Thin Emulsion

[jsmithphoto1]

Hey guys! I was just wondering... is it possible to introduce more silver halide to an emulsion that I may or may not have washed too long??? I was exposing some plates and noticed that no matter how long, seriously, LONG, I exposed them for, they still were too thin. I tried 30 seconds, then a little over a minute, then for over 3 minutes. I understand that emulsion is slow, so please don't reiterate on that topic. I just don't want it to be a dud because this is disheartening and not cheap!

Could I just salt the emulsion already applied to a plate and treat it as one would POP, rather under the enlarger? NaCl + AgNO3 or other salts?

I'm curious and somewhat frustrated. I haven't tried it on paper yet, just plates. Thanks!

 

[Photo Engineer]

Your emulsion is probably too dilute. You can use an intensifier to get more density in some cases.

PE

 

[jsmithphoto1]

Thank you! That never crossed my mind, and in hindsight, it feels as though I washed it too much. Instinct, right? Next batch I will not wash near as long. Have you had a good New Year so far? I have seen that Osterman stated the workshops have sold out or are filling up unusually fast this year! Such a great sign of things to come!

 

[dwross]

Jamison:

It is very hard to "over-wash" emulsion. The worst likely result is a bit of fog or slightly reduced contrast -- one reason a teeny, tiny bit of KBr is often added in the finals. What is most likely is that you left too much water in the noodles. You have to really wring those puppies dry. That, and/or adding extra gelatin after washing. Coating temperature also influences the final emulsion thickness, which in turn influences density.

You might have luck with my modification of AJ12, here: http://www.thelightfarm.com/cgi-bin/htmltutgen.py?content=08Mar2013 . I've taken into consideration smaller batches and some of the bugaboos involved with the original formulation. The KBr recipe is followed by my ammonium bromide modification.

In addition, my book (free to read in Blurb preview: http://www.blurb.com/books/6465389-the-light-farm) has the modified recipe. I call it "AmBr." I'm starting to see it pop up all over the place, almost always without attribution. The good news there is that it must be a successful recipe.

Best of luck, d