Stains on negatives

[Itamar.a.mor]

Does anyone have any suggestions what to do with this? This is the first HP5+ I've used, and the whole length is covered in these specks. They are visible when you look closely, and scattered more densely at one end. I've tried cleaning the negative obviously, and to be honest am ready to give up on this roll, but wanted to see if anyone has any ideas. Also, is there any chance the film was faulty or this was an issue with developing rather than just some kind of dirt? Appreciate any advice.

 

[winger]

It looks to me like there was a massive amount of foaming and these are what you get when there are bubbles in the developer (aka air bells). Is your water sorta bubbly when you first run it from the sink? Did you tap the tank hard after agitating it each time? And especially at the beginning? You say this is your first roll of HP5+, but have you used the reel before? Could it have gotten photo-flo on it? Could there have been any photo-flo in the tank before you started?

 

[Kawaiithulhu]

That almost looks like it was splattered with a liquid either with something to retard chemistry before development or to strip developed areas like a bleach?

 

[Michael W]

Are the marks visible as being on the surface when you look at the shiny side of the film against the light? In that case it's water marks - perhaps your local water is hard or has a lot of minerals in it. In that case you can do future final soaks in distilled water to avoid this. If it's not water marks then I've no idea what caused it.

 

[Kevin Caulfield]

I agree with Bethe. If you had a little Photoflo or equivalent left over in the bottom of the tank, then when you poured in the developer, it could have created foaming.

 

[Xmas]

Use loope on negative to identify which side and if it is in emulsion or on emulsion.
Harman will tell an address to return film to for analysis.
Always keep carton until post processing.
If you invert only use enough liquid to cover reel.
If you use a daylight tank the manufacturers recommendation (maybe 190 mls. for Agfa)

 

[Ian Grant]

That's some kind of chemical contamination, probably at the developing stage.

You need to use fresh new developer, stop bath (or water rinse) and fixer, also make sure the tank is well cleaned before use.

Ian

 

[Itamar.a.mor]

I feel pretty stupid saying this but I tried just soaking the negatives in water and it seems to have cleaned the spots off them pretty well...I'll reprint tomorrow and share the results. In any case thanks for the responses and sorry for the waste of a thread

 

[Kevin Caulfield]

Not a waste. It's all learning and sharing. Keep us posted.

 

[Itamar.a.mor]

Here is a scan of the new print which looks fine. Thanks again for the advice.

 

[Doremus Scudder]

I feel pretty stupid saying this but I tried just soaking the negatives in water and it seems to have cleaned the spots off them pretty well...I'll reprint tomorrow and share the results. In any case thanks for the responses and sorry for the waste of a thread

Obiously, you had something semi-opaque on your negatives that was water-soluble enough to wash away. Good for you, but you should really examine your work-flow to find out how your negs got dirty in the first place. I'd be interested in knowing what the culprit was.

Doremus