Dents in the negative - white dots in the print

Robin_ · 2013-02-14T23:56:38+00:00

Schade das niemand eine Antwort hat. Ich habe jetzt mal ein Stück unbelichteten Film aus einer KB-Dose herausgezogen und da waren auch diese "Dellen" im Träg...

Robin_

Hello forum members, I know this topic has been discussed quite a few times before, but my situation is a little different. I recently had a roll of film exposed with some rather nice portraits. After it had dried, I noticed whilst viewing it at an angle against the light that the film strip is covered in tiny ‘dents’. These “dents” are tiny; it almost looks as if a mini sandstorm had raged, and they’re on the base side, not the emulsion side. White dots can be seen in these spots on the prints. However, there are no black dots on the negative, as has often been reported. They look more like small air bubbles, but they can’t be wiped away. I tried earlier to get rid of them with distilled water. Let’s see what they look like once they’re dry. My guess is that it’s down to the fixer. The film was ADOX CHS 100, developed in Adonal 1+50, stopped with water and fixed for 4 minutes with Superfix. Rinsed according to Ilford, then 15 mins in Cascade, followed by a final rinse in distilled water with a drop of Mirasol to half a litre of water. I’ve never had it this bad before. The fixer has now been used on four roll films. Here’s another picture. Thanks in advance, Regards, Robin

Robin_

Well, soaking them again hasn’t made things any better. I’ve had a look at my other negatives and noticed that it happens with some other films too, just not as noticeably. That’s probably why I never noticed it before. But it only happens with Adox CHS films. In another forum, someone had the same problem with an ADOX CHS film and suggested that there were dust particles trapped in the base, which had been introduced during manufacture. All the films from other manufacturers in my portfolio have a mirror-smooth surface. What do you think? Regards, Robin

Robin_

It’s a shame nobody has an answer. I’ve just pulled a piece of unexposed film out of a 35mm canister and there were these ‘dents’ in the leader too. Do you think I can swap the films for others at FOTOIMPEX? Regards, Robin

Commander8x

Do you think I can swap the films at FOTOIMPEX for others?

I reckon so. The best way to sort it out is to get in touch directly, by email or, even better, by phone. You’ll find the number right at the bottom of this page: http://www.fotoimpex.de/. That’ll certainly be quicker than just posting this question here into the void – in the hope that the right person will come along at some point... Best regards, Matthias

Robin_

I've just phoned them and sorted everything out.

Photux

Unfortunately, I can’t help either, but I had the same problem (with a CHS50; you should still be able to find the relevant thread I posted). The film was subjected to relatively high mechanical stress, as I had great difficulty getting the stubborn PET base into the reel (I mainly use Canon A-series cameras, which wind the film in the opposite direction to the original – so now I always leave the rewound cassette to rest for 1–2 days; it really does work better that way). Things went better with another roll of CHS50 and there are hardly any specks either, though I did conduct the development of that one in D-76 instead of Rodinal. That may sound illogical, but perhaps the developer plays a role here too – the example above was also developed in Adonal, which is practically Rodinal. @Robin What exactly does ‘resolved’ mean – exchange (if possible), cause of the problem found, ...? ;)

Robin_

To be honest, I didn’t know what the problem was at first either. I ended up sacrificing a roll of unexposed film. I unrolled it in the light and there were already these little blemishes scattered all over the film. So it was a manufacturing fault. I rang FI. and explained the situation. They were able to exchange it, so I sent the CHS films back. Thanks again for the great service.