Is this dust/scratches/Chemistry?

[davidblumenfeld]

I just processed a couple 14x17 negs in trays-D76 and got these white spots/lines...Not sure if they are scratches or dust (loaded in my bathroom and maybe was too dusty)...here are details of the negatives:

[langedp]

Looks like scratches to me.

[Worker 11811]

#1 is dust.
#2 could be hair or it could be stress on the film that fractured the emulsion. (e.g. bending the film.)
#3 looks like a combination of #1 and #2.
#4 and #5 are out of focus but they could be hairs.

Everything looks like it was dust, dirt or damage that was on the film at the time it was shot or developed.
Keeping your cameras clean it key to preventing this kind of thing. Keep your developing equipment clean, too.

Canned air can help keep the dust off lenses and out of the film gate but don't forget that canned air only blows the dirt up into the air where it will settle back onto something else.
You will clean the lens you are working on but everything else in the room will eventually get dirty. Take the item you are working on into another room, outside or somewhere the dust doesn't matter.

Also, if you are blowing dust out of a camera, BE CAREFUL! That air can cause damage to fragile parts like shutters and focusing screens.
Not only can the force of the air blow parts out of line, the stream of air can accelerate dirt particles to supersonic speeds which will then "sandblast" anything else they come into contact with.

Use, carefully aimed, short bursts of air and be mindful of the "dust cloud" you are creating and you'll be all right.

Past that, you just have to be meticulous about dust and dirt in every stage of your work. It takes experience to be able to "see" the dust before it shows up on your film and in your final prints.

My only other advice is to learn how to spot.

[L Gebhardt]

Very hard to tell from the photos, but they look like scratches when the film was wet to me. Did you process more than one at a time?

[davidblumenfeld]

No, one at a time...but I just noticed that my trays have some "rough" spots on them where they are bevelled...probably scratched.

[George Collier]

I'm goin' for scratches. Remind me of the first time I did sheets in a tray. Discipline and caution cured them.

[Simon R Galley]

What are the actual sizes of the marks in mm's ?

Whilst the actual shapes of the marks are 'odd' It looks to me like it may possibly be static electricity.....did you hold the film sheets together before devving them?

Or, are you a slow remover of the darkroon slide, or a fast remover of the dark slide. fast BAD, slow GOOD.

Simon. ILFORD Photo / HARMAN tcehnology Limited :

[pgomena]

They look like scratches to me unless a cat slept in your camera bellows. I've experienced both.

Peter Gomena

[George Collier]

Simon has a good question - how big are they?

[Mainecoonmaniac]

No, one at a time...but I just noticed that my trays have some "rough" spots on them where they are bevelled...probably scratched.

If you process one sheet at a time, its better to process the sheet face up. As you using warm chemistry? Souping film in warm chemistry or washing your negs in warm water makes them more vulnerable to scratches. I've scratch many negs too, so you're not the only one