Remjet stains on ECN-2-developed film

[Pseudodionizy]

Recently I had my lab develop a roll of Kodak Vision3 500T for me, and when I started to scan it, I noticed dark stains on the negative, light in the inverted pictures. I'm attaching two examples. I contacted the lab and they told me that it could happen if the film was old or stored in not-ideal conditions (that's fair enough, I had the film inside the camera for about two months). I'm wondering though, are the stains just remjet remains that I could try to wash off, or have these remains affected the development in these areas so it can't be fixed anymore? Thanks.

 

[Dr. no]

That could be remjet...look at the negs, are there streaks or hazy patches on either side (especially non-emulsion side)? They look like drying residue to me, from hard water or something left on the film. If you see anything, you can rub the shiny side with a lens cloth, after blowing damp breath on it.

Did you tell them it was not regular C41 film? Did they do anything to remove remjet? They may not be happy with getting that into their C41 brew.

 

[Spektrum]

The problem is with the lab, and this is probably bad news for you, as there are few labs in Poland that process ECN2.
They don't do it automatically, but manually in tanks.
If it were a regular C-41 lab, you'd probably get a huge scolding instead of polite replies.

The remjet isn't on the emulsion side, so it doesn't affect development.
Removing it might be a problem, but not after the film has been in the camera for two months. This is more likely to be the case with films that are many years out of date.
However, I don't recommend keeping the ECN2 film in the camera for several months, as these films weren't designed to wait long for development after exposure.

If these are remnants of the remjet, it means that the guys from the lab didn't do a good job and removed it carelessly.
But in your case, similarly to @Dr. no I see rather streaks after the final bath. This means the lab did it carelessly.

If I were you, I'd rinse the film again.
If you don't have Kodak Photo-Flo or the even cheaper Czech Fotonal, simply use dishwasher rinse aid (regular, clear, unscented).
A few drops per liter of warm water (preferably distilled or demineralized). Rinse the film again in this bath. Be careful not to scratch the emulsion.
Then hang the film and run two wet fingers from top to bottom. Gently, being careful with the emulsion.
This should solve your problem.

 

[Pseudodionizy]

Thanks for your replies so far. Yeah, I did tell them the film needs ECN2 development. I think it's remjet because the stains sometimes have dark bits in them, and I think they were only on one side of the negative. I'm glad to hear it didn't affect development, so I hope I can clean it off and get good quality negatives still. If it's remjet, I'm wondering though if I should use wetting agent like Fotonal or maybe something more akin to the solution used to remove remjet in the ECN2 process.

That's a shame that the lab doesn't bother to do it properly though.

I've had good experience with Vision films with the remjet removed by the seller, but I know it's not meant to stay for long inside a camera this way. That's why I bought the ECN2 versions, to be able to use them for longer, but I see now it's not as convenient as I hoped. This seller I bought from now sells the new AHU versions of the Vision films though, so maybe I'll give these ones a try instead.

 

[Spektrum]

If it's a remjet, you can remove it using baking soda (PL:"Soda Oczyszczona").
As I mentioned earlier, first soak the film in something similar to Photo-Flo.
Then use a very soft microfiber glasses cleaning cloth. Soak it in a solution of water and baking soda and wipe the non-emulsion side of film.
You'll see black marks on the cloth if it is really a remjet.
Rinse the cloth frequently in the solution and wipe until the remjet no longer stains.
Then soak the film in Photo-Flo again. Finally, hang it up and use your fingers (as I mentioned in the previous post) to remove remaining final wash.

All Kodak Vision films are designed for processing in the ECN2 process. It doesn't matter if remjet was removed by someone who rebranded them or the latest AHU ones.

Even if you see C-41 on the retailer's packaging and you are sure it is Kodak Vision film, it means the only process that works best for it is ECN2.
So you have CD-3 agent in the developer, not CD-4 as in C-41

All Kodak Vision films are designed to be exposed and then developed quickly.
That's how it works in cinematography, and if you want to use these films for photography and get good results, you have to follow this..

Theoretically, you can give yourself a little more time if you freeze the film, but would you want to put the camera with the film in the freezer?

The point is that quite quickly after exposure the image disappears or becomes corrupted.