Is this "uneven development"?

[Tony Egan]

Just tray developed my first few sheets of 5x7 Adox 100 film in xTol 1+1 for around 12 minutes. Used the emulsion down shuffle method 4 sheets at a time. Please check the sky on the attached scans. Is this ths result of "uneven development". If so any suggestions on how to prevent? Or is it something else?
Appreciate your diagnosis and prescriptions! Thanks.
Tony

 

[Alex Hawley]

Looks like it to me Tony. A few questions:

1. Did your sheets stick together? One has to keep them agitated enough and cycle through the stack so they don't stick to each other.

2. Did you pre-soak with a water bath? This is always a hot-button topic, but most of us who do sheet film agree a pre-soak is necessary. I use 5 minutes, shuffling the sheets so they don't stick as described in (1).

3. How often did you shuffle? You need to shuffle each sheet at least every 30 seconds. So with 4 in the try, shuffle from bottom to top about every 7 seconds.

4. I've gotten away with doing 4 sheets with 4x5, but with 8x10, something seems to always happen unless I do 6 to 8 sheets. Scratches, sticking, uneven development are typical. Can't explain why this is the case, but it happens.

That's all I can think of at the moment.

 

[Tom Hoskinson]

I agree with Alex that you appear to have an uneven development problem. There are some features that may be airbells and some others that may be dust or lint (hard to be sure without examining the film with a microscope).

Like Alex, I recommend a water presoak, also, you may want to try developing emusion up instead of emulsion down.

 

[Alex Hawley]

also, you may want to try developing emusion up instead of emulsion down.

Oh yeah, I blew past that one. I've never seen emulsion side down recommended in anything I've read.

 

[Tony Egan]

Thanks Alex - here are the answers

1. Did your sheets stick together? One has to keep them agitated enough and cycle through the stack so they don't stick to each other.
- no, each sheet was placed in water pre-soak first one by one, so I believe there was no sticking


2. Did you pre-soak with a water bath? This is always a hot-button topic, but most of us who do sheet film agree a pre-soak is necessary. I use 5 minutes, shuffling the sheets so they don't stick as described in (1).
- yes, but it was not very long. perhaps 45secs to a minute before going in the developer. I noticed a stong purple stain in the water when the lights went back on.

3. How often did you shuffle? You need to shuffle each sheet at least every 30 seconds. So with 4 in the try, shuffle from bottom to top about every 7 seconds.
- I rotate in a fairly steady pattern lifting the sheet from the bottom and draining for a few seconds before it goes back on top. Every two minutes all sheets rotated 90 degreess so draining occurs to a different corner. Probably no more than 10 secs per shuffle between sheets.

4. I've gotten away with doing 4 sheets with 4x5, but with 8x10, something seems to always happen unless I do 6 to 8 sheets. Scratches, sticking, uneven development are typical. Can't explain why this is the case, but it happens.
- I very good photographer and teacher of LF I did a course with swears by the emulsion down method. He believes as you lift from the bottom if the corner of the sheet above touches the sheet being lifted it will scratch the non-emulsion surface reducing the impact of any scratching. He has converted others to this approach and they also say it reduced scratching and damage to the emulsion side.

I have had some good success with 4x5 tray development with no apparent uneven development and very nicely graduated skies. That was FP4 in xTol. I wonder if the ADOX100 emulsion is a bit more highly strung or xTol 1+1 is not the best developer for this film? Most web sites show times for stock Xtol or 1+2 but not 1+1. I don't see what difference it should make to go 1+1 adjusting time accordingly?

 

[Alex Hawley]

Most everything sounds good Tony. Leaves me to suspect the pre-soak time and developer.

I just started using Efke/Adox film myself so hardly any experience with it to fall back on. However, first I would try a longer pre-soak on the order of 5 minutes.

Also, I haven't used Xtol for sheet film and tray development, but I used it a lot for roll film, but again, not on Efke. Maybe someone else will have more experience here. If, after rying a longer pre-soak, you still have uneveness, then I would suggest changing the developer dilution or type.

Uneven developing is very maddening. Those looked like pretty nice shots.

 

[JBrunner]

Yep, thats uneven development. A longer initial (the first one) agitation can be a big help. Presoak will help. Increasing overall agitation will help, but affect times and contrast. Basically you need more agitation, and adjust your other parameters after you have consistent results.

Oh, emusion up, dude. your sheets need some oportunity for the developer to move around on them. Bad handling scratches emulsions more than anything, and an old style soft emulsion does not like the bottom of the tray.

 

[Tom Hoskinson]

Take a look at this thread on Michael and Paula's Azo Forum.

Tray processing Efke sheet film

Dead Link Removed

 

[Alex Hawley]

Tom got me looking in the Azo Forum and I found this thread that may also be relevent: Dead Link Removed

A couple years ago, there was a batch of PL100 that got out of the factory with some defects from the drying process. There were many reports of uneven development, especially streaking in sky areas.

Tony, check the lot numbers on your film box against those in this thread. Maybe you got some of this film and your troubles are due to the manufacturing process.

 

[c6h6o3]

Make the pre-soak at least two minutes (I use 5 minutes) and develop them emulsion side up. Emulsion side down will reduce the time that the emulsion is in contact with the developer.

 

[Tony Egan]

Thanks guys - very helpful feedback and some good info in the links. I will do some more testing, pre-soak longer and also try emulsion up. I was also concerned as this film was imported to Australia it might possibly be x-ray damage. I have a box of HP5 imported in the same package which I will also open and test to rule this out.
Tony