Fuji Acros II came out blank

[MFstooges]

I've never used this film before but had no choice since I was travelling and they're the only kind available so I used them. The sales guy pointed out that Ilford makes this film. Based on the master chart the developing times is 6.5 minutes with Rodinal for ISO 100. I added 1.30 minutes because my water is 18 degree. 7 min stop bath and 15 minutes standing fixing. It came out blank. What did I do wrong??

 

[runswithsizzers]

Was the film completely blank - no edge marking?

 

[orbod]

If you have edge markings on the film, it wasn’t exposed in the camera. If you have no edge markings, you probably used fixer before developer. Third possibility, but not likely, is a film defect.

But why are you using stop bath for 7 minutes?

 

[koraks]

What did I do wrong??

Developer mixing error, expired developer or used fix before developer, assuming no edge markings.
If edge markings present, it's an exposure error; e.g. lens cap left on lens (RF camera), shutter failure etc.

 

[koraks]

But why are you using stop bath for 7 minutes?

Or "standing fixing" for that matter, for 15 minutes no less.

 

[Hassasin]

In post like this a scan (or camera phone shot) of result would help everyone to pitch in, picture is worth more than a thousand words.

 

[MattKing]

Thread title tweaked

 

[orbod]

Or "standing fixing" for that matter, for 15 minutes no less.

Ineeded, I never made it past the stop bath!

 

[pentaxuser]

Maybe we should ask the OP what source he got his ideas from on stop bath and fixing time and then re-educate him from there He has had a shock with a blank film as it is

pentaxuser

 

[Hassasin]

Maybe we should ask the OP what source he got his ideas from on stop bath and fixing time and then re-educate him from there He has had a shock with a blank film as it is

pentaxuser

And we still don't know what kind of blank he drew. So far it's a hit & run thread.

 

[ags2mikon]

He may have had to run to work. Or ...

 

[retina_restoration]

Why on earth would someone leave film in the stop bath for SEVEN minutes??

 

[Saganich]

Well, no big deal if you leave film in stop for 7 minutes or in fix for 20...probably was busy with other things.

 

[MFstooges]

Well, no big deal if you leave film in stop for 7 minutes or in fix for 20...probably was busy with other things.

Correct. I am lazy and always do the stop bath and fixing like that with good result.
No edge mark.
The exposed films went through airport cabin baggage scanner if that matters.

 

[AnselMortensen]

No edge markings = Film was fixed before development.

 

[Andrew O'Neill]

Airport scanner will not erase your film. It will impart weird exposure marks, or flat out fogging. Like AnselMortensen said. You most likely fixed before development. We've all been guilty of that. I have students do this often. Their problem is they don't pay attention to my demos, or bother to watch my instructional videos...lazy. You admit to being lazy. Don't be lazy, especially when developing important film such as I am imagine these are to you.

 

[retina_restoration]

Correct. I am lazy and always do the stop bath and fixing like that with good result.
No edge mark.
The exposed films went through airport cabin baggage scanner if that matters.

If you fix film for TWENTY minutes, you’re starting to bleach the image. (And you’ll have difficulty washing the fix out if the film as well)
As Andy said, Don’t be lazy with your process.

 

[jimjm]

Agree with the comments on stop and fixing times. Making mistakes is part of the process, but it's critical to establish consistent and repeatable practices when developing film. Also, I've never heard that Ilford manufactures any Fuji film. Fuji certainly has the capability to make it themselves.

 

[runswithsizzers]

I will admit to being somewhat lazy, myself -- but for me, good work habits result in less effort. As someone who shoots only 12-15 rolls of film per year, I hate the idea of loosing even one roll to a careless mistake, so I think a little extra work up front pays off in the long run.

I worked in a clinical laboratory for 20 years where it was strictly prohibited to have an unlabeled container of anything, ever!

All of my containers of stock chemistry solutions are clearly labeled and dated. Every container of working solution has a masking tape label on it, and I have formed the habit of always double checking the label at the time I pour the solution into the developing tank.

Good habits are the lazy man's friend, I think.

 

[koraks]

If you fix film for TWENTY minutes, you’re starting to bleach the image. (And you’ll have difficulty washing the fix out if the film as well)

But still, he'd be nowhere near the point where the entire image would be bleached away, including edge marks. If that's even physically possible with regular fixer, which I really doubt; it would probably take months of fixing to get that far, by which time the emulsion would have lifted off the base anyway.

Also, note that fixing film very long won't affect the final wash time or effectiveness. The fixer can't penetrate the base material as it does with FB paper. You're certainly correct that FB prints get hard to wash if you leave them in the fixer for too long, but with film, this is not a concern.

Overall the long stop and fix are somewhat odd process decisions, and certainly I'd advise otherwise, but they don't explain this particular problem. That seems like a regular mixup of beakers. It happens to many of us at some point.

Also, I've never heard that Ilford manufactures any Fuji film.

It's a public secret that Harman has been making Neopan Acros for quite some time. Certainly the present II version, but most likely the initial version, too.

 

[runswithsizzers]

... Also, I've never heard that Ilford manufactures any Fuji film. Fuji certainly has the capability to make it themselves.

If you look closely, down in the lower right-hand corner, you will see "Made in UK"

 

[retina_restoration]

Agree with the comments on stop and fixing times. Making mistakes is part of the process, but it's critical to establish consistent and repeatable practices when developing film. Also, I've never heard that Ilford manufactures any Fuji film. Fuji certainly has the capability to make it themselves.

From Ilford's official Flickr group description:

"Please add only photos taken with Ilford film and/or Ilford cameras. Please, no films made by Ilford but branded differently, such as Fujifilm Acros II or Kentmere films."

Fuji makes their color films themselves, but not the B&W stuff. They say so themselves.

 

[retina_restoration]

But still, he'd be nowhere near the point where the entire image would be bleached away, including edge marks.

I did not say that he was at risk of bleaching the silver off the film completely - I only said that bleaching could start to happen with needlessly long fixing times. Obviously his developer was dead or he fixed before he developed. That's the only explanation.
And regarding wash times - the fixer does penetrate the gelatin emulsion, especially the longer it's left in the solutions (remember, it's been sitting in Stop bath for 8 minutes prior), so it's very likely that wash time would have to be extended to at least 20 minutes to be effective.

The OP's process is puzzling and so far from ideal practice. I mean, lazy is one thing, but it seems he just doesn't care about his results.

 

[koraks]

the fixer does penetrate the gelatin emulsion

It only takes 10-15 seconds to do that. Adding another 20 minutes won't make a difference.

 

[runswithsizzers]

My post #19 discusses how to avoid confusing fixer and developer solutions, but proper labeling is no help if my developer is "dead" (totally inactive).

Because I often use Xtol, which does not change appearance when it goes bad, another habit I have formed is to do a quick check for developer activity before processing.

When loading the film onto the reel, I cut off the tapered film leader. Before processing, I use part of the film leader to do a spot clearing time test to verify fixer activity, and I also dunk part of the leader in my developing solution to be sure it is still active.

Rodinal is known for having a long shelf life, but I don't know if it dies suddenly (like Xtol can), or if it would be more likely to die slowly - still having some residual activity. In other words, I think the next step for troubleshooting would be for @MFstooges to verify that his Rodinal is still active. If it is, then that would suggest fixing-before-developing as the most probable cause, right?