120 home development issue

parko202

Hi all,

I developed a roll of black and white 120 with the results above - there’s three large areas on the strip of negatives with issues - this was my first time developing 120 so had plenty of issues loading on to the reel so thinking it could be light leaks (used a changing bag) as I reckon I got the chemistry part right.

My scanner is out of action until the end of the week and can post scans then - any ideas would be great!

DaireQuinlan

Looks as though the problem is your film got stuck together on the reel anywhere where you see those undeveloped bits. If you were having problems loading it's likely that it jumped a track and then as you loaded more it just got all jammed together like that. Probably permanently gone but just to be on the safe side, dump it into fresh fix and wash it again well to check. I've had rolls where the fix didn't take properly for whatever reason (old, didn't put enough in, didn't agitate) but after a good fresh fix it was right as rain. Your roll looks as though it's not even developed though in those spots but always good to check.

I find 120 generally easier to load than 35mm, but I've had those sessions where it just ... wouldn't .... get ... on the stupid ..... reel ..... I generally re-roll it, leave it for a bit in the darkbag, wait for the rage to subside and for everything to be nice and dry, and try again. Always make sure that 1. your reels are _completely clean_ and 2. that everything is absolutely dry. I generally wash and then soak reels for a day after dev to make sure all the stabiliser or wash aid is off them before re-using them.

parko202

Thanks Daire - I’ve put the roll into fresh fix and it certainly looks to have improved the negatives so fingers crossed. It would be great if the fix was that simple - will get some scans up once I’m back up and running.

Id say you’re completely right that the mistake was made when I was loading - it was a disaster! Not sure why I found it much trickier than 35mm but will be practising in the meantime.

Thanks again!

bemak

This happened me as well. In my case I hadn't filled the tank with enough developer. I still put in the 35mm amount, not the 120 amount. Any chance that's what happened you too?

parko202

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118315996#Comment_118315996

I suspect that is exactly it - used 500ml of developer and then went back to 300ml for stop and fix - presumably 500ml for each? I have previously only ever done one roll of 35mm at a time so I have been using more developer than needed.

DaireQuinlan

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118316549#Comment_118316549

If that's it then you're plain sailing, your re-fix ought to, eh, fix it. How were you agitating ? When you re-fixed did those opaque blobs resolve into proper negatives? If it was what I was saying earlier (film stuck together and not even dev'd) then they'd be blank after the fix. If they've fixed and there's a proper negative then it's likely bemak's suggestion.

parko202

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118317203#Comment_118317203

They've come good from looking at the negatives, there looks to still be some marks on them (probably because I didn't realise the issue was the 300ml of fix and when I put them in fresh fix I used....300ml again!) but definitely improved a lot and they had developed behind where the blobs were so sounds like that was the issue. I may refix them again tomorrow or leave them be as a reminder!

bemak

Welcome to the club 😂