Have I fogged my film?

[Solarize]

The last two days of film processing have yielded some very inconsistant results that I havent been able to get my head around. I have been taking notes on the procedures i've used and am keen not to mess up any more negs. An informed diagnosis would be much appreciated..... here goes.

Yesterday I mixed up 5 litres of Xtol and processed two rolls of Tri-X (35mm). The results appear excellent.

Pre soak at chemical temp of 23degreesC. ISO 800. Dilution 1+1 for 9.5 mins.

That evening I processed a roll of 120 (Tri-X @ 400), as above except for 8.5 mins instead.

The results here were not nearly as good, slightly less contrast but with an inconsistant purple stain across the neg strip (I had washed off most of the anti halation layer in the presoak). I just assumed uneven development.

Toaday I loaded another roll of Tri-X 120, shot at 550 in the same conditions as the previous two films. I processed it for 8.5 mins again, dilution, temp, pre wash etc the same as above. I was even more meticulous in my agitation methods this time, 10 secs every minute with the same twist/inversion motion again.
Having spooled the film I was concerned that the room seemed a little light.

The film (now hanging to dry) is awful. Milky grey across the whole strip, clearer and somewhat purple on the very edges. I cant comment on the consistancy of the purple staining as its masked by the grey.

I reckon I have two seperate issues here, uneven dev in the first instance and fogging, maybe with uneven dev in the second. Is it possible to fog a film enough to grey it but not enough to make it black in the time it takes to spool?

I suppose I should try again in total darkness, possibly with different chems but would like some advice first.

PS. The 120 pre soak yielded a strong purple/blue tint as I emptied it, the 35mm films did not. Am I missing something obvious?

Thanks in advance

 

[Amund]

How are you washing the film?

And milky grey is usually the sign of exhausted fixer.

 

[Konical]

Good Morning, Solarize,

It is possible to fog film partially, but that usually results in only part of the film being fogged, with dark streaks among visible part of the images. Different films have anti-halation backings of different colors; just use two or three minutes of pre-soak and you should get rid of just about any such backing.

One thing not mentioned in your post is fixer. Did you use standard or rapid fix? And for how long. Some of what you describe sounds like the result of inadequate fixing.

Konical

 

[Roger Hicks]

Sounds very like exhausted fix to me too. Re-fix with fresh fix and re-wash .

Cheers,

Roger (www.rogerandfrances.com)

 

[raucousimages]

Dito. Fixer.

 

[Ole]

PS. The 120 pre soak yielded a strong purple/blue tint as I emptied it, the 35mm films did not. Am I missing something obvious?

120 film and 35mm film are very different beasts. 35mm film relies on a tinted base material to control halation, while 120 film uses a coloured layer on the back of the film. That works fine for 120, since the back of the film is protected by the backing paper. If the 35mm film had used the same dye layer, your camera would quickly be full of gunk from scraped-off anti-halation layer.

 

[Solarize]

So simple it didnt even cross my mind. Picked up an exhausted bottle from my disorganised chem cupboard. That'll teach me.

Thanks guys.

 

[Solarize]

120 film and 35mm film are very different beasts. 35mm film relies on a tinted base material to control halation, while 120 film uses a coloured layer on the back of the film. That works fine for 120, since the back of the film is protected by the backing paper. If the 35mm film had used the same dye layer, your camera would quickly be full of gunk from scraped-off anti-halation layer.

Thanks for clearing that up, It had been baffling me for a while.

 

[Solarize]

Just as an afterthought, by washing off the anti halation layer in a series of presoaks am I affecting the contrast and or tones of the film? The negs where the purple dye remains certainly look different to those where it doesn't. Is this necessarily a bad thing?

Thanks again

 

[Jim Jones]

Just as an afterthought, by washing off the anti halation layer in a series of presoaks am I affecting the contrast and or tones of the film? The negs where the purple dye remains certainly look different to those where it doesn't. Is this necessarily a bad thing?

Thanks again

I sometimes use a presoak, sometimes not. If the developing time is short, (just a few minutes), especially in large tanks with many reels of film, a presoak may facilitate even development. With long development times it doesn't seem to make a difference in the final appearance of a properly fixed and washed negative.