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  #11  
Old 6th February 2014, 05:38 PM
Terry S Terry S is offline
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Hi again Jade.

I'm a bit confused so can you explain your phrase, "and the one that went through all three turned partially grey after a few minutes near a SAD lamp."

1. Was it grey before going near the SAD lamp?

2. Did you leave the SAD lamp on during developing, stop and fix?

I'm beginning to think the paper is okay and you may just be doing something a little silly... We all do it at some time or other!

Terry S
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  #12  
Old 6th February 2014, 05:39 PM
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Miha Miha is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by jadejessica View Post
Thank you for everybody's responses!

I just tried the test suggested by Mike and Big Paul, whereby I put one strip of paper through fix and one through dev, stop and fix, and the one that went through all three turned partially grey after a few minutes near a SAD lamp. I bought all of the chemicals and paper brand new online, although the paper looked as though it has been re-sealed, it was bought from an online store and not from a person, so I though it would be ok though clearly not.

I'll buy a new pack of paper and then revisit this thread if the problem re-occurs.

Also to answer a few questions that were asked of me:

- the safelight I am using is Paterson
- I have had the same results in compete darkness
- I am using RC Multigrade IV paper
- Filters are second hand but appear in good condition
- Negatives are exposed correctly - had digital prints done to determine this

Thanks again!
I would blame the paper.

This link will tell you how old is your paper: http://www.palomarkovic.net/mobile/BatchNumberDecoder/
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  #13  
Old 6th February 2014, 05:44 PM
jadejessica jadejessica is offline
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Hi Terry,
yes the margins stay white on finished prints, though I'm not sure whether this suggests that the test I did earlier means that there is a problem with the chemicals or the paper.

Yes I've finished my degree now, as you can probably tell it wasn't centred around darkroom photography and focused more on other areas such as commercial, fashion and studio photography.
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  #14  
Old 6th February 2014, 05:46 PM
jadejessica jadejessica is offline
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It wasn't grey until I put it near the lamp, which obviously wasn't in the room during development. I just put it near the lamp since it's night time and was told to put it near a window after the test to see if it turned grey.
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  #15  
Old 6th February 2014, 05:58 PM
Mike O'Pray Mike O'Pray is offline
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This is puzzling in the extreme. If your print borders are white then this suggests that the paper is fine as age-fogged paper will have borders that are slightly or markedly grey depending on how bad the age-fogging is.

Provided that the strip was taken out of the blackbag in total darkness then developed, stopped and fixed then whatever grey(due to age-fogging)there is becomes a fixed quantity and no amount of subsequent exposure to any kind of light should turn it grey or more grey.

Anyone got any ideas here? I am a bit flummoxed.

Mike
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  #16  
Old 6th February 2014, 06:08 PM
jadejessica jadejessica is offline
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I was confused too, so I did a second test and both strips came out white. I must have rushed some of the processes in the first test in hopes of finding an answer, causing one of the strips to turn grey due to incorrect processing. Sorry about that.
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  #17  
Old 6th February 2014, 06:13 PM
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Paul Glover Paul Glover is offline
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Sounds like you've done this with and without safelight, so it may be OK, but definitely test the safelight if you haven't already. An unsafe "safe" light will put you in a world of hurt.

Don't rush anything, the strip which went gray after some exposure to white light may have been not fully fixed.
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Last edited by Paul Glover; 6th February 2014 at 06:18 PM.
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  #18  
Old 6th February 2014, 06:14 PM
Richard Gould Richard Gould is offline
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Hi Jade and welcome to the forum, to me I would blame the paper, if as you say the black bag was unsealed, it could be that the paper has been fogged, or is old stock re packed and sold on, I would be inclined to get my paper from one of the forum sponsors, that way at least you can be sure of fresh stock, sometimes buying on line can be penny wise pound foolish, better maybe to pay a little more and get good stock,
Richard
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  #19  
Old 6th February 2014, 06:27 PM
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Miha Miha is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by jadejessica View Post
It wasn't grey until I put it near the lamp, which obviously wasn't in the room during development. I just put it near the lamp since it's night time and was told to put it near a window after the test to see if it turned grey.
I imagine you have fixed your print? Ilford fix 1+4 with water for 30 seconds or 1+9 with water for one minute.
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  #20  
Old 6th February 2014, 06:41 PM
paulc paulc is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by jadejessica View Post
- the safelight I am using is Paterson
- Filters are second hand but appear in good condition
- Negatives are exposed correctly - had digital prints done to determine this

There are two types of Paterson safelights. The old one looks a bit like an inverted jam jar, the newer model is dome shaped. The older type is not generally recommended for use with VC paper, but I have not had trouble with mine except when using very extended development times (30min plus when lith printing).

Just because a digital print "looks OK", don't assume the negative is correctly exposed & developed - During scanning and digital post processing, a number of corrections can be applied, sometimes automatically, others, on a manual basis.

If you are still struggling with prints turning grey after doing the tests, it might be worthwhile hooking up with a local FADU member - A second pair of eyes can go a long way in debugging your problem.
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