5 minute presoak and didn't have the problem on that roll.

Of course this is not a large enough sample for certainty by a long shot. But it's worth trying.

Also read this http://unblinkingeye.com/Articles/PCat/PCat2/pcat2.html for info on why Nicholas makes his recommendation about PMK in rotary processors. It's good advice.

Lee