"Gunk" on prints?

[dhkirby]

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

 

[Smudger]

Pure isopropyl alcohol works for me.

 

[paul ron]

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.

 

[dhkirby]

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?

 

[RauschenOderKorn]

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?

 

[MartinP]

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.

 

[Bill Burk]

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.