PeterVolkmar
Hello,
I’ve developed film using ADX several times before (mainly APX 100 and 400, FP4 and HP5) with excellent results. Yesterday I wanted to test the 4x5’ TMY in it. After developing, I opened the can – it reminded me of an E-6 coming straight out of the can. To be on the safe side, I prepared a fresh fixer (I always do a double fix; this time I prepared both fresh) and fixed it again for 2 minutes twice. Rinsed, applied wetting agent, opened the can – now it looked more like a black-and-white film that had been bathed in Tanol.... When dry, the film has an extremely grey base (whereas the TMY is usually very clear) and the dark areas are more of a brownish grey. Speed only 200 ASA. As the developer is otherwise problem-free and I’ve always had good results, it really shouldn’t react like this with the TMY. The film is also fresh and perfectly fine.
How can something like this happen? I subsequently looked at the canister; it has a silver coating on the inside. Could that be the cause? It’s just odd that it hasn’t had such effects before. How do I remove the coating? Any other ideas?
Developed in a 2500ml Jobo tank with a flat film spool, rotating at 20°. 2 mins forward, ADX A: 5.5ml; B: 5.5ml, water 260ml, 8 mins, 1 min stop bath, fixing as above, washing 5 x 2 mins, wetting agent 1 min.
Regards, Peter
GeorgK
Hello.
Well, the fact that the appearance of the film changed between the first and second fixing attempts suggests that there is likely a problem with the fixing process. If a significant amount of time (and light) elapsed between the initial fixing and the re-fixing, some of the silver halide may have reacted to form metallic silver, which is now causing a permanent fog.
Which fixer (or concentration) are you using? It may be that it is too weak for a Tmax film; four minutes is rather short anyway for a flat-crystal film, regardless of whether it is a single- or double-bath fixing process.
Test: develop a test sheet and fix it in the high fixer concentration (not the economy dilution) for at least 5–7 minutes, agitating regularly. A two-bath process won’t help here if the fixer is fresh anyway. That should narrow down the problem.
Regards
Georg
