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Trevor Crone
10th September 2009, 07:25 AM
There aren't many days when I have a bad day in the darkroom. But yesterday was a real pig!!!

Having the devils own job to get the print quality from a few 8x10 contact prints. Thought it was my new contact printing light setup. After flapping around changing lamps returning to my old printing light box, I discovered it was the negatives that were at fault - slight uneven development in the centre of the negative resulting in a small dark area in the print. I'm returning to manual agitation of Paterson's Orbital and not use the motorised base :mad:

So as a result of all this I only managed to get decent prints from 2 negatives. Well at least I now know the light set up is not the fault. I double checked it with my Pentax digital spotmeter and it is perfectly even.

To cap it all I missed my delivery from Silverprint :mad::mad:

Sandeha Lynch
10th September 2009, 07:34 AM
In the spirit of consolation I can confide that on Saturday I developed a 120 roll in fixer. Not a lot of dark areas anywhere on that roll. :slap:

B&W Neil
10th September 2009, 07:44 AM
Many commiserations Trevor, I am sure this is just a blip and next time to will be back to your usual form. Damn annoying all the same though when these things happen.
Neil.

knikki
10th September 2009, 08:03 AM
Sounds like my kind of day, I deved a film and had the wrong dilution of fixer (way to weak) and was wondering why the film kept getting darker.

Time for a brew and choccy biscuit for days like that.

Dave miller
10th September 2009, 08:26 AM
In the spirit of consolation I can confide that on Saturday I developed a 120 roll in fixer. Not a lot of dark areas anywhere on that roll. :slap:

Been there, done that. Very easy to print though. :D

Dave miller
10th September 2009, 08:30 AM
There aren't many days when I have a bad day in the darkroom. But yesterday was a real pig!!!

Having the devils own job to get the print quality from a few 8x10 contact prints. Thought it was my new contact printing light setup. After flapping around changing lamps returning to my old printing light box, I discovered it was the negatives that were at fault - slight uneven development in the centre of the negative resulting in a small dark area in the print. I'm returning to manual agitation of Paterson's Orbital and not use the motorised base :mad:

So as a result of all this I only managed to get decent prints from 2 negatives. Well at least I now know the light set up is not the fault. I double checked it with my Pentax digital spotmeter and it is perfectly even.

To cap it all I missed my delivery from Silverprint :mad::mad:

Your are right about the motor base on the Paterson, I too came to the conclusion that manual tilting and swirling results in more even development.

Today will be a much better day. ;)

Neil Smith
10th September 2009, 09:00 AM
Though its not very good for whoever it happens to, it is somewhat reassuring that things like this don't just happen to us in isolation, and they happen to the most experienced and gifted people also.
I remember when I had problems in the past before the days of the internet, it could sometimes take days before you worked out what's gone wrong, now if your stumped you can come to somewhere like FADU and get the experience and help your looking for in a very short time.


Neil

Paul Mitchell
10th September 2009, 09:06 AM
Sorry to hear about your woes Trevor, I eventually gave my motorised base away, just couldn't get an even development with it.

B&W Neil
10th September 2009, 09:46 AM
I am now glad I haven't got a motorised base!

Neil.

Andrew Bartram
10th September 2009, 09:48 AM
Some days in the darkroom can be blissful (did I say days!!! I'm lucky to snatch an odd hour here and there) and productive others very depressing when it seems nothing is going right.
Glad it's not just me

Andrew

Richard Gould
10th September 2009, 09:51 AM
Happens to the best of us,Richard

alfie
11th September 2009, 04:11 PM
You can be too even in aggitation, the motorised base does just that, very even aggitaion. It needs to be more random, just like hand aggitation. Try putting a flourescent lamp starter (a cheap one not a posh electonic one) in series with the mains input to the motor unit, this will give a random start stop to the motion. I don't know how this will affect the motors life, however it will be random. I guess we have all seen the random flickering of a non starting office lamp before.

I won't give the usual safety thing here, we are all grown ups.

Trevor Crone
11th September 2009, 06:17 PM
You can be too even in aggitation, the motorised base does just that, very even aggitaion. It needs to be more random, just like hand aggitation. Try putting a flourescent lamp starter (a cheap one not a posh electonic one) in series with the mains input to the motor unit, this will give a random start stop to the motion. I don't know how this will affect the motors life, however it will be random. I guess we have all seen the random flickering of a non starting office lamp before.

I won't give the usual safety thing here, we are all grown ups.

Thanks Alfie, but I'm returning to the good old hand agitation as I used to do before I got the motorised base unit.

Keith Tapscott.
11th September 2009, 06:26 PM
Thanks Alfie, but I'm returning to the good old hand agitation as I used to do before I got the motorised base unit.Trevor, I remember reading some where about a photographer who uses 3 Jessops plastic paper-safes for processing 10x8 sheet-films, one with developer, one with stop-bath and the third with fixer. He reported that he got very even processing with that method. Once the film-sheet is inside and the cover is secured, you can go into room light.

Trevor Crone
11th September 2009, 06:44 PM
Trevor, I remember reading some where about a photographer who uses 3 Jessops plastic paper-safes for processing 10x8 sheet-films, one with developer, one with stop-bath and the third with fixer. He reported that he got very even processing with that method. Once the film-sheet is inside and the cover is secured, you can go into room light.

Hi Keith, the Paterson Orbital processor I suppose is a bit like a paper safe. Once the lids securly on its quite light tight.

As mentioned I had no problems with negative development until I started to use that darn motorised base. :mad: Just being lazy really, didn't really want to stand there jiggling the tank by hand.

Martin Reed
12th September 2009, 07:03 AM
.....I discovered it was the negatives that were at fault - slight uneven development in the centre of the negative resulting in a small dark area in the print.....

I tried the Paterson orbital for 5x4" when it first came out & was dismayed by the 'v' shaped agitation marks caused by the pins that separate the sheets - I think there's some trick for avoiding that, anyone know what it is?

Dave miller
12th September 2009, 07:28 AM
I tried the Paterson orbital for 5x4" when it first came out & was dismayed by the 'v' shaped agitation marks caused by the pins that separate the sheets - I think there's some trick for avoiding that, anyone know what it is?

Use irregular agitation "in the hand" rather than on the base with about three times the recommended volume of fluid seems to be the way to go.