Film development

[Kirstie]

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Hi all. I've recently been developing film and have been getting strong white marks along the bottom, I'm not sure what's causing it and was wondering if anyone else had ant ideas, I've attached some photos below. This is after developing but before scanning. 

Any help would be appreciated

Thanks

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[LocalHero1953]

Welcome to the forum!

How are you developing? In a tank? Perhaps with insufficient volume of developer? But enough fixer to clear the undeveloped film?

Edited October 8, 2023 by LocalHero1953

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[AlexK76]

Hello,

For me, it looks more like a problem with the fixer, maybe to less fixer in the development tank. The magenta tint is the antihalation layer. Is the white border completely clear or denser than the rest of the film?

The good news is. If it is a fixer problem, you can fix it once again.

Best regards,

Alex

[250swb]

It's a radical edge, so you haven't put enough developer in the tank and also haven't agitated it enough. I also agree it hasn't been fixed properly so do that for longer with more agitation. Don't be mean and miserly, if the instructions say 290 mls put in 300 mls.

Edited October 8, 2023 by 250swb

[Aryel]

You can place empty reels in your tank, cover them with water then measure how much liquid you need to use.

Edited October 9, 2023 by Aryel

[stray cat]

Echoing all said above, you've had insufficient chemistry in your tank AND have not been agitating enough to get all the film covered by the chemistry. I'd definitely try re-fixing and re-washing as AlexK76 suggests, although unfortunately that won't bring back any more picture detail. 

Check out some of the msny YT videos on developing before you try again - these will give you the info you need to fully develop your films. The shots themselves look perfectly developed, so your timing and temperatures are good to go, just be a little more generous with your chemistry and your agitation.

Good luck!

[AlexK76]

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I believe it is only a fixer problem because you can see the frame numbers in the problematic area. They are dark and do not look underdeveloped to me.

[tommonego@gmail.com]

Welcome,

All good suggestions here, especially with chemistry volume. For a steel tank, it is 250ml for a one reel tank and 500ml for a 2 reel tank, even if you have just one roll in it. I have never used Patterson tanks so I don't know the volumes. I am thinking it is a fixer problem, in the 2nd photo it looked like a lot of unfixed film. So put the film back in fixer, 4 minutes for rapid fix, 10 minutes for the slow fixer, agitate 5-10 seconds every minute. Prewet the film and washing is still nexessary.

Good Luck. 

[Pyrogallol]

In my Paterson tank a 35mm film needs 300ml.

A couple of questions.

I use offcuts of film to test my print fixer during use. I think I am right in saying that paper fixes quicker than film so if my piece of film fixes in a minute or two in the dish of print fixer then a sheet of paper will have been fixed in less time, so the fixer is still ok to use?

Second question , I have some alkali fixer I bought having read that it is better than acid fixer for pyro type developer, but I cannot say I have seen any difference. Has anyone any comments on that?