Streak of water marks on dried b&w negatives...

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hyokjae

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Hello,

I just ran my first roll of Arista Edu Ulta 200 through my M2 and then developed in Diafine (first time developing, too). I used Arista Flo wetting agent (diluted 1+100 using tap water) in my last step of the development process and then hang to dry. After the film was dried, I could see streaks of water marks on my negatives..., wouldn't the Arista Flo suppose to prevent such water marks on negatives? Should I use distlled water instead of tap water??
Can I wash the negatives to get rid of the water marks? Any suggestions, please?

Thanks,
-hyokjae
 
Shouldn't need to use distilled water -- the PhotoFlo should handle the hardest water with ease. Yes, you certainly can rewash the negs with no harm, but can you possibly scan a couple of frames so we can see?
 
I will post a few pics when I get my scanner..

I will post a few pics when I get my scanner..

David William White said:
Shouldn't need to use distilled water -- the PhotoFlo should handle the hardest water with ease. Yes, you certainly can rewash the negs with no harm, but can you possibly scan a couple of frames so we can see?
Click to expand...

I am waiting for my Epson 4490 scanner, which I should receive in a few days. I will post a few pics once I get it.
Thanks.

-hyokjae
 
Don't laugh, I rub a bit of saliva with my finger on the plastic side and rub it off with cotton fabric (usually by baby daughter's little hat).
 
' the PhotoFlo should handle the hardest water with ease.'

It should, but it doesn't. I found photoflo insufficient with mid-missouri water, central-illinois water and the water in Seoul, South Korea. Switch to distilled.
 
I live in a hard water area, I now always use distilled water for my final rinse, I also add 10% isopropyl alcohol, I've decided its not worth compromisng my negs by using tap water, even if their is asmall extra price to pay, at least that buys me good clean negs.
 
How long did you have the roll in the Arista Flo?

Here's what I do: ASSUMING Arista Flo is the same as PhotoFlo (you know what happens when you assume... ), as a final step:

1-2 minutes in a soup of: 1 liter water, 2.5ml Photoflo, 30ml rubbing alcohol, then hang diagonally.
 
Normally you should have in the instruction a minimum and maximum dosing of the wetting agent.
I am using Amaloco H10 but you have also Rollei Wetting Agent (RWA) or Mirasol (Tetenal) or Agepon (Agfa).

Depending on the hardness of the tap water you can go from the minimum dose to (or when you have hard water) the maximum dose.

When the water is very hard you need demi-water. A too little wetting agent is not effective but too much is also causing stripes and drying marks.

In principle any mechanical contact with a wet emulsion must be avoided.

Best regards,

Robert
 
I concur with what has been said before about using distilled water. I got tons of streaks on my negs using photoflo and tap water (San Diego). That all stopped when i switched to distilled water. LFN also works great to.
 
Photoflo is the only processing chemical that I use distilled water for dilution. Tap water here has a lot of dissolved solids in it, and if it dries on the film, it will leave a mark. If Arista Flo is the same formulation as Photoflo, then dilute it 1:200 rather than 1:100. The extra dilution will ensure that the detergent is not drying on the film, causing streaking.

As for squegeeing, I used to use my fingers (washed and wetted with Photoflo), but I don't do that now that I am scanning and the scanner can pick up tiny scratches that I never saw when enlarging.
 
I agree with Fotohuis, I've had steaks occur with too much wetting agent.

I've also had the same experience as Chris101, when it comes to using my fingers as a squeegee. I stopped doing that, diluted my PhotoFlo even more (don't ask me how much - I guess!), and now I VERY RARELY have any streaks and no scratches.
 
I must be lucky in Canberra (Australia). My final rinse is to dip the negs into 600mm of tap water mixed with 3mL of Ilford's wetting agent.... take the negs out and hang to drip dry (no touching!!!).... never had a streak/mark on the negs...
 
PhotoFlo

PhotoFlo

Never had any stains or scratches using PhotoFlo at half the recommended concentration in distilled water, shaking the film, and never touching it (no fingers or squeegees).
 
if you can get it (not sure where in the world you are) Bounty kitchen towel works wonders as a squeegee with no dangers of grit, and doesn't leave fibres over the negs either.
 
Water will vary depending on where you live all the way down to what time of the day it is...Having a standard , like distilled water, will eliminate this factor and that means one less thing to worry about...
We have decent water here and so for my film I just add a small amount of Photoflo (I don't measure but I do use an eyedropper instead of pouring) to the tank and let it sit for a bit...
Hang it up to dry and I do not squeegy with my fingers or anything else...Negs come out great...no water spots for me...
 
hyokjae said:
...I used Arista Flo wetting agent (diluted 1+100 using tap water) ...
Click to expand...

This could be your problem, or at least a major part of the problem. Arista Flo, like Kodak's Photo-Fl0 200, should be diluted 1:200 and not 1:100. Using an overly concentrated mix will often result in streaks that, on extremely close examination, are composed of white crystals or small grains.

If this is the cause, the fix is to rewash for roughly 5 minutes and then retreat in a properly diluted wetting agent. In some types of water, Photo-Flo 200, and probably Arista-Flo, should be diluted even further. The rule to follow is to use the most dilute mix that still prevents the water from beading up on the film.
 
+1 vote for the distilled water. Although, I have heard using water from a Brita filter works as well. Haven't tried it personally.
 
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