weird teardrop spot

[Photo Engineer]

Film that is refrigerated can undergo condensation if the seal is broken and the film is opened before it warms up.

PE

 

[greybeard]

Hmmm...you mentioned at one point that the mark/stain/deposit or whatever is on the "shiny" side of the film; presumably the non-emulsion side. If so, it can hardly be a chemical stain due to developer or stop bath, and just about has to be some sort of deposit.

It would seem that anything in the water concentrated enough to make a localized deposit would do it in more than just one or two spots; have you examined the edges which were lowest when the film was drying? Hard water problems should show up there first, and the the "drip edge" is clean you might want to look for some source of localized contamination (such as splash from washing the tanks if the film is hung near the sink).

 

[LisaU]

Thank you PE and Greybeard. I have a session tomorrow so I packed the film tonight. I'll see if that helps. Yes, the stain is on the non emulsion side and I now don't think it's a hardwater stain because the drip's widest point, when hung, is on the top so that the drip looks like it's pointing downward. I also dry my film in a drying cabinet on the otherside of my darkroom (not plugged in). So it is safe while in there. Here is a shot of my darkroom if that's of any help. By they way, I know that my enlarger is too close to my sink, I am careful around both.

 

[Monophoto]

Yes, the stain is on the non emulsion side and I now don't think it's a hardwater stain because the drip's widest point, when hung, is on the top so that the drip looks like it's pointing downward.

Lisa - I thing your conclusion is correct - the stain is not related to anything you are doing in your darkroom.

Years ago, I experienced a similar problem on bulk-loaded TMY - a stain on the non-emulsion side and appeared to be oily. I never found the cause.

In another instance, I had some strange black thingies that stuck to the emulsion side of the film. Clearly not dust or lint, and looked a bit like it could have been microscopic threads caused by a dull tool when the film was slit to width.

I also had a couple of bulk rolls that had a wierd blue cast (totally different from the magenta cast caused by incomplete fixing). I processed the film in two different darkrooms, and with totally different chemistries, and got the same result. Again, I never found a cause.

A conclusion is that the old adage "make one to print and one to scratch" really makes sense - always make at least two negatives of each scene as insurance against some kind of unanticipated problem.

If life didn't occasionally have a few mysteries, it would be awfully boring.