Help! What happened?

[Steveh]

Hi all - hope someone can let me know what happened with a roll of 120 Neopan I've just processed.

I'm a relative newbie to developing my own film but have never had any problems until tonight, when I puilled the roll out of the tank to find what I think is an undeveloped strip along one side - it's probably about 5mm on average, although it fluctuates a bit. It's on the side that the film/frame information should be on, and there's no writing visible at all, as well as a couple of areas (within the blank strip) of purple blobs/staining.

The actual images on the bits that have been developed look fine, and this is one of two rolls shot within 20 minutes, the first of which was perfect.

Any guesses what happened? Is this consistent with part of the film being undeveloped? My best guess would be that the reel wasn't all the way down the spindle so somehow the top section of the film didn't get developed, but what's the purple staining about? I'm puzzled.

All help appreciated!

Thanks, Steve

 

[thetooth]

the purple is left because it wasn't fixed properly . i imagine you are right that was the top of the spool as was only hit with chemical when you agitated the container .

you can always refix the film and the purple should go away .

 

[ChrisN]

I has something like that once when the level of developer was too low in the tank - I didn't have quite enough volume of developer to cover the two rolls of 120 I had in the tank. Now I make sure my measuring is a little more generous.

 

[nikon_sam]

I agree with Chris^^^sounds like the developer was on the low side...

 

[roboboy]

hmm, i am also new to all of this, i just dev'd my first 2 rolls of tx-400 in Xtol 1:1 and they came out perfect.

But how much chemistry should one actually pour into the tank? Using a patterson i filled it up till the cone of the funnel started.

Thanks.

 

[hans voralberg]

You use the twisting rod method with the paterson right? Try twisting in more gently, if you do it too fast it tends to suck the liquid down below the film.

 

[Steveh]

Thanks all - having done a bit more digging it sounds like my first guess about the reel not being all the way down the spindle is probably what happened - now I know what that little plastic clip thingy that comes with the tank is for - to stop exactly that happening!

Roboboy - I've always used 300ml for 35mm, 600 for 120, which worked fine until yesterday...

 

[Leigh Youdale]

Thanks all - having done a bit more digging it sounds like my first guess about the reel not being all the way down the spindle is probably what happened - now I know what that little plastic clip thingy that comes with the tank is for - to stop exactly that happening!

Roboboy - I've always used 300ml for 35mm, 600 for 120, which worked fine until yesterday...

Same happened to me once - film wasn't pushed to the bottom of the spindle, leaving the top edge out of the chemicals.
I have a Patterson Universal System 4 tank and use 300ml for 1x35mm, 500ml for 1x120, and 600ml for 2x35mm (two reels on the same spindle). Capacities are marked on the bottom of the tank.

 

[thetooth]

also make sure if you are only doing one reel of film and you have a two reel tank to put in the spare reel on top of the one loaded with film . that way it won't come out of position of the chemicals when you are agitating .

 

[nikon_sam]

I just remembered that once I developed a roll of 120 in a two reel (35mm) Patterson tank...I did use the "clip-thingie" BUT I placed the reel and tube in the tank upside down...It was enough to lift the film past the level of developer...so far this has happened only one time...