Tiny white specks on negatives

<p>Last night, I processed a roll of 35mm Ilford Delta 400 in HC110 Dilution B..Kodak stop bath and Ilford Rapid fixer..1:3 for 3 minutes. Then in Kodak Photo Flo and washed in one gallon of distilled water..appox. 12 rapid tank fills/emptys. All chemicals and washes were made in 68 degree distilled water. After the film dried, I found a number of tiny white spots..some in a linear pattern, a few in a random pattern across all my negatives. These spots seem to come from the developing process because they can be scraped off, with some care. I will try re-washing them and carefully try to rub the spots off when they are wet. This is a problem I have never run into before. Could it be the Photo Flo was too strong?..Maybe the Fixer?...the developer and fixer were new and freshly mixed..the stop and photo flo a year or more old. BTW..it was in a Nikor stainless steel 250 cc tank..<br /> Anyone else experienced this?...any guesses?.. Also..all the specks are on the backing, not emulsion side to the film...<br /> Thanks..<br /> Rich</p>

<p>Where did you hang the roll to dry? Did you squeegee it with fingers or something else? If the spots come off, then it's more likely they're from later in the process (after the fix). <br>

They could also be water spots from something in the water or from the photo flo. Usually, the wash method has a soak in photo flo as the last step, not before the washes. I use about 5 drops of straight photo flo in a 300ml tank for 35mm - I don't mix the photo flo with water ahead of time. <br>

Maybe something is growing in your photo flo?</p>

<p>Your Distilled water is how old? Did it come in Plastic or Glass? You clean your tanks with what and how? Yes i have.. Distilled water is a down the drain.... like Photo flo is the last step.... Develop Stop Wash in tap water.. Soak in distilled or filtered... Add Wash aid last then hang to dry.... I wish I could get distilled water as cheap as what you offered..</p>

<p>Ohh Also I use The Flow at about 1/2 what Kodak says.<br>

Dilution is so good and I mix it with Filtered water 5 micron I get at Walmart... </p>

 

<p>Actually, I did use photo-flo as the last step...the distilled h20 is dirt cheap here..comes in plastic jugs for about a half a buck a gallon..this water was a few months old. The specks seem sort of calcified, so I am guessing it is the photoflo...I do get a little sloppy when mixing it..sort of guessing how much to use..maybe I'll get some fresh photoflo, pay more attention to the concentration, and wash a bit more carefully. I don't use a squeegie or anything else to touch the wet film..I have been drying it in the same shower stall I have used for years. But, I am getting old and am losing a significant number of marbles...so , that may have something to do with it!</p>

<p>No you can't wash fixer out in it.. use it as a last rinse. before the photo Flo. Use tap water to wash..... Willille nillie like Americans or the Ilford method then a soak in The Distilled for a few Flo it then hang to dry....<br>

<br />I see we have a washing gap here. and It is 25 cents a gallon here for me but I don't advertise.... I still find my filter cheaper.... </p>

<p>I have 2 bottles of Kodak PhotoFlo that I have come across second hand. One is a 1 fl. oz. dark brown glass bottle, the other is a 2 fl. oz. opaque plastic bottle. Both have been kept tightly capped, have no sediment in the bottom of the bottle, and work as good as fresh bottles I have used up.</p>

<p>Give that shower ceiling a fresh coat of paint and look for that misplaced shoulder separator while the paint is drying then process some more film once you find the shoulder separator and the paint has dried.<br>

:D</p>

<p>You know i smoke use a dark bag and listen to Rock music, I also use generic Flo... though it it is made by Eastman Chemical under another name. I see your problem... it is improper washing.. Use all the distilled water you want but you need to wash it properly first drying is not your problem you have blooming from the gel and that is improper washing.</p>

<p>12 fills and dumps should be sufficient. I do ten rapid inversions and several violent tank shakes per fill. I also let let the film soak for a minute of two a couple of times during the process. Without photos of the white spots I'm thinking it's probably dust? </p>

<p>Hint. I hang my films in a spare bathroom. I take a plastic spray bottle set to mist and spray the room down before hanging. The fine mist droplets do a good job taking any dust out of the air. I'm at the point where I do near zero spotting on my scans. </p>

<p>BTW as mentioned in other comments tap water is fine for rinsing. Do use distilled for your photo flow. </p>

<p>Sigh.. I guess it was not enough.</p>

<p>How old is your fixer? I've just had to dump some fixer because of age and hot weather. It had turned pale yellow, stank of sulphur and was full of particulates. Do you re-use your stop and fixer? Do you filter them at intervals to remove particles? Re. washing - I recommend the Ilford Method but I add a further step of 40 inversions just to make sure.</p>

<p>After a bad bout of dust on my 5x4 film, I spent nearly a year experimenting, changing one thing at a time, to see what does, and what does not, effect spots on my film in my workflow. My workflow, not anyone else's. So YMMV.</p>

<p>I'll spare you the details. The results come down to pretty simple rules. First, I use all chemicals one shot. Developer, stop, fix, rinse, all one shot. Second, the only water that touches the film or the equipment is steam distilled. So everything gets mixed in distilled water, and the film and equipment that touches the film is rinsed in distilled water. Third (and this only applies to sheet film users), my film holders only live in three places: In my hand, in the camera, or in a zip locked anti-static bag. In other words, I never set down an unprotected holder. On anything. Ever.</p>

<p>Adherence to these three rules reduced my spotting times by at least 95%. Make of that what you will.</p>

<p>Old chemicals can often precipitate particles of stuff. Incompletely mixed dry chemicals can have particles that haven't gone into solution. Old solutions may have accumulated dust etc.</p>

<p>There are lots of ways bits and pieces can get into the process.</p>

<p>I think I may have found another source for specks on film -- the other day I complained to my processor about specks on my negatives. They insisted that it wasn't them, and when I had another roll (XP2) done in the same developing machine, same chemicals, etc. it was absolutely clean.</p>

<p>The first film was Walgreen's and I'm beginning to wonder if the contamination was in the film cartridge/film rather than in the developing? </p>

<p>Anyhow, I think I'll stick to the higher priced mainline brands for a while and see how that turns out.....</p>

<p>Thanks, guys...some good information here. I am thinking that the culprit is in insufficient washing..I think I will continue to wash in distilled...2 gallons instead on one..and let it soak for a while both in the wash and in the photoflo. It does not seem to be a dust problem because the specks are hard..kind of calcified...like hard water would leave, but, nothing but distilled has touched my film. I wonder if I got a bad bottle of distilled....unlikely, but, I suppose, possible.</p>