Lab screwed up my XP2

mrtoml · Jan 10, 2009

I just got back from Chile and had some negatives processed while I was out there. Unfortunately the 'pro' lab managed to partially ruin 13 rolls of 120 XP2.

Here is a scan of a roll done by them on the left and one done (properly) by Peak Imaging in the UK on the right. Camera was the same (Mamiya 7ii) and ISO the same. I guess there is nothing I can do to rescue them.

About 20% of the frames have some sort of black gunk on them (mostly at the beginning and the ends of the rolls). Also the negatives are very thin and a different colour (very orange/pink) compared to the pale purple of the normal ones. The ones I can salvage will probably only print on grade 4-5 paper.

Does anyone know what caused this or if I can do anything? Eg rewashing to get rid of the black gunk or intensifying to increase contrast?

archphoto · Jan 10, 2009

I would rewash them, use some verry soft cotton with little presure to swab the gunk off, becarefull not to scratch the negs and dry.
Try to make a test after that and see what comes out, your neg's don't look ready for the trashcan.
With intensifying this film I have no experience, so I will leave that to others.

If needed go hybrid.

Greetings,
Peter

JMC1969 · Jan 10, 2009

I don't think there is anything you can do to change the density, but you should be able to get the black stuff off with Pec 12. I would guess the black stuff was made by rubber rollers from processing with a roller transport processor. Find a pro lab that uses dip and dunk.

Ian Grant · Jan 10, 2009

The Chilean processed negatives look as if the Bleach fix hasn't cleared the edges. They will print with considerably more density than the scan shows due to the image colour. XP-1 is processed in Chile, I saw it on sale there last year so a Pro lab should know how to process it.

You should ask Ilford for their comments. DON'T try removing the black until you know what caused it.

Ian

nickandre · Jan 10, 2009

The chemistry was exhausted when they ran it. They should have given you a new roll of film to compensate you.

I would stay away from this lab. You want to bleach fix and/or wash the film. You'll need a color stabilizer though so that the little bacteria don't eat your film once dried. Then print with a higher filter. Scanning would probably get away with these, which is why most people don't notice when a lab really botched their film.

On the positive side it might make a cool effect.

mrtoml · Jan 10, 2009

Ian Grant said:
The Chilean processed negatives look as if the Bleach fix hasn't cleared the edges. They will print with considerably more density than the scan shows due to the image colour. XP-1 is processed in Chile, I saw it on sale there last year so a Pro lab should know how to process it.

You should ask Ilford for their comments. DON'T try removing the black until you know what caused it.

Ian

Thanks, all, for the comments.

Ian. I have also contacted Simon Galley for his advice.

mrtoml · Jan 10, 2009

tiberiustibz said:
The chemistry was exhausted when they ran it. They should have given you a new roll of film to compensate you.

I would stay away from this lab. You want to bleach fix and/or wash the film. You'll need a color stabilizer though so that the little bacteria don't eat your film once dried. Then print with a higher filter. Scanning would probably get away with these, which is why most people don't notice when a lab really botched their film.

On the positive side it might make a cool effect.

Well they should have given me 13 rolls in compensation. How they didn't notice that this was happening after the 1st roll in the batch I don't know.

They offered me one roll after a long argument - they claimed oil in my camera must have caused the black gunk (a practically new Mamiya 7ii). It then transpired that all the XP2 they had on the shelves was out of date.

Are you saying that the thinness is caused by weak chemistry and/or the black gunk?

Stock Dektol · Jan 10, 2009

They're not that bad. Def. Salvagable. I'd photo-flo them and clean gently with pec pads. If worst comes to worst... use 5 paper/ a 5 filter.

mrtoml · Jan 10, 2009

I have pec pads and pure isopropyl alcohol. Maybe I should try this on one neg and see what happens...

But I think I will wait on Ilford first.

Ria · Jan 10, 2009

And in the "For Future Reference Category..."
If I find it necessary to use a lab with which I am unfamilar, I will have them run 1 or 2 rolls as a test before entrusting them with all my film. If time is limited, of course, that can be a problem.
Ria

mrtoml · Jan 10, 2009

Hi. I would have done that but I only had 24 hours before I had to leave for another excursion. The lab was recommended, but I guess I won't be using them again. They also processed some 35mm XP2 for me which turned out fine. I think they should have spotted the problem themselves sooner, before they ran all the rolls through the machine.

removed account4 · Jan 10, 2009

Ria said:
And in the "For Future Reference Category..."
If I find it necessary to use a lab with which I am unfamilar, I will have them run 1 or 2 rolls as a test before entrusting them with all my film. If time is limited, of course, that can be a problem.
Ria

hi ria

i have had troubles with labs i used for more than just test rolls.
when i lived in boston i would regularly give my favorite lab
c41 and e6 .. for about a good 6 months i did this, and then,
the "important rolls" i gave them, they did something totally wacky
all my slides were useless ... i ended up changing labs ...

gainer · Jan 10, 2009

A blue color separation filter will probably get as much contrast as you can get from either VC or graded paper.

Ian Grant · Jan 10, 2009

A reddish neg will be very considerably more effective than it looks visually, red is the colour of a safelight. when you intensify with Uranium you turn the silver image a red tone it's 1 or 2 stops more effective.

So you don't need a blue filter.

Ian

pentaxuser · Jan 10, 2009

Sorry to see and hear about your problems Mark. My first reaction was to say that while I have never scanned any XP2+ negs, the ones on the left look only slightly less dense but quite like the colour of those I had done by Jessops several years ago in the U.K. and they printed OK. Then I saw comments by others with a lot more experience than me, such as Ian, saying something similar which seemed to back my hunch by knowledge.

Can't make any useful comments on intensification or removal of the gunk but I think that they should print reasonably OK.

I hope so and bad luck

pentaxuser

nickandre · Jan 10, 2009

mrtoml said:
Well they should have given me 13 rolls in compensation. How they didn't notice that this was happening after the 1st roll in the batch I don't know.

They offered me one roll after a long argument - they claimed oil in my camera must have caused the black gunk (a practically new Mamiya 7ii). It then transpired that all the XP2 they had on the shelves was out of date.

Are you saying that the thinness is caused by weak chemistry and/or the black gunk?

I couldn't tell you what the black gunk is, but my first bet would not be the camera. I would say their fault.

If the DMAX is low it CANNOT be a result of the camera. They owe you film.

gr82bart · Jan 11, 2009

Name and location of the lab?

Regards, Art.

mrtoml · Jan 11, 2009

gr82bart said:
Name and location of the lab?

Regards, Art.

They are Photonew in Santiago, Chile. As far as I can tell they are the main place in Santiago (if not Chile) where you can get analogue/BW products and processing.

Ian Grant · Jan 11, 2009

I found a good store in Valparaiso, it sold enlargers, darkroom equipment & plenty of film etc but it was shut the Sunday I was there, and there's an arcade full of shops selling 35mm B&W films papers chemocals near the Catholic university in Santiago.

Ian

mrtoml · Jan 11, 2009

Ian Grant said:
I found a good store in Valparaiso, it sold enlargers, darkroom equipment & plenty of film etc but it was shut the Sunday I was there, and there's an arcade full of shops selling 35mm B&W films papers chemocals near the Catholic university in Santiago.

Ian

Thanks, Ian. Do any of these places in the arcade do processing?

JMC1969 · Jan 11, 2009

Have you tried to clean the black off yet? I still think it is from rollers in a roller transport processor. This may also explain why they did not catch the problem. They were all feed into the machine before the first one came out. They really should have compensated you equal to equal film as you can tell from the edge numbers that it is (with out a doubt) a processing problem. If it was a exposure problem the edge numbers would be black no matter what the image area looked like.

mrtoml · Jan 11, 2009

I'm just waiting for Ilford to reply before I do anything as Ian suggested. Then I will have a go at getting the gunk off.

mrtoml · Jan 13, 2009

mrtoml said:
I'm just waiting for Ilford to reply before I do anything as Ian suggested. Then I will have a go at getting the gunk off.

Have now had a reply from Simon Galley. If I am lucky the gunk will wash off, but the negatives might not make great prints.

Lab screwed up my XP2

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