Brown Edges on FB Print

[Christine Lee Smith]

Hi All, I’m getting some brown edging on large fiber prints. Here’s what I’m using:

Ilford MG Developer: 1:9 (3 min)
arista Stop: 1:31 (30 sec)
Arista fixer 1:4 (5 min)

paper is ilford art 300 at 20x24

brown on edges is pretty consistent all the way around. I thoroughly rinsed the trays before starting a second batch and the problem was still present. Currently I’m the only one in the darkroom. And chemicals were all mixed fresh.
Thoughts?

 

[Valerie]

Is this old paper? I've had similar issues with old or badly stored paper.

 

[MattKing]

Harman/Ilford have a contact form on their website you can use to reach out to them.
They also participate here - Start a Conversation with Harman Tech Service.
That paper can be challenging due to its tendency to float on the surface - is there any chance that those areas weren't well immersed in the fixer?

 

[Christine Lee Smith]

Is this old paper? I've had similar issues with old or badly stored paper.

Hi Valerie. It's at least a few months old to me - but the box was never opened. So unless it was expired from Ilford or the vendor, no.

 

[Christine Lee Smith]

Harman/Ilford have a contact form on their website you can use to reach out to them.
They also participate here - Start a Conversation with Harman Tech Service.
That paper can be challenging due to its tendency to float on the surface - is there any chance that those areas weren't well immersed in the fixer?

Thanks Matt. That's possible. I'm working in an extra dark darkroom because the "safelights" were impacting the exposure (I'm printing on the wall). I do a pretty good agitation in the fix, and lay the print face down to help with consistency. But I suppose it's still possible. I'll reach out to the tech.

 

[thefizz]

Probably not relevant to your problem but a 5 minute fix time at 1:4 is very excessive.

 

[jimjm]

I agree that 5 mins seems excessive for fixing time, but I've never used Arista so I can't speak from experience. Also, many fixers are supposed to be diluted 1:9 for paper and 1:4 for film, at least this is the case for Arista liquid fixers.

 

[Vaughn]

It is possible with that thick paper, the edges are allowing a lot of chemical to enter the paper and might take longer to wash out. If a shorter fixer time works, that might help. A wash aid and a good wash, too.

 

[Bob Carnie]

I have had flacking issues with ART 300 in the past , this may be old paper and I would not be surprised with issues.

 

[Bob Carnie]

I have some in my darkroom... 20 x 24 which is two years old and I am thinking I will have issues with this .

 

[kreeger]

Hi All, I’m getting some brown edging on large fiber prints. Here’s what I’m using:

Ilford MG Developer: 1:9 (3 min)
arista Stop: 1:31 (30 sec)
Arista fixer 1:4 (5 min)

paper is ilford art 300 at 20x24

brown on edges is pretty consistent all the way around. I thoroughly rinsed the trays before starting a second batch and the problem was still present. Currently I’m the only one in the darkroom. And chemicals were all mixed fresh.
Thoughts?

Christine, I have seen that effect before. So... at what point in your processing workflow do the spots appear?