dark spots on xp2 film

Hi there,

I have just returned from a 4 month trip in South America and have processed one of my ilford xp2

rolls of film. Much to my horror it came out with a consistent dark spotting pattern on the scans of the

negs. The lab tested their processing machine and it did not do this with other film. They also tried

doing a high res scan and that also produced the dark spots. With a closer look, the spots are on the

negatives. Does anyone know what might have caused this? I may have passed the film through an x-

ray machine a couple of times and the film may have been in a hot vehicle from time to time. I have 14

other rolls to process that are the same batch of film. I am afraid that they may all have this problem. I

have posted a couple of examples. Any advice would really be appreciated. It is a real sinking feeling to

think that photos from your entire trip may be damaged...<div></div>

hi mel,

i used to shoot with xp2 a fair bit. i nitice that the above scan is a black and white rendition rather that the sepia, which is the norm for xp2. are those marks coming up in sepia scans as well?

If they are sharp flecks, it is unfiltered overused fix.

If they have soft edges, I have no idea as I have never seen this before.

Always buy film in batches and test before use. Never send it in all at one time.

I would try a second roll at a different lab.

You can also send a cheap roll of color neg back to the first and see what happens.

Then I have to admit I have never seen anything like it.

Make sure the front and rear lens glass is reasonably clean.

It almost looks as if something got sprayed on the film somewhere and I would bet on the processor.

Send one other roll somwhere else.

Looks like contaminated C-41 stabilizer. I saw something like this years ago when I was working at a minilab. Someone dumped the wrong chemical in the stabilizer tank and this bizarre slime appeared that looked like Algae. I have no idea if this is what happened. I was able to remove it from the film by re-washing and soaking in Photo Flo. Try rubbing the film GENTLY with your fingertips moistened in Photo Flo. It worked for me.....

Definitely try another lab. I wish you the best of luck!