a bit short of C-41 blix

[Wayne]

In my experience film can have all kinds of curl when it is dry, but once it is fully soaked with water it is usually quite saggy. Therefore any effect of strong film curl would have to happen rather at the begin of your dev cycle. One part of your film pressing against the other, or restricting flow through some other means could only lead to less development, i.e. lower density.

If all my theories are bad and that restricted flow would somehow lead to density boost as observed by Wayne, then a simple prewash with tempered water should solve this issue for future rolls.

PS: on the slim chance that the extra density is not dye, but retained silver: have you tried reblixing that one film strip?

Rather than restricted flow, I was imagining more of a "turbulence effect" around the end of the roll, causing greater development on the second coil of film. Sort of like what some people get when developing sheet film in a tray the same size as the film, and the edges of the film are more dense. I don't think the film was touching itself, so it shouldn't have had restricted flow.

 

[Wayne]

If it does not extend outside of the frame, it might be a camera problem. Usually, process problems are indifferent to frame size or shape.

PE

But there wouldn't have been any exposed silver outside the frame for the developer to work on. I'll see if I can get a sca*, but it will be a couple days.

The reason I suspect agitation is somehow involved is because I actually read the instructions before developing, apparently for the first time. It says to agitate 4 times per 30 seconds and I'm pretty sure in the past I've only been doing about one agitattion every 30 seconds, much like I do for B&W. So my agitation was much more frequent than usual.

 

[Photo Engineer]

If it is a camera problem, only image inside of the frame would be affected. The back masks the rest. If it were a blix problem it would possibly have gone the entire width.

PE

 

[Wayne]

Here is that dark band I was talking about

 

[rpavich]

Yes, you would need a stop, and in any event you should not be using a blix with film.

PE

Ok...enlighten me...why?

I've been using the Unicolor kits which include blix.

 

[mtjade2007]

Ok...enlighten me...why?

I've been using the Unicolor kits which include blix.

This has been explained many times before. I am not a chemist but I agree that using Bleach + Fix is (much) better than using Blix for simple reasons. One that I can think of is Bleach is much more expensive than Fix. If the Fixer in a Blix is exhausted the entire Blix has to be replaced. The fact that the Bleach can be reused many many more times than the Fixer it is a bit of waste in dumping the entire Blix when only the Fixer is in need of replacement. This is in fact not the most important reason of not using Blix. There are other important technical reasons. I suggest that it is made into a sticky to explain why it is strongly recommended to use Bleach + Fix instead of Blix.

 

[Photo Engineer]

Ok...enlighten me...why?

I've been using the Unicolor kits which include blix.

Bleaches can be made at greater strength than a blix. If a blix were as strong as a bleach it would oxidize the hypo and go bad right away. So, a blix is a compromise of strength and activity, and most do not do the job of removing all of the silver.

Now, I am going to modify things just a tad here. Recently, Kodak began putting bleach accelerators into the film to help in silver removal. IDK how this will affect use of a blix, but I suspect that it won't hurt. IDK also if Fuji uses these chemicals, but to be on the safe side, I suggest using a bleach then fix.

If silver is retained, you will get muddy colors, especially in highlights, and increased apparent graon.

Now you are enlightened. Was it enough?

PE

 

[rpavich]

Bleaches can be made at greater strength than a blix. If a blix were as strong as a bleach it would oxidize the hypo and go bad right away. So, a blix is a compromise of strength and activity, and most do not do the job of removing all of the silver.

Now, I am going to modify things just a tad here. Recently, Kodak began putting bleach accelerators into the film to help in silver removal. IDK how this will affect use of a blix, but I suspect that it won't hurt. IDK also if Fuji uses these chemicals, but to be on the safe side, I suggest using a bleach then fix.

If silver is retained, you will get muddy colors, especially in highlights, and increased apparent graon.

Now you are enlightened. Was it enough?

PE

Yes, thank you. I'll do a search to see what folks are doing when it comes to bleach + fixer; DIY or otherwise.

 

[Rudeofus]

Yes, thank you. I'll do a search to see what folks are doing when it comes to bleach + fixer; DIY or otherwise.

There are kits which use separate bleach and fixer, or you can convert a BLIX kit into a kit with separate bleach and fixer by following the instructions (there was a url link here which no longer exists).

 

[rpavich]

There are kits which use separate bleach and fixer, or you can convert a BLIX kit into a kit with separate bleach and fixer by following the instructions (there was a url link here which no longer exists).

Great! thanks.

 

[rpavich]

There are kits which use separate bleach and fixer, or you can convert a BLIX kit into a kit with separate bleach and fixer by following the instructions (there was a url link here which no longer exists).

Everything in that link is understandable except for one thing. The Acetic Acid recommended was 30% or 80% and I can only fin 99.8% Acetic Acid. Am I missing something? Is it possible to buy 30% or 80% acetic acid or is that just a dilution I'm supposed to mix with water myself?

 

[Wayne]

I think you'd dilute glacial (99.8) acetic to 80%, but I haven't read the thread.

 

[Rudeofus]

Either you use 99.8 % Acetic Acid as is, and just use a bit less than you'd need 80% Acetic Acid, or you dilute your batch down to anywhere from 30 to 80%. Allegedly higher concentrations of Acetic Acid can be dangerous, and 80% Acetic Acid is what they gave me when I asked "give me the highest concentration you would give a Joe Shmoe citizen with no bad intentions". I realize now that there are places, which offer Glacial Acetic Acid, mostly to keep shipping costs down.

 

[rpavich]

Either you use 99.8 % Acetic Acid as is, and just use a bit less than you'd need 80% Acetic Acid, or you dilute your batch down to anywhere from 30 to 80%. Allegedly higher concentrations of Acetic Acid can be dangerous, and 80% Acetic Acid is what they gave me when I asked "give me the highest concentration you would give a Joe Shmoe citizen with no bad intentions". I realize now that there are places, which offer Glacial Acetic Acid, mostly to keep shipping costs down.

Thanks for clearing that up.
I ended up getting the Kodak chems recommended on another thread here rather than "fixing the blix" It was the same price so I thought I'd take a shot.