Is my developer dead ?

[koh_boonwei]

Hi all,

 

i just exposed ard 8 shots one by one but all turn out clear after

developing in ilfosol 1:9 20deg 10mins and hypam fix 6 mins then wash.

i checked all my film loading procedure and they matched paul Butzi

website tutorial on film loading,i inserted the film holder in and

even detach the bellow to check the film is in place.But still the

film turn out clear,nothing at all just like a piece of transparency.

i suspect it is the developer problem and throw a piece of unexposed

sheet opened in the light into the developing tray and start

agitating,But the sheet film(Tmax400) remain to be purple in color

after 8mins of agitation in the light.

Are exposed film supposed to purple after developing ?i believe they

should turn black after developing,right?

If so,does dat means my developer is dead ?

I just develop a roll of ilford 120 last week with the same bottle of

ilfosol without any problem.

What could be the cause of it?

Or should i get a bottle of D76 to develop the 4x5 Tmax400 film ?

 

Thank you~!

Boonwei

[User_503771]

If you're throwing film into the developer in room light and the film isn't turning black, then you have a problem with your developer.

 

It sounds like there's *no* developer in that tray!

 

The purple color is probably the anti-halation dye in the film. You can use a water bath before developing to get rid of a lot of it, but it doesn't interfere with development. Most of it should wash out either way.

[thirteenthumbs]

You did not state if you are using a stock solution or if you are mixing 1 shot batch from concentrate. http://www.ilford.com/html/us_english/homeng.html

states that concentrate in partially filled bottles keeps for 4 months. Write dates on stock solution bottles when mixed and on concentrate bottles when opened.

[Troll]

Your developer is probably bad, but remember that it is very common for even the most experienced darkroom worker to occasionally mix up the developer tray/bottle with the fixer tray/bottle, and put the film into the FIXER FIRST by accident. You can tell them apart by feel: just rub a drop of it between your thumb and index finger; the developer is slightly slick, and the fixer is slightly sticky.

[david_ditzel3]

If the film is clear but the manufacturers name is visible on the edge of the film after developing then the problem was in the exposure. If there is no edge printing on the film then your problem was in developement. Test your developer by developing a piece of film in white light, 35mm film leader works good for this. If the film comes out black then your developer is fine.

[Troll]

David, he already tried that (read the whole post).

[frank.schifano]

Sheet film does not usually have anything marked in the rebate. It is identified by the code notches in the upper right hand corner of the film with the emulsion facing you. The man's developer is probably shot. Should he use D-76? Probably not. I'd recommend XTOL instead, as it seems to work a bit better with TMax emulsions than D-76. All the usual caveats about storage apply.

[david_ditzel3]

An interesting thing about the manufacturers edge printing on sheet film that I never noticed is that the color transparency films from Kodak and Fuji (EPP & RDP) have edge printing in addition to the coded notches. The little bit of b & W sheet film (HP5)I have exposed does not have any edge printing. Who would have thunk it? You learn something new everyday.