VERY odd paper behavior - Ilford MG Fiber Glossy strange issue (attn Simon Galley)

[RalphLambrecht]

From the picture of the photograph which we have seen, the print damage appears to consist of blank areas on the print.

Therefore either those areas . . .
a) are not developed,
b) or they received massively less exposure,
c) or there is no sensitive emulsion on parts of the paper (caused either before, or during or after the processing??),
d) or some combination of the above,
e) or ??? Any other possible causes anyone can think of ???

Do a "Sherlock Holmes" to confirm or deny each possibility and you will have the result.

At least some of the red, low-wattage, decorative LED bulbs are paper-safe (I have a couple myself). They are also cheap enough to try a couple and test them on their own, in a corner of your darkroom with the other lights off - if they work adequately, then you have a useful and long-lived alternative safelight bulb. Note that not all papers are actually safe under an amber safelight so for a group darkroom, with almost any possible choice of material used from day to day, it will be better to choose a red light or filter - even though the illumination is a bit less "bright".

I agreeand switched to red myself adter noticing that some East European papers didn't like amber. It didn't take too long to get used to the dimmer red lightbut I still recommend a safelight test to be sure.

 

[Rick A]

I've been using #2 red safe lights with 15 watt bulbs since the 60's and swear by them. Yes, OC (amber) is easier to see by, but IMO red is safest. Like Ralph states, several papers I use do not like OC safe lights and fog nearly immediately from exposure to them.

 

[TheFlyingCamera]

Having seen the original prints, THIS problem is not a safelight problem. If it were safelight-induced fogging, the splotches would be black or gray, not white. The paper has a funky scum on it that feels like fixer residue. My original comment to Sora (who asked me to bring this problem to the forum) was that it looked (and felt) like some kind of chemical contamination. I think consensus here bears that out.

 

[MartinP]

The safelight question was introduced as a secondary topic in post-17 and is not really a likely candidate for the 'patchy' print. As you say, an ineffective safelight will add exposure - the opposite of the effect seen here.

In post-25, the possibility of the pack of paper having been dropped all over the floor and then tidied up back in to it's plastic bag and carton was suggested. That does fit the scenario quite closely. Worth some specific questions to the students perhaps?

 

[cliveh]

I agreeand switched to red myself adter noticing that some East European papers didn't like amber. It didn't take too long to get used to the dimmer red lightbut I still recommend a safelight test to be sure.

I have always used red as it seems to be safe.