Sudden Pinholes!

[rootberry]

I've been using efke pl 100 for years now in 8x10. I bought 4 boxes of 50 sheets and only had a problem with the first few because I used stop bath. When I switched to a water stop in the jobo, I haven't had a problem since. All of a sudden, 90% of the way through the 3rd box, I'm getting pinholes!! I use the exact same processing procedure as I always have:
Jobo, Pyrocat- HD, water stop, TF4, 30min wash.

Does anyone have any experience with this? I spent a lot on this film and I would really hate to have to junk it because the emulsion is either defective or going bad!

Cheers

 

[Photo Engineer]

Likely, the problem was not the stop in the first place. It could be coating defects. Are you using a prewet? That will usually help, but if it does not, you may want to look into coating problems.

Stop is very very seldom the cause of pinholes. I wish I could dispel this myth. If there is a problem with stop, it usually causes blisters during processing which then dry down to a fish scale type appearance in the final film or paper. And, if stop causes a problem, it is usually due to extremely soft film or paper (a coating defect IMHO) and a developer that contains carbonate.

PE

 

[rootberry]

I do use a 2min presoak. The pinholes have increased density around them

 

[Travis Nunn]

Others may love Efke, but I stopped using their films because it seem like there were 2 or 3 frames on every roll of 120 that had an emulsion defect of some sort. I can't think of any of my Fuji, Kodak or Ilford ever having emulsion defects.

 

[rootberry]

Others may love Efke, but I stopped using their films because it seem like there were 2 or 3 frames on every roll of 120 that had an emulsion defect of some sort. I can't think of any of my Fuji, Kodak or Ilford ever having emulsion defects.

Yeah, I know what you mean. If there are emulsion defects, what can I do, I bought the film years ago? ~$120 for a box, what a bummer!