processing Kodak Verichrome pan dated 1991

[janet cull]

I am processing a roll of Kodak Verichrome pan (b&w neg film) dated

06/91. I think it was frozen most of those years until the past few

months. How should I adjust processing time? I'm using d76

developer. Thank you.

[al_kaplan1]

I wouldn't bother adjusting the time with D-76. You'll most likely get a very printable negative.

[dean_williams]

Hi Janet;

<p>

I would just add about 25% to the standard developing time. Kodak gives a starting time of 7 min in D76 stock. I did a little test on some 45 year old VP. It was a very sturdy and forgiving emulsion. You can see my write up on it <a href="http://home.rmci.net/deanw/Verichrome_Pan_1.html">HERE.</a>

<p>

Let us know how it turns out.

<p>

Dean

[25asa]

Dean- I have some rolls dated 67 I was going to try this out on. Was your film cold stored? Also how long of exposures were you giving it- EI what exposure rating did you give it?

[dean_williams]

Scott;

<p>

It came with a bunch of old camera junk I got off ebay. It was just thrown in with some old filter rings and pc cords. I doubt it had been fridged, but no way to know for sure. I rated it at 50, figuring it would have lost some speed. Fog was fairly dense, but printed through just fine with about double "normal" enlarger times and one grade increase of contrast (#3). HC 110 may have helped keep the fog down a bit, but I didn't have any on hand. I used D76.

<p>

Dean

<p>

<a href="http://home.rmci.net/deanw/Old_Stuff.html">Old Stuff</a>

[janet cull]

Rats! I developed the film and included a roll of TMax 100 in the tank with it and they came out nearly blank looking. I guess my developer is exhausted? I hate that! Wish this box would allow me to use 3 exlamation marks to show my frustration.

 

There are no edge marks on the film. The TMax has very faint images but not enough to do anything with. The Verichrome shows nothing. They'd have been really nice images too...you know, the fish that got away? Aaaaagh!

 

Thanks, though. ~sigh~

[janet cull]

I used d76, stock solution, that was mixed up about 4 to 6 weeks ago. I store it in a brown jug in a cabinet. When I pour it out it's about 65 degrees. I "warmed" it to 68. Good grief! Should it go bad that quickly?

 

I definitely didn't fix the film first.

 

Thanks, Janet

[gaburdette]

Janet,

 

D76 should not go bad in less that two months. I pitched mine last month after about 10+ months half full. It was still active but I was getting concerned given how old it was. Considering how cheap it is I did not want to risk loosing a roll of film. What was your developing time for the film? Were you using the D76 as a one shot or were you trying to reuse the developer? If you have been reusing it then it very well may have been exhausted if you have run too many rolls through it.

 

Greg

[janet cull]

I was not reusing it. My developing time was 9 min. I added slightly more than Dean's recommended +25% developing time because I'm lately trying to remedy my flat negs.

 

I looked in the back of my Dataguide at the chart of developers and their expected life and I agree that this developer shouldn't have so quickly gone bad. I wonder what-in-the-world went wrong.

 

I do use well water and wonder if that has any affect on how the developer works. My bathtub gets a greenish place in it where the water drips. I guess that means it's got lots of iron? maybe hard? I've bought distilled water to use when I mix in the future but my last developer was mixed with tap water. Maybe that doesn't matter.

[dean_williams]

Since both of your films came out clear, or nearly clear, it points to the developer. If it had been only one roll of film, you wouldn't know weather it was the developer or the film. Almost any film should have pretty well defined images on it after 9 min in stock D76. There are some, but not many, powdered developers that will outlast D76 for storage. It will keep a long time. In your case, contamination comes to mind. A cup of stop or acid based fixer in a jug of developer will reduce activity to nil in short order. Could you have gotten something mixed up last time you developed? If you were using indicator stop, and poured some into the developer you would notice it immeadiatly, as it would turn purple. Fix would cause no change in the color of the developer, though. Don't know what effect iron would have on D76. Your water would have to be quite acidic to stop it completely too.

 

Sorry to hear of your troubles, Janet.

[lex_jenkins]

Any time something mysterious like that has occured I've learned to assume that I did something wrong, such as mixing the stock solution wrong or contaminating it and thereby reducing its potency or killing it outright or using fixer before the developer.

 

It's extremely rare for film to completely fail and fairly rare for chemistry to lose that much potency in such a short period of time. There's almost always another explanation.

[janet cull]

>>>There's almost always another explanation<<<

 

I know, and it's really frustrating to me when I can't figure that out. I know I didn't get the fixer mixed in or confused with the developer. All I can figure to do different is I'm gonna get one of those bottles that squishes down to let excess air out and I'll use distilled water instead of my well water.

 

This is the second time (at least)that my developer has gone kaput quickly. There's gotta be a reason and I just can't figure it out. Yet.

 

Thanks for trying, guys.

[dean_williams]

Janet, something you can do to prevent disasters in future is to check your developer before running it with film. Put a few ounces in a small container (I use a shot glass), take a 2-3 inch long snip of film and dump it in the developer, and agitate it a bit. This is a daylight test, you don't need to be in the dark. The film should turn almost completly black in a few minutes. With Rodinal 1+25, D76, D23, PC-TEA, A-49, and many other developers it will turn black in less than two minutes. Try it with some freshly mixed D76 to see how long it takes and to extablish a baseline time. If the film doesn't turn black, the developer is kaput.

[david_f._stein]

Sorry to hear, Janet. My guess is that steps were done out of order? Something I have done myself. Or developer was almost neutralized. That developer pre-test is a great idea. Also, one can test fixer activity in similar fashion (no developer, just some film in fixer to test clearing time.) BEST.

[janet cull]

Thank you, David and Dean. I will test. I wish I'd mixed up the chemicals or the order of things. Then it would be easy to figure and fix, but I know I didn't. My jugs have never been used for anything but for what's in each and they're well marked. I check and recheck. And I don't use stop, but water. I even asked the Kodak man if I should do more than rinse out my developing tank and the parts of it, thinking maybe that was contaminating the developing next time, but he said not to use soaps or introduce any chemical - just rinse. I'll see what kind of difference distilled water and the new bottle (that squeezes the air out) make.

 

I know you're right. There's got to be contamination somewhere for it to go bad so quickly. I just can't figure where. I always said I loved a good mystery, but I don't like this one.

 

Thanks again for your replies!

 

Janet

[frank.schifano]

Oh Janet! I hope you didn't get one of those accordion bottles. I have a few lying around and they are really useless. The caps don't seal well and they are flimsy. When full, they want to topple over and they are inconvenient to pour from. Before you commit developer to these things, try this first. Fill one about 3/4 full with water and squeeze out all the air. Come back the next day and see if there isn't air in the bottle. Bet you a dollar there will be.

[janet cull]

Oh gosh, Frank. That was gonna be my salvation. This oughtta make me laugh. My frustration is worn out, so I'm fine. :o) Actually, I'm glad you posted that because I'm going Thursday to town to get more developer and was gonna look for one of those bottles. Instead I think I'll try to get the packets that only make up 1 liter. That's a hassle but may be worth the trouble.

[jeff_cox1]

Try using an old wine cask to store your developer. Cut a one inch slot in the seal at the top of the bladder, rinse it out, fill with developer and re-seal with a bulldog clip. Replace bladder into the cardboard box. Then just use the tap to decant your developer. We used this method for many years in a pro lab. Works fine. (Drink the wine first).

 

P.S. This is my first posting on photo.net