What did I do wrong?

When I pulled my most recent roll of Delta 3200 out of the cannister, it was completely blank - even the leader. There were no manufacturers marks on the edges. Just completely clear as if every square inch of the roll had not been exposed.

I used DD-X, 1:4. Temperature was 64 f, so I added 2 minutes to processing per the chart. Developer concentrate bottle has been open only a couple of months, stored in the fridge, brought to room temp and mixed just before use. It was nice purple when I dumped it.

??

Would fixer have cone out of the developing cannister purple if poured in first?

Yes, as it would have acted like a wash and removed the purple. No markings, even the edge usually means fixer went in (a mistake we have all made).

I'll have to check my fixer concentrate bottle tonight. It should be pretty full as I have only mixed about a liter out of it. If it's low then I must have grabbed it instead of the DD-X.

This really had me stumped.

Thanks!

The edge codes are imprinted at the factory. If they don't show up that means that fixer was applied before the latent image was developed, thus removing all the silver bromide before it had a chance to form an image.

That means that either your developer was spent or you accidentally swapped your developer and your fixer.

In the last couple of weeks I have been acting as a lab monitor for the photo teacher at the college where I work. (Free run of the darkroom and free chemistry in exchange for keeping the place clean and keeping the kiddies in line... Sweet deal for me. ) Anyhow, in every group of new students I have met, at least one of them accidentally swaps the fixer and the developer. In this case, I KNOW the developer is good because I mixed the batch myself and I just souped a roll, not an hour earlier. The only other answer is that the chemistry got mixed up.

Anyhow, I know very few people who haven't pulled that stunt at least once but it's also something that most people only ever do once. (Myself included!)

My solution is to dole out the chemistry I need before I start, keep them in marked containers and always stand the containers in a row in order of use.

In my home darkroom, I have glass measuring cups with handles. I used one of those paint markers to write "D - S - F - H" on each cup. "D" for developer, "S" for stop wash and so on.

In the college darkroom, I have a sheet of peel-off labels with my name printed on them. I stick them on all of my stuff so it doesn't get mixed up with everybody else's. I stick labels on each beaker and I use a Sharpie marker and write "D-S-F-H" on the appropriate label.

Yes, the photo lab is a great place for us O.C.D. people to work!

I don't think I have ever switched developer and fixer, probably because the last thing I prepare is the developer, so it is unoxydized and at the right temperature. After mixing (diluting, whatever - everything I do is 1-shot) it goes straight into the tank and the clock is started.

It's probably non active developer if no manufacturer imprint on the film. Perhaps try another roll. I know for a fact DDX has quite a long shelf life. Did you notice the colour of the developer before going into the tank ? It should be water clear .

I my 30+ years of photography I have never accidently switched the dev for fixer -- until a couple months ago! LOL!

It does happen to our students every once in a while -- a good learning lesson. The lesson is really hammered in! I see a lot more rolls that were never exposed -- not loaded properly into their cameras.

Vaughn

PS...the developer would have to be almost black with age before the film would come out totally blank.

IT WAS FIXER!

I checked in the fridge last night and the fixer concentrate bottle is almost empty and just happens to be sitting front of the developer concentrate bottle. Amazing. I had that bottle in my hand 10 times over 2 days after bringing it out to warm up, all the time thinking it was developer. This included mixing it with distilled water just before using it. Oh, and this is the clearly labeled Ilford bottle that it came in from the store, not some brown storage thing of my own. I must be going blind.

Thanks to all of you for your help. The people at the camera store couldn't figure it out, but the first reply in this thread came within 15 minutes of the original post. I love APUG.

Don't refrigerate developer and fixer

pbromaghin said:

IT WAS FIXER!

I checked in the fridge last night and the fixer concentrate bottle is almost empty and just happens to be sitting front of the developer concentrate bottle. Amazing. I had that bottle in my hand 10 times over 2 days after bringing it out to warm up, all the time thinking it was developer. This included mixing it with distilled water just before using it. Oh, and this is the clearly labeled Ilford bottle that it came in from the store, not some brown storage thing of my own. I must be going blind.

Thanks to all of you for your help. The people at the camera store couldn't figure it out, but the first reply in this thread came within 15 minutes of the original post. I love APUG.

Click to expand...

You keep your liquid developer and fixer in the refrigerator?

That's not a good idea, unless the only alternative is a location that is far too warm.

Room temperature is a much better idea.

MattKing said:

You keep your liquid developer and fixer in the refrigerator?

That's not a good idea, unless the only alternative is a location that is far too warm.

Room temperature is a much better idea.

Click to expand...

How so?

Components of developers and fixers do not "spoil" but will lose activity due to oxidation. For example the half full container of developer is also half full of air which is about 1/5 oxygen. The oxygen will chemically combine with the compounds in the processing chemicals and alter the chemicals. Temperature makes little difference. Some chemicals can come out of solution at lower temperatures and can be difficult to re-dissolve. Storage at room temperature is generally considered a better idea. Always follow the manufacturer's directions for storage to obtain the best results. I am not aware of any manufacturer that recommends refrigerated storage.

I wouldn't refrigerate because of a few reasons:

- There doesn't seem to be an advantage gained.
- Chance of chemicals getting on or near food.
- Would have to wait for it to reach room temp for development. (I usually get an urge to develop rather than organize my time)
- Fridge real estate is valuable....like for beer.

Just my thoughts.

Refrigerating slows down the oxidation considerably, but usually this is not needed as they keep "well enough" in room temp. You have to use squeezeable bottles so you can get all of the air out. In case you cannot do that for some reason and cannot fix that reason, or need extreme life, the refrigerator can help substantially, but cannot be guaranteed to help due to the lack of experience and information.

I have ran a controlled test where I noticed a huge benefit refrigerating XTOL at 4 degC, but that's about it. I can say that XTOL in a half full, non-squeezed bottle in the fridge kept as well or better than XTOL in a full, squeezed bottle at room temp (23 C); whereas a similarly half full bottle at room temp kept poorly. The difference was about four-fold, which was to be expected by the "general" rule that a difference of 10 deg.C doubles the rate of many chemical reactions. But, I cannot say much more and I know this is a rare subject, as most people have better use for their fridges.

There is a risk of precipitation in the refrigerator, especially with concentrates. I have had no problems. But, at least make sure they don't freeze.

BTW, the original question is maybe a second most frequently asked question, after "milky negs". Fixing instead of developing is maybe the only error that is really "game over" quickly. It is surprisingly common, because of the style of instructions given to beginners; buy nice bottles that look the same, put them in a nice row on your table next to each other, etc. etc.. Instead, if you start looking for your fixer bottle somewhere during the stop bath, you cannot go wrong that easily !

The instructions for my E-6 baths tell me that chemistry should not be preserved below 13 °C and I comply with that.

Personally, my development flask is opaque black while all other flasks are semi-transparent white.
The white flasks are marked with the bath number (2, 3, 4 etc.) on the shoulder so that the numbers are visible also when the flasks are inside the Jobo.

I always prepare the baths in the same flasks, e.g. the colour developer always goes in the flask marked with 3.

I never swapped baths by mistake so far, although I certainly made a couple of roll-spoiling mistakes myself already.

Fabrizio

I store both E6 and C-41 opened concentrates and diluted solutions in the fridge at 4 deg C with no problems. I agree that the instructions usually talk about 10 C or 13 C and thus I won't recommend my procedure blindly. However, I have already noticed that those small bottles containing CD-4 in Fujihunt C-41 kits, being impossible to squeeze, keep very well refrigerated but go bad too quickly at room temperature. So, IMO, refrigerating chemicals can be an extra insurance against oxidation. I have found that the risk that they would go bad due to too low temperature is lower than going bad because of oxidation. I haven't seen any precipitation problems yet, but if I do, it is very probable that just warming them up fixes the problem.

OTOH, there were mixed reports about freezing E6 chemicals. One guy here suggested the procedure but it ruined the chemicals for somebody other.

You fixed the film prior to putting it in the developer. It is pretty much the only explanation for a piece of film that comes out 100 percent blank. Even with old developer, you should get something on the film, however faint.

Fixing instead of developing is probably the only mistake I have never made. All my chems are well labeled, and I use dedicated beakers to dispense the chems during processing. I also line them up in relation to procedure. The last stupid mistake I made was pouring developer into a bottle of fixer, a long time ago.