RattyMouse
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Not in the same location on all frames. The location can be anywhere on the frame but the pattern is always a line, many many dots in a line that move anywhere on the frame.
If it is in the same location on each frame perhaps it could be something associated contamination before such as when removing the film from the cassette or placing the film on the reels. You can usually see water marks looking at the film on an angle. Besides the suggestions already given have you tried an emulsion cleaner on one of the negatives?
http://www.jeffreyglasser.com/
a lot of people use too much photo flo, and use it wrong .. no clue if this is the case or not but
i was always taught after the film was thoroughly washed fill the film tank up with water almost to the top
put a couple of DROPS of photo flo in the tank
raise and lower the film in the photo flow then bang the tank ( as you would in the beginning of the development cycle to get rid of bubbles )
then gently pour water on top of one edge of the tank to have the foam wash away .. then pull the film out and hang it ...
sometimes misuse of photo flo or other wetting agents, lead to weird stuff being left on the film ...
i'd put the film in water ..
let the emulsion get nice and swollen and see if the white stuff washes off ..
then fill a tray with clean water and a few drops of photo flo and holding the film by a corner .. run it through and hang it someplace dust free
I had a very similar problem many years ago.
I finally sorted it when I stopped shaking the reels with the film in them.
I now and have done for many years done the following.
I half fill a large jug with water and wetting agent and drop the reel with film into the jug after the final rinse. Give it a swish round for a minute or so then split the reel and drop the film into the jug, puling one end from the jug and fixing a clip then pulling the film up from the jug and fixing the clip to the hook and then putting clip on the bottom, or just grab the end of the film while it is on the reel, fix a clip and hang that one on the hook and unroll the film grabbing the end and fixing a clip and letting it hang.
I then decant some of the fluid from the jug into a wash bottle and give the front and back of the film a good squirt at the top on both sides so it runs all the way down taking bubbles or suds, if any, off the film.
The row of dots looks like a large drop of water breaking into smaller drops on the film as it is shaken, well that was my conclusion and whether it is correct or not the method I use above causes me no problems with drying marks.
Regards...W
good luck with that !Kodak recommends a 0.5% photoflo concentration. I use a lot more than a few drops but slightly less than 0.5%.
I think you are onto something with your observation. I do shake my film reels very hard once removed from the final Photoflow wash. It makes logical sense than these tiny dots are dispersed throughout the film by the force of this strong shaking. Thank you very much. I'll not do that the next time I develop film.
Drying marks. Use distilled water for your final rinse mixed with a wetting agent. I get best results with Edwalds. Shake off as much as possible before removing the film from reel and hanging to dry.
Try it both ways and judge the results.Your advice contradicts most who have replied to me. I did shake off as much water as possible and these are the results I got.
Yes if you shake the reels after photo flo you are removing the very thing you want on your film when you hang it to dry.
Shake off as much as possible before removing the film from reel and hanging to dry
its not supposed
to be something to soak film in, its supposed to be the finishing touch, a quick dip to
help the water get off the film a little faster.
Different idea: air bubbles which formed at the beginning of the stop bath enabling prolonged development?
I concur about the marks being drying marks, but not with some of the advice given. Too much hearsay, misinformation and speculation.
Whatever wetting agent you use (Photo Flo or Edwal, etc.), it's function is to break up the surface tension of water, preventing the formation of droplets. Proper dilution of the surfactant ensures this is accomplished without leaving excess surfactant around to make marks on your film. Use the manufacturers' recommended dilution or a little weaker, if a weaker dilution sheets well and prevents formation of droplets (this is an easy visual check).
If your water has dissolved minerals in it, you need to get these out of the emulsion before or during your final rinse with the wetting agent. Distilled water is your friend. Soak the film in distilled water for several minutes (3-5 is my preference) to ensure that the level of dissolved minerals in the emulsion is low enough not to cause deposits on the film when dry. The more mineral-laden your water, the longer you'll need to soak. Don't reuse this bath for more that a session (or less if you've got a lot of film per session).
FWIW, I use a distilled water/wetting agent solution for my final rinse. I leave the film in for five minutes or more, with gentle agitation. I have never, in more that 30 years, experienced a problem attributable to letting "the film just sit in any surfactant for a long time." Film is just emulsion on a waterproof base; in 30 seconds or so, the emulsion is saturated with whatever solution in happens to be in contact with. A longer time in the solution then makes no difference regarding the amount of chemistry present in the emulsion itself. However, if there are dissolved minerals, etc. in the emulsion from earlier solutions mixed with tap water, they will leach out into a solution with fewer or no dissolved minerals.
There seems to be a general reluctance to squeegee film here. Shaking, spinning or doing nothing whatsoever seem to be preferred. Certainly, if you've mixed your wetting agent correctly, it should sheet up and run off the film by itself over time. That said, puddles of wetting agent can accumulate around sprocket holes and on film edges (and on the film surface if you've not got a correct dilution of surfactant) causing accumulation of the surfactant itself after the water evaporates and thereby leaving marks/spots/streaks. When I shot roll film, a gentle squeegee between two clean fingers dipped into the wetting agent first removed excess liquid, prevented marks and sped drying. With 4x5 sheet film, I use two swipes between two fingers. Prints get a quick squeegee with a (new and clean) windshield wiper blade. Never a scratch. Film processing machines have squeegees built in that work just fine when clean; why is it that we are hesitant to squeegee our own film then?
I recommend that the OP do the following (since the film is on plastic reels): Use a penultimate distilled/demineralized water bath where the film sits and soaks for 3-5 minutes. Then remove the film from the reels and gently see-saw it through a deep tray of wetting agent (mixed with distilled water and at the proper dilution), taking care not the scratch the film on the tray. After 30 seconds or so of this, squeegee the film gently between two wet fingers along its entire length with one swipe. Hang to dry in a dust free place. With stainless steel reels I simply put the film on the reel in the wetting agent. Plastic reels seem to have some issues with film contact and with residue, hence the suggestion to remove the film from the reel.
Best,
Doremus
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