film woes

[hotami]

Hey guys, i'm having a bit of a problem when i'm developing my 4x5 film. It seems like every other time i'm getting dust or some sort of material on my film. It appears white so it isn't on the negative when i'm shooting. My film processing goes like this; remove film, dust off with compressed air, place in 5x7 tray with distilled water for 2 minutes, place in developer for allotted time, place back in distilled water for 1 minute, place in fixer for 3, place back in water for 1 minute, place film in fixer remover for 3, and finally wash for 6 minutes in distilled water. Anyone have any advice?
thanks
andrew

 

[Sportera]

Its probably dust that was on the film when you exposed it. Blow out your holders before loading.

 

[hotami]

It's not the dust on my holders, i use to air to clean them out before i load them.

 

[Dave Parker]

Sorry Hotami,

It really does sound like dust on your holders, I know I fought that quite often, even blowing them off sometimes does not get rid of the dust, it has a tendancy to blow off then settle right back on them

Dave

 

[boyooso]

Andrew,


what does the 'dust' look like?

Is it minus density(clear film) in your image?

Or is it a physical thing ON your film?

If it is a physical thing ON your film, then I would say either your final wash is dirty, or your workspace is dirty or where you dry the film is dirty. Or all of the above... Are you drying the film in an enclosed space? If not, I would try to construct a dust free space where air does NOT move.

If it is minus density (clear film) on your film than it IS dust on your film during exposure.

In anycase, I would recommend that you DO NOT blow your film off prior to development... canned air can blow that frozen stuff on your film. Furthermore any dust on your film when it is dry will be removed as soon as you immerse it in liquid.

GOOD LUCK,

Corey

 

[boyooso]

Hi Dave,

Another problem with blowing off film holders is that blowing with air CAN introduce static electricity... My latest sceme is to use a tac cloth, like used for collecting dust when painting...

Corey

 

[hotami]

Hey corey, i think it's something on the film itself such as my final wash is dirty. The film is not actually clear on the dusty spots which leads me to believe you're right.
thank for the help
andrew

 

[Papa Tango]

Remember to blow out the inside of your camera periodically. Drawing the dark slide when the humidity is low can cause a static charged load on the film that can draw dust from anywhere inside the bellows. Took me a while to catch on to that...

 

[joneil]

It's possibly your fix. What kind are you using? I find if fix gets too old, or sometimes it gets too much air, this can happen. I use Ilfrod Hypam and/or rapid fix,a nd around the bottle opening, after time, you can see residue fo fix - dunno the correct name, almost looks like it calcifies, although I know the wrong term.

A suggestion given to me was to get a strainer and some plain old paper coffe filters. I now strain my fix before using it and/or mixing it, and a lot fo my "white dust spots" problems ahs goen away. For the cost of a plastic strainer and a pack of filters (cost me $3.00 total at a local dollar store) it was well worth it


joe

 

[argus]

Air dusting your negatives before they go in the developper is useless. The movement of the fluid remove any dust (seems logical to me).

A 6 minutes wash seems very short to me!

G