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Old 14th June 2021, 03:51 PM
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Martin Aislabie Martin Aislabie is offline
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Default Edge Stains on Prints ?

Hi guys.

I have some (but by no means all) prints which have an edge stain - see pictures.

The stain look almost as if there has been some sort of abrasion.

The prints only ever go in emulsion side up and I grip the prints using tongs by the other end of the print - the edge that is not affected.

Has anyone seen anything like it or has words of wisdom ?

Thanks

Martin
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Old 14th June 2021, 04:16 PM
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The only time I get edge stain is when the fix has had enough. they tend to have a bit of a blueish tint.
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Old 15th June 2021, 10:00 AM
Lostlabours Lostlabours is offline
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Can also bewhen the stop bath gets exhausted and the pH of the fixer shifts. It's chemical fogging.

Ian
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Old 15th June 2021, 11:48 AM
Terry S Terry S is offline
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I think I wrote a similar post to this, ages ago now, but in my problem, it was the whole print that got covered with brown stains. Strangely, they only became noticeable when I put the prints in the fixer.

The solution for me, anyway, was replacing the developer for fresh. I don't don't know why it happened, as I thought it was relatively fresh developer, but the problem went away.

So, I can only suggest that you maybe try changing the solutions, one at a time and see if that helps.

Terry S
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Old 16th June 2021, 07:27 AM
John King John King is offline
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Default What can be fixed

When I do colour printing I always replenish the developer, stop bath and blix at a rate of 10cc per 80 sq inches. That is the normal recommended by Kodak.

With B&W I have never seen it written down how much paper (in area) can be fixed assuming a new fixer bath is used.

I am not worried about the stop bath because with the indicator will tell me when to change and for each printing session I always use fresh developer. I know I never use it to a point when it is exhausted so that is not a problem.
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Old 16th June 2021, 09:41 AM
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Martin Aislabie Martin Aislabie is offline
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Hi guys

Thanks for everyone's help and suggestions.

Problem fixed.

I decided to take the nuclear option and replace all of the chemicals plus a thorough scrub of all of the trays too.

When I first saw the problem I wondered if it might be a problem with the fixer - so I replaced that but to no effect before I came to the forum to ask for help.

Like TerryS, the problem only became evident in the fixing bath -

The thing that really confused me was that it only happened on one edge of the print - and not on the rest of the print - plus the marks seemed to show signs of abrasion on the paper surface.

The fact that this was the leading edge of the print - the edge that got inserted first - may or may not have been significant.

So, rather than do a root cause investigation together with a design of experiments as I used to have to do in a previous life, I just chucked everything down the sink and started again

Martin
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Old 16th June 2021, 11:45 AM
Terry S Terry S is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Martin Aislabie View Post
So, rather than do a root cause investigation together with a design of experiments as I used to have to do in a previous life, I just chucked everything down the sink and started again

Martin
Sometimes that is just the best and simplest thing to do Martin.

Glad you got it sorted though.

Terry S
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Old 16th June 2021, 04:22 PM
Nat Polton Nat Polton is offline
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As it is only on the part of the paper that is cover by the arms of the masking frame, could it be rust or chemical contamination out of sight beneath the arms of the frame?
The drag marks could be produced as you remove it from the frame.

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Old 16th June 2021, 10:39 PM
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Edge staining/fogging seems to be like buses around here this week - that's the third one!

So far at least two appear have been fixed by using fresh chemicals so there may be a lesson there . Looks like chemical staining can take on unusual and varied presentations.
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