HP5+ problem, needs help

S

Sean Chan

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I have been developing my own B&W film for about 2 months now and have been using HP5+ all the time and am happy with the results except that I am getting unacceptably curled negatives even if I have it hanged dry overnight. (the developed roll just simply roll itself back in to one coil after I took off the weight). These negatives are difficult to handle and hard to scan.

Yesterday to my suprise when I developed a roll of Fuji Neopan 400. (identical procedures with developing HP5+ same chemical same equipment and hanged dry for only an hour) and it came out fine and is very straight.

Can anyone suggest what the problem was with HP5+.

My gut feeling is that those HP5+ have gone bad.

I really want to stay with HP5+ instead of Neopan if possible.
 
hmmm....what's the temp/humidity like where u live? i would say dry your negs and then when you are about to cut them, fill the room with some steam and they should uncurl...

i shoot HP5 alot....about 30 rolls a month....it is not inherently curly, as far as i can tell (though i have to admit there seems to be a thickness difference between the emulsions in 100' rolls and those that are sold pacakged)...
 
you might want to do something very 'nerdy' check the thickness of the support medium. I think that the Fuji is a 'thicker' film material (not the emulsion) and the Ilford is not at thick. This often leads to curled negatives. The trade off is the thin neg is curled but the translucence is not impacted as greatly by the 'medium or carrier' as a thicker one ie the fuji. The other offset is that the curl impacts the neg's ability to have a flat and quality profile.

Answer .. I don't have one. If your slide scanner is having issues with the HP5 probably it is better to stick with the 'thicker' films.

good luck
 
xcapekey said:
hmmm....what's the temp/humidity like where u live? i would say dry your negs and then when you are about to cut them, fill the room with some steam and they should uncurl...

i shoot HP5 alot....about 30 rolls a month....it is not inherently curly, as far as i can tell (though i have to admit there seems to be a thickness difference between the emulsions in 100' rolls and those that are sold pacakged)...
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Thx for your suggestion of temp and hudmidty but both the HP5+ and Neopan were developed in very very similar condition, same equipment, same month in the year, chemical diluted from same bottle of fixer and developer.

My HP5+ came from those value pack (buy 2 get one free) and I have a feeling that they been stocked quite long time althought they are still way far from its stated expiry date but I suspect they went bad while traveling to here (Hong Kong).

In fact I bought a single boxed pack from another shop, and will try it out again, if same still happen, i have to change to neopan or other film but i like the result from HP5+ so much.
 
I've used HP5 and found that it curls much more than, say, Tri-X. I don't have any charts or statistics, but I think the difference is in fact (as Jan stated) that HP5's film base is thinner.

As for how to combat excessive curl, I used fairly heavy clips and left the film hanging overnight. I also seem to remember (but could be wrong) that temperature and humidity affected the amount of curling. None of this is scientific, but I always managed to get the film sufficiently flat to fit into plastic storage sleeves. However, the amount of curling, which also makes loading developing reels more difficult, is one of the reasons I prefer Tri-X over HP5 despite the nice tones of HP5.
 
troym said:
I've used HP5 and found that it curls much more than, say, Tri-X. I don't have any charts or statistics, but I think the difference is in fact (as Jan stated) that HP5's film base is thinner.

As for how to combat excessive curl, I used fairly heavy clips and left the film hanging overnight. I also seem to remember (but could be wrong) that temperature and humidity affected the amount of curling. None of this is scientific, but I always managed to get the film sufficiently flat to fit into plastic storage sleeves. However, the amount of curling, which also makes loading developing reels more difficult, is one of the reasons I prefer Tri-X over HP5 despite the nice tones of HP5.
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Thanks for your infomration. At least now I konw I am not alone.

may be I should try Tri-X as I not really like the result from Neopan dispite the fact that it is by far the cheapest. Tri-x is more expensive then HP5+ here.

In fact for no reason I like the name 'Ilford'. Perhaps it sounds professional and B&W only !
 
Sean Chan said:
...I am getting unacceptably curled negatives even if I have it hanged dry overnight. (the developed roll just simply roll itself back in to one coil after I took off the weight).
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After it's out of the can, DON'T put it down. After drying, cut it immediately into useful strips and put it into a negative file page. If they come out of the file curly then place the file pages under a heavy book or something. I've never tested whether my HP5+ is curly after drying. When I'm ready to scan the strips are usually manageable.

I have to say that lately HP5+ appears to be thinner and more curly. I don't use as much as XCAPEKEY, but I am talking about 100' rolls as well.

Thanks,
James
 
FUnny, I've never had curl problems with HP5+, but I do get a fair bit of curl across the short axis with Fuji films!

Neither is a problem. Once dry, my negs get cut and sleeved, then left in file pages overnight under a pile of very heavy reference books. Grand by the next day.
 
After my film has dried, I roll it into a reverse roll, emulsion side out, put an elastic band around it, pop it in a plastic bag to protect it from dust, and let it sit overnight. The next day when I cut it into strips of 6, it has a very slight reverse curl. This wears off fairly quickly leaving the film very flat, ready to scan or enlarge.

Gene
 
Leaving film to dry overnight is not a great idea. You will get more curl if you do this rather than just taking it down after it's dry (an hour, give or take, and depending on humidity). I use HP5 almost exclusively and yes it does have a curl initially when dry. I simply cut the roll and place in a neg sheet. It then goes into my neg folders (where it has a weight of about fifty other neg sheets above it) and after a couple of days the curl is much reduced. After a week it's pretty much gone completely and the negs are prefectly flat. So I'd say cut it, put it in neg sheets and put some books over it so the film "settles" and becomes perfectly flat. Not easy if you're imaptient to scan but it will flatten over time if you store it in a flat position.
 
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