Hallo, I am having a slight problem with home processed washed film – FP4 in ID11 at 1+1. I would be interested in your views.
On examining the dry negs nder a loupe there are a lot of random “specks” on the film, when it is wet these “specks” can be seen under the loupe wandering around in the flow of the surface water. They are obviously in suspension in the liquid until they dry in place. The water is mains water filtered through an Ametek table-top water filter (novadarkrooms) previously a Paterson water filter, with chemicals mixed from the filtered water. Finally the film is sprayed with Ilfotol in distilled water.
Has anyone seen this? Has anyone got any suggestions or is it just that my mains water is as filthy as a sewer (!) & I have to live with it? Ideally I would like to have negs that are clean & don’t have specks of rubbish stuck on them as they can be seen on some prints – too much to ask? Help very welcome! If it's any help I don't get drying marks at all - just these pesky specks!!
P.S. The ID11 was mixed from unfiltered hot water as the Ametek filter says not to use hot water. According to the instructions ID11 is to be mixed at 40 degrees – silly question but would filtered cold water heated on a stove be ok to use?
My guess is no better than yours when it comes to the source of your specks, but 40°C is not too hot for your filter. Water that has been filtered then warmed is just fine as well.
I have to admit that the instructions fo rthe Ametek filter said not to use hot water in it - sounded a bit feeble to me but don't want to boil up & ruin my new purchase !
Going to try a new mix of ID11 - filtered cold water heated to around 35degrees in a make-shift water bath before mixing the chemicals - going to keep an eye on those specks & report back!
Your report does not indicate the quality of your wash water. I guess particles taken over with the wash water might stay on the film, in case you only `spray´ it with wetting-agent solution.
Try to immerse the washed film in a wetting-agent bath of sufficient volume instead. And discard the bath after use.
You could also install a filter into your mains, or even better in your lab-extension.
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Any solid particles present in the developer are likely to be washed away in subsequent processing stages. I'd concentrate on the late stages of processing, not the early ones. How are you doing your final wash, are you using a wetting agent, and if you are using a wetting agent, how are you preparing it (with tap water, bottled water, etc.)? I'd start by ensuring that the last bit of water (or water plus wetting agent) that touches the film doesn't come out of your tap -- use bottled water (possibly distilled). If you're already using such water for your dunk in wetting agent, try adding a couple of rinses in that water before the wetting agent bath. OTOH, if you're already using store-bought water as the final step, it's conceivable that it is what's to blame, so switching brands or switching to tap water might help.
Have remixed the chemicals using the filtered water & still saw the "specks", though after washing I soaked the film in some filtered water with Ilford ILfotol wetting agent, after some enthusiastic "dunking" there appeared to be less "specks" bu tstill not rid of them entirely.
If the file is rubbed between fingers when wet the "specks" are almost non existent but does risk scratching the surface.
The trouble with wetting agents is that when the film dries, the wetting agent may remain in a nice, unifomly distributed layer. Or. it may coagulate into not so nice lumps. Hard water is guaranteed to leave particles of limestone, wetting agent or no. I know I am a photographic heathen, but I use a soft paper towel to get as much water off the film as possible. I draw the film slowly over the towel, one side then the other. No scratches or other artifacts attributed to this practice in all my years of using it.
Bits on film 
Linear Mode
