Gray Specs on Final Prints

[gmc]

Could anyone tell me what these specs are in my final print? I?ve

attached an example of what I?m talking about. It?s most noticeable

in windows and street in front of the museum. These specs are

throughout all the pictures that I took yesterday. I?m new to film

developing and haven?t run across this yet. I?ve had good results up

to this point. Here?s the process in which it was developed:

- Xtol (1:1 with 100ml stock) for 7 ? mins. @ 20 C.

- Stopped with Ilfostop, 15 secs @20 C.

- Fixed for 5 mins. @ 20 C. with Kodak Fixer

- Prints developed in Dektol @ 20 C. 1 min.

- Same Stop method

- Fixed for 2 mins. 20 C. (I keep film & print fixer separate)

 

T.I.A.

gmc<div></div>

[__stu_evans]

Air bells. The film tank could use a whack or three when first loaded with developer - the goal being dislodging the bubbles. An aggressive first agitation wouldn't hurt.

[ronald_moravec1]

Make sure these are not from your enlarger. If on the film, they are chemical residue. If on the base side, most likely will wash off. If on the emulsion side, probably will not come out. Try rubbing the base with a wet q tip lightly to see if rewash would help.

 

The residue is from something splashing or poor washing. Watch the next roll after fixing to see when the spots appear in the process.

 

Rereading your question causes me to ask if these are on the negative or just on the print. Look at the negs using your enlarging lens as a loupe.

[silent1]

The halo around the spots suggests to me that they might also be pinholes in the emulsion. This isn't something I'd expect from XTOL, which uses a borax or metaborate alkali, but it can be caused by film defects as well, essentially holes that existed prior to development (there have been reports of similar problems with Fomapan). Pinholes are a common problem when a carbonate alkali developer is used with a strong acid stop bath; the halo around the hole is an area of increased density where the gelatin has contracted to open the hole, and brought any silver grains present closer together in the process.

 

I've also seen spots like this when developer wasn't fully mixed; the alkali wasn't completely dissolved, and places where tiny grains of alkali landed on the film overdeveloped; this could produce a halo around that location, due to local exhaustion of the developing agent (same mechanism as edge effects that enhance acutance). With XTOL, I'd suggest letting the mixed stock solution stand for at least 24 hours before diluting, and verifying that the solution is completely clear, with no turbidity or floating crystals. I've seen a sodium carbonate solution that seemed fully mixed but was cloudy; continued stirring and standing caused it to clear completely after around 10 minutes (though it would surely have taken longer with a stronger solution) -- and using the solution while cloudy could be exactly what causes those spots.