Delta 400 - What did I do wrong?

[rkfoxman]

Please take a look at the sample attached. All three rolls processed

(I have a three-roll Patterson tank) turned out to have "burn" marks

which ran the whole length of each roll. The marks are greenish and

look sort of "foggy". On this sample the mark covers pretty much the

whole image except the left and right edges.

 

Again, this is Delta 400, processed in Ilford DDX for 8 minutes at

66F. My hunch is the developer wasn't mixed enough. Any ideas.<div></div>

[teneson]

Did you pre-soak the roll in plain water a couple of times? Some of those anti-halation coatings turn gummy and stick to the emulsion, especially during & after the fixer stage.

 

Anti-halation coatings can be indigo blue, purple, pink, or even green when you pour out the pre-soak water.

[ronald_wills]

Are you sure your negatives are completely fixed? If not, you can clear them by refixing in

fresh fixer.

[ronald_moravec1]

Pre soak is not recommended by Ilford. Usually this is from insufficient agitation in the fix, but I find it hard to believe it happened with a Patterson tank in that inversion produceslots of agitation.

 

The twirly stick is only for the first agitation. You are to use inversion for the rest otherwise the above is what happens with both developer and fix.

 

Also make sure the fix is not near exhaustion.

[ivan_dzo]

Try re-fixing them for twice the clearing time of the film leader. Looks like underfixing to me,so no harm done.

[chris_waller]

Insufficient fixing. Check strength/exhaustion of your fixer. Also, ensure sufficient agitation during fixing. Remember to fix for twice clearing time , which you can check by dropping the cut-off leader into the top of the tank when you begin the fixing stage of processing. Examine it after a minute or so. Note how long it takes to clear then fix for as long again.

[jim_malone]

Roman:

 

I agree that this looks like insufficient fixing. The good news is, you can eliminate it by fixing again with fresh fixer. With regards to timing, I've always used a 5 minute fix - it always clears the negs and doesn't seem to cause harm. You need to wash carefully afterwards and use a hypo clear solution, but this will probably eliminate your problem.

Good luck

Jim

[titrisol]

REFIX REFIX!

 

You can do it with the light on!

 

deltas need more fixing time than the usual film IMHO

[rkfoxman]

I think fixing was done properly: 4:30 minutes while Ilford (Ilfosol) recommends 4 minutes. The solution is one month old. I did pre-soak the film though for a couple of minutes. Could the hard New York water :)

[rkfoxman]

Oh, and thank you for contributing ideas, of course :) Again, the bigest "give-away" is that all three rolls have wavy marks which look like foggy spots (like if you breathed on a piece of optic) and kinda greenish in color.

[ronald_wills]

Roman, snip off a foggy frame and try refixing it for another five minutes or longer to see

if the fog clears, then you'll know if thats the problem. Like Pablo says, you can do it in

light. Let us know and good luck.

[frank.schifano]

First of all, the NYC water supply is not hard. All of it comes from reservoirs north of the city.

 

Your problem looks a lot like underfixing. No one has mentioned this, but even though you've fixed for the required amount of time that doesn't mean the fixer was not exhausted. Refix the film with fresh fixer. It should clear. The giveaway is the fact that the positive is lighter in the center than the edges. If your developer was off, there would be decreased density in the center leading to a darker center stripe in the positive.

[photojim]

If you fixed with sodium thiosulfate fixer (powder when purchased), 4:30 is nowhere nearly enough. With a fresh ammonium thiosulfate fixer (liquid when purchased), 4:30 is probably just shy of enough with a Delta or T-Max film. (These films tend to need longer fix times than non-t-grain films.)

[dagata]

This exact thing has happened to me 3 or 4 times because I've let fixer sit around for too long. To repeat what everbody said, re-fix and you'll see magic...

[rkfoxman]

Thank you very much for your responses. I'll try to refix the film and see if it does the trick.

[tricia_martin]

Refixing these I don't think will save them but I'm no expert in this area.

 

The way we're taught to agitate and so far I have had no troubles with it is to invert and quarter turn 10 seconds for every 1 minute in development and fixing.

 

Obviously be sure the lid is on TIGHT.

[silverhalide1949]

Delta 400 is my main film. I have gotten the same marks.You need to fix for a longer time (I use NH 5 for at least 5 min) and everything will be ok. RO

 

Until the last Silver Halide Crystal is Extinct!

[rkfoxman]

Yes, underfixing was the problem. I was very surprised that I could re-fix the same film again. Thanks, Pablo (any everyone else.) Great advise. After two more minutes of fixing the foggy marks are gone.