Is this a development or user problem?

Graham_Martin · Jan 12, 2012

I had a roll of Kodak Gold 400 developed at CVS today. Every image is covered in white spots. I checked my UV filter to see if it was dirty and it appears to be OK. I also scanned in the negatives myself with the same results. Could this have been some sort of developing error at CVS? I'm wondering if using old chemicals could have caused this.

Photo Engineer · Jan 12, 2012

White spots on the print mean black spots on the film. Or dust! If it isn't dust, then it is a lab problem.

PE

zach · Jan 12, 2012

Could be calcium deposits from the labs' water being too hard, that's my guess.

pukalo · Jan 12, 2012

Its a processing problem that is common now in places with low volume (pretty much everywhere now, save a busy costco or two). Related to old/under use of the chemicals and the filters that clog up/fail as a result, allowing these precipitates to coat the film. I used to take my negs to Target, until i began home scanning andd saw, when ICE was turned off, how horribly speckled they were with this gunk. Hundreds of white spots on the resulting scans from each frame. With Digital ICE (the IR dust removal technology invented by Kodak0 turned on, you dont see these spots - they are digitally removed by the IR scan. But I had some hope of analog printing them some day, so I switched to costco. They are still busy with 1 time use camera film, so the chems are fresh and clean. Well worth the extra 50 cents per roll they charge (still the best deal in town - pro lab quality negs developed for $1.50/roll - and only $3.88 if you wants prints too).
Anyways, the Fuji hunt Europe website has an interesting paper on this problem, and they have developed low throughput/use chemicals to correct it.

Graham_Martin · Jan 13, 2012

Thanks for the suggestion about ICE. My original scan was using VueScan. When I tried the ICE software the difference was noticeable as can be seen here.

Photo Engineer · Jan 13, 2012

But those spots should not be there or be that bad in the first place!

PE

Graham_Martin · Jan 13, 2012

Photo Engineer said:
But those spots should not be there or be that bad in the first place!

PE

I agree with you. CVS tried "wiping" down the negs with a white glove and got some of the gunk off. They refunded my money, but I'm still disappointed with the results.

pentaxuser · Jan 13, 2012

Sounds like a case for developing your own.

pentaxuser

Graham_Martin · Jan 13, 2012

pentaxuser said:
Sounds like a case for developing your own.

pentaxuser

I have toyed with the idea but, so far, haven't summed up the courage to do it.

pukalo · Jan 13, 2012

Try it, it is super easy. doesnt cost much to get started, brings your processing costs way down, you get pristine clean negs, and most of all it is actually fun. I put it off for far too lomg out of fear, and stories on the net that it was too hard to do at home (blame Photo.net on that).
Anyways, I got started this past Spring doing home E6, the ,most "difficult" of the 3, and it is super easy. Color neg should be even easier, as you have far fewer steps. Go to Freestyle or Maco Direct and order a Fuji or Tetenal kit (wish I could promote Kpodak here, but they are out of the home user market now).

pukalo · Jan 13, 2012

you can learn a lot about it here:

http://www.flickr.com/groups/diy_color/

tnabbott · Jan 14, 2012

Graham_Martin said:
I have toyed with the idea but, so far, haven't summed up the courage to do it.

Go for it. Courage will come after the first several tries. Just don't try to develop important rolls initially... Good luck!

trt · Jan 16, 2012

I had the same problem at a studio here in Nairobi. Since it's almost impossible to find developing chemicals and equipment to get my own darkroom set up (anyone with leads?).. and developing is less than a dollar a roll, this is the easiest option for me.

Does anyone know a safe way to clean the negatives to be rescanned? I really hope these can be saved.

this was the worst example on the roll:

Photo Engineer · Jan 16, 2012

You can try re-washing and then treating in a stabilizer solution. These can be bought very cheaply and they keep nearly forever.

You may have to filter your water to insure that the dirt is not perpetuated by more dirt in your water.

PE

Is this a development or user problem?

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