Darker line on edge of film after development

[Xscream1]

Hey guys, any idea of what i'm doing wrong here. 2nd film in a row that I get a darker bar on the side of my negative after developing in Ilfosol 3 in a paterson tank. I do 4 inversions after each minute and knock it on the counter to remove bubbles. You can see it on the left of the image.

 

[koraks]

Welcome to Photrio!
The effect shown occurs frequently with 120 roll film (medium format) and is related to bubbles being stuck against the upper half of the film reel during development. This limits the access of fresh developer to the emulsion, resulting in development being held back, which in turn results in lower density in the negative. The band shows up a little fuzzy since the bubbles move around a bit during agitation cycles.

In virtually all cases the problem goes away if you use 15% more developer. You can verify the volume required by putting the center column with the reel(s) inside the tank, then pouring in water until the upper reel is generously covered. Then pour back this water into a graduate to see how much it takes. Also ensure that the reel(s) with the film is/are all the way at the bottom of the tank so there's no reel sticking slighty up above the developer.

 

[Xscream1]

Thanks! Makes a lot of sens I will try that for my next film. Thanks again!

 

[koraks]

Sure, no problem; hope it helps!

 

[Augustus Caesar]

Fill the tank all the way up!

 

[Ben Hutcherson]

There’s definitely a sweet spot to tank fill, as full to the brim doesn’t allow as efficient of movement of solution during agitation by inversion.

This also, IMO, shows one of the several advantages of stainless tanks. Not only do you tend to get better coverage of the reels than you do in a Patterson tank for a given volume of solution, but I also find them a lot less prone to collecting/holding bubbles.