I got a completely blank roll!

[Twigs]

Just developed a roll of Neopan 100SS in Ilfosol S, and I had a feeling that something went wrong when the fixer came out purple. I opened the tank immediately and saw a completely blank/clear roll. No image, no frame numbers, nothing.

So, what went wrong? I am positive that I did not mix up the fixer and the developer. The only thing I can think of is that the developer has expired, but I've only bought and opened it 9 months ago. Are there tests to check if the developer has gone bad?

The Ilford rapid fixer is now purple, and the test with a piece of film leader came out good (took less than 10 seconds to become clear), is it still usable?

There were pictures of a teammate's final game with our soccer team... I'm gonna go cry in the corner now :bang:

 

[jano]

The purple is okay, nothing to worry about.

Perhaps you shot the roll with lens cap on or very much underexposed or the shutter didn't work? I don't know shelf life of ilfosol s. You can shoot another roll in a different camera and check out the developer...

 

[Twigs]

If I had underexposed the entire roll, the frame numbers should be visible, right?

 

[sienarot]

Ahh... Sudden Developer Death Syndrome strikes again. If I were a betting man, I'd lay the blame on Ilfosol S. It has a notorious reputation for expiring quickly and 9 months sounds like it's past it's due. Was the developer a dark brown colour when you used it last? If it's fresh/usable, it should be a strong yellow colour.

I highly doubt it would be the fixer. Even if the fixer had gone bad, you should still see dark areas where the light hit the film if the developer worked.

 

[Twigs]

Ahh... Sudden Developer Death Syndrome strikes again. If I were a betting man, I'd lay the blame on Ilfosol S. It has a notorious reputation for expiring quickly and 9 months sounds like it's past it's due. Was the developer a dark brown colour when you used it last? If it's fresh/usable, it should be a strong yellow colour.

I highly doubt it would be the fixer. Even if the fixer had gone bad, you should still see dark areas where the light hit the film if the developer worked.

Now that you mentioned it, it did look a little darker than usual. Ah I was so careless.

 

[oscroft]

The fact that there were no frame numbers suggests that the problem was not caused by underexposure, lens cap on, etc - the frame numbers should still be there in those cases because they are exposed onto the film in the factory. And if the film came out completely clear then it had been fixed ok.

So yes, it also sounds to me as if you have a fixed, but undeveloped, roll.

 

[alan davus]

Had a similar problem several weeks ago when after the Easter long weekend, I took a number of rolls of film in to be processed and printed. One roll came back completly clear and until I got home and worked what had happenned, I felt sick in the stomach. Had I loaded the film in my M6ttl incorrectly, was the film just a dud, had the lab stuffed it up? Well just to prove there's a first time for everything I eventually realised the dud film hadn't been through my camera at all. It was an unexposed roll that had accidently got mixed up with the exposed ones. Could you have made the same simple error??

 

[Xmas]

Use Rodinal lasts for decades, >2... your 100 ASA will react real well, you will be amazed, try 1:100...

Noel

 

[oscroft]

It was an unexposed roll that had accidently got mixed up with the exposed ones. Could you have made the same simple error?

No, because the frame numbers would still have been there.

 

[oftheherd]

I seem to recall that the purple color comes from the anti-halide backing, indicating a total lack of development of the film. Does that ring a bell with anyone else. That would somewhat of a surprise as most developers will do something, even if old or depleted.

 

[40oz]

^ I would kind of expect the the first liquid in contact with the film to have the purple tinge, not the fixer, but then, I've never used Neopan.

 

[Sparrow]

Developer off, did the same thing with two rolls a few months ago, Acutol a bit straw coloured completely blank film.

It’s awful when you realise, real sense of loss, I’ll offer my condolences

 

[akptc]

Sorry to hear that, happened to me just recently, very frustrating experience. From what I learned so far, it sounds like perhaps an un-exposed roll.

 

[Sparrow]

Did you remove the lens cap when taking the shots? 🙂

Lens cap, lets see………that would be mistake #3 from 1964 or 5
😀

 

[Sparrow]

Sorry to hear that, happened to me just recently, very frustrating experience. From what I learned so far, it sounds like perhaps an un-exposed roll.

No frame numbers; developer would have to be the prime suspect

 

[Twigs]

Yeah I'm pretty sure I had the lens cap off. After a couple of unexposed frames when I first started I have developed this pre-shot routine that I hold the lens cap between my ring finger and my pinky on the left hand before I can trip the shutter.

Same with my car key, it's always in the other hand, held slightly away from the car, when I close the car door... a little paranoid actually LOL

 

[iml]

Off topic twigs, but your avatar made me laugh.

Ian

 

[Kin Lau]

The only thing I can think of is that the developer has expired, but I've only bought and opened it 9 months ago.

Ilfosol S only last 6 months after being opened, sometimes less. I stopped using Ilfosol for this reason and that it's just too expensive. Rodinal & HC110 lasts forever and are quite cheap also.

 

[sienarot]

Ilfosol S only last 6 months after being opened, sometimes less.

Ilford is supposed to be coming out with either some sort of replenisher that will fix this, or a new formula for Ilfosol S (I can't remember which, but I believe the former).



Some people test the developer before processing the negs by cutting a bit of the leader off and putting it into the soup to see if it develops.

I have a different on-the-fly test to check for developer. I'm in the camp that likes to presoak the negs before developing (equalizes the film temp with the liquid temp and wets the film). Most, if not all, films I've used changes the colour of the water during the presoak because of the antihalation layer, usually purple. Rather than dumping the water after the presoaking, I pour it into a separate container and then proceed with the developer. After I am finished with the developer, I pour it into the water used for the presoaking. If there's an instant colour change when the developer mixes in (ie: from purple to clear), the developer was okay. If there's no reaction or it's very slow, the developer's expired and I'll need to do it again with fresher stuff.

 

[Joe Mondello]

Lens cap, lets see………that would be mistake #3 from 1964 or 5
😀

haha I did that same thing -- ONCE! -- at around the same time as you did, Stewart (I'm thinking it was 1963, but then I am a year older!)

Twigs, so sorry to hear about the undeveloped roll, though, man, especially since the images were important.