120 films development problem

[Jim Noel]

To decontaminate the reels, scrub them with a mild detergent and a tooth brush. Be sure to rinse twice as much as you think necessary.

 

[kevs]

I've had this problem a few times over the past couple of years, and i noticed it's always been on films i've developed in Paterson Systen 4 tanks - the newer style ones with the bayonet tops. It has occurred even when i've remembered to clip down the spiral. I own a couple of older screw-thread tanks, and i've never had that problem with them.

My developing routine is:

a) Pre-soak in tap water for a few minutes with a couple of drops of wetting agent;

b) Develop in 600ml ID:11;

c) Water-bath for five minutes - i find stop-bath unnecessary with this step;

d) Fix;

e) Wash 20 mins minimum;

f) Final wash with a few drops wetting agent.

I rarely, if ever, rinse the tank or spiral as I always pre-soak with a few drops of wetting agent anyway. It has never caused loading problems either. So i'm inclined to blame the newer design Paterson tanks and that horrid sloping bayonet lid. Quite why Paterson re-designed them i can't imagine - they really spoilt a good piece of kit.

 

[keeds]

Don't put the reels in the wetting agent. Take film off reel and put in ice cream tube full of wetting agent soln.

 

[kevs]

Don't put the reels in the wetting agent. Take film off reel and put in ice cream tube full of wetting agent soln.

Why? What possible advantage would that give?

Wetting agent doesn't damage the reels, and if it did a brief rinse under the cold tap would suffice to remove it. In my final rinse, i put a few drops of wetting agent into the water, mix it with my fingers until a few bubbles appear, pull the spiral up and down then remove it, break the spiral and remove the film.

Still, each to his/her own; whatever works best for you is fine. Wetting agent has never been an issue for me, that's all.

Which brand of ice cream comes in a tube anyway?

 

[Kilgallb]

If all three films in the tank have the same problem on the same edge of the film, it seems logical the problem is the film, not your developing method.

Maybe moisture is getting in one side of the edge of the film once it is removed from the poly plastic wrapper.

Try another batch of film as a test and see if the problem remians.

 

[ic-racer]

Air bubbles

I had these same marks many years ago. I wasted some film and took the lid off and was able to actually see the bubbles. I could not find a good way to get rid of them and I converted to rotary processing.