Dear all,
I noticed a dozen of dark flakes on my 4x5 negatives that I recently developed and that puzzles me. I hope someone can help my understand the cause of these flakes: I have no image to show and I think it will be very difficult to take a photo of the neg showing these spots. Some info though:
* The flakes/spots are only on the emulsion side of the sheets
* The flakes are distinct with apparently sharp edges, they are quite small, maybe 0.1-0.5mm in diameter?
* The flakes are dark/black, but only visible when you shine a light on the emulsion from a slant angle.
* On a light-table, the flakes does not show (i.e. "transparent" upon projection - I hope/believe they will not show in print)
* I tried to remove the spots using a cotton swab soaked in IPA; did not work.
* FP4+ (Other sheets from the same box came out OK; something has happened during processing of this batch/tank)
* The developer (D76 1+1) was fresh
* Stop bath was fresh, 1% acetic acid
* Fixer not fresh, it has been used two times before within a 2 week period, so it should be well inside the safety margin.
* Thorough washing and a final wash in PhotoPlo in deionized water.
* Developed in Mod54 tank.
The thing that puzzles me is that the flakes does not seem like particles/dust. Some kind of deposit/residue? Is there anyone that recognize this and can give me a clue on how to avoid this in future and/or how to salvage the negatives?
All advices are most welcome,
Regards
Henrik
I noticed a dozen of dark flakes on my 4x5 negatives that I recently developed and that puzzles me. I hope someone can help my understand the cause of these flakes: I have no image to show and I think it will be very difficult to take a photo of the neg showing these spots. Some info though:
* The flakes/spots are only on the emulsion side of the sheets
* The flakes are distinct with apparently sharp edges, they are quite small, maybe 0.1-0.5mm in diameter?
* The flakes are dark/black, but only visible when you shine a light on the emulsion from a slant angle.
* On a light-table, the flakes does not show (i.e. "transparent" upon projection - I hope/believe they will not show in print)
* I tried to remove the spots using a cotton swab soaked in IPA; did not work.
* FP4+ (Other sheets from the same box came out OK; something has happened during processing of this batch/tank)
* The developer (D76 1+1) was fresh
* Stop bath was fresh, 1% acetic acid
* Fixer not fresh, it has been used two times before within a 2 week period, so it should be well inside the safety margin.
* Thorough washing and a final wash in PhotoPlo in deionized water.
* Developed in Mod54 tank.
The thing that puzzles me is that the flakes does not seem like particles/dust. Some kind of deposit/residue? Is there anyone that recognize this and can give me a clue on how to avoid this in future and/or how to salvage the negatives?
All advices are most welcome,
Regards
Henrik
Last edited: