"Gunk" on prints?

Hello All,

I made this print earlier this morning, which I'm pretty happy with in general, but it looks like there's a little gunk right on the bride's face.

When I look at the neg I don't see anything, but I think the likeliest explanation in my mind is that there's something left over from the development that I just can't see. I tried scanning the neg directly and it does show up, but isn't as noticeable (likely just because of the scanner I guess).

I've never had this problem before, so I don't think it's from anything I do habitually. Could it be because the Photo-Flo I used is expired? I've used expired Photo-Flo before without incident, but I've also never used Photo-Flo that's this expired before (it's from 2014. I got it for free; I tested it on a couple of unimportant rolls and didn't have this problem, so I went ahead and used it, which in hindsight might have been a bad idea).

And moving forward, what do y'all recommend I do? What's the safest way of cleaning the negative?

Thanks in advance,
Dan

Pure isopropyl alcohol works for me.

take another closer look at the surface of the negative instead of looking at the image. Perhaps its a smudge or water stain?

Sometimes too much photoflo causes bubbles n soapy scum deposits.

I see you shot it through the material.. maybe a reflection on the material?

NICE SHOT BTW.

Thanks!

Yes; the shot was through the veil, but to me it looks like it's layered on top, for lack of a better way of describing it. I guess I'll try washing the neg and see if it's still there.

Smudger: how do you use the alcohol?

I have had bad experience in the past with print dryers. The rollers caused the image surface to look kind of "gunky" in some areas.

If the negative is clean & clear, how is your workflow?

It looks as though it could be a water or wetting-agent deposit. Look on the film-base side of the neg with a light coming from the side. A small amount of breath (literally a breath, not a 'blow' as blowing spreads spit) and a wipe by a soft anti-static cloth may remove it. Don't touch the emulsion side with this method.

The safest way to deal with it is to spot the print... if you mess up you can make another print... if you make a few prints and spot each one, you can give the bride the best of the set.