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  #1  
Old 19th June 2012, 02:58 AM
AlanJones AlanJones is offline
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Default Mould growth on films and prints:

I see that this subject has cropped up in the great 'to squeegee or not to squeegee' debate. It is a new topic and should be treated as so.

I have been doing a lot of dry reading on this subject and also on infections in lenses as of late, making notes and will get them commented on by the Microbiology Department at the university here, where I have friends.

Anyone interested in this topic should read the 'Kodak Service Pamphlet AE22 dated July 2002' which will give a good basic understanding of the topic. But what they don't tell you is that their films, Ektachrome in particular acts as a magnet for these spores they really loved the gelatin and the dyes in the film and bred profusely in it. Kodachrome was not as bad and I have not got as far as colour neg materials yet. Agfacolor slides I had in a box with particularly badly infected Ektachrome slides were unaffected and I am no fan of the little yellow box.

Someone mentioned Formaldehyde in the stabilizer, well not so, since the early 1990's where it is included in the conditioner pre-bleach bath as a dye preservative. At the same time, the stabilizer solution contained a surfactant and anti-fungal agent along with the detergent to promote even drying. Trade name is Monistat and it has pharmaceutical applications in preparations for oral and vaginal thrush. There's yeast in poo!

Now I'll try and include a link to the leaflet:
Kodak Service Leaflet AE22 7.02.pdf
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  #2  
Old 23rd June 2012, 07:28 AM
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CambsIan CambsIan is offline
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Hi Alan,

Thanks for the link, most interesting.

Ian
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  #3  
Old 23rd June 2012, 08:05 AM
marty marty is offline
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Hi, there. Very interesting link, thanks for sharing it.

Cheers, M.
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Old 23rd June 2012, 06:04 PM
DavidH DavidH is offline
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I have some Agfa slides circa 1972 with mould growth. I have wondered about removing it. So far I have left it alone due to the high probability (or so I imagine) of making a bad situation worse. I would be grateful for suggestions from anyone with experience of de-moulding slides.
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Old 24th June 2012, 11:35 AM
AlanJones AlanJones is offline
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David,

I am interested to hear about your mould growth on Agfa. I take it that your slides were from a film that included the cost of processing by Agfa (then)?

My oldest Agfa slides in the boxes with the Ektachromes that were very bad were from the 1962 - 1968 period. From then until 1980 I did very little photography and what I did tended to be print film. Then, in 1980, I bought a new OM system camera and started using 'Agfacolor Professional' film which was around then for a few years. Again in about 1988 I hung up the camera until about 2005. I have no mould on these Agfa slides and perhaps they are still too recent to tell yet.

Sorry to hear your slides are ruined, you can do something to make them look better but they will always show marks. The question you have to ask first is simply 'is it worth it'. Having tried on a few Ektachromes, I thought it was not and binned them.
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Old 25th June 2012, 02:14 PM
DavidH DavidH is offline
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The Agfa slides were indeed process paid. So far as I can remember, they have not been subjected to conditions any different to those of other makes that I have, although admittedly, they are the oldest. They also seem to have faded.
For some time I used a postal firm in Diss that was cheaper tha the established brands. I don't know what make of film they used as it was re-packed under their own name, They seem to have survived O.K.
As for the Agfa slides, I think I'll leave them alone and maybe copy them. A poor slide is better than none at all.
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Old 25th June 2012, 03:33 PM
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Ian Marsh Ian Marsh is offline
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I would say that the make of film has very little to do with whether they have mould. There can be several reasons for growth, but typically they need a high relative humidity (above 60%) to grow.

A possible reason is that the slides were packed (sealed, effectively) into a closed environment before they were fully dry, (rushed) this would provide a suitable environment when warm.

If you have slides in boxes it would be good practice to open them lay the slides out to get some dry air circulation and package them again, this is where looking at our images can actually help to preserve them,

As to removal, mould is an organism that actually feeds on the emulsion, so once it is badly effected it is gone
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Old 28th June 2012, 12:46 PM
PaulBJE PaulBJE is offline
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Default Mould

Just slightly off thread, or maybe not, I have been developing colour prints recently using a Nova heated slotty thing. Last couple of times when I have removed the keeper on the stop bath slot there has been greeny mould/algae floating on the top! I have removed it with tissue but there must be some left in the solution. It does not seem to affect the prints and the developer and fix/bleach are unaffected. Has anyone else come across this? I am developing at 35 degrees and when I finish I replace the keepers and cover with cling film to reduce fumes.

The stop is Ilfostop diluted 1:9

PaulBJE
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Old 28th June 2012, 01:16 PM
Dave miller Dave miller is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by PaulBJE View Post
Just slightly off thread, or maybe not, I have been developing colour prints recently using a Nova heated slotty thing. Last couple of times when I have removed the keeper on the stop bath slot there has been greeny mould/algae floating on the top! I have removed it with tissue but there must be some left in the solution. It does not seem to affect the prints and the developer and fix/bleach are unaffected. Has anyone else come across this? I am developing at 35 degrees and when I finish I replace the keepers and cover with cling film to reduce fumes.

The stop is Ilfostop diluted 1:9

PaulBJE
Please clarify that you are switching the unit off at the end of a session or leaving it on.
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  #10  
Old 28th June 2012, 03:03 PM
PaulBJE PaulBJE is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Dave View Post
Please clarify that you are switching the unit off at the end of a session or leaving it on.
Switching it off, Dave. I coudn't afford the electricity to leave it on permanently!!!!

Paul
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