More spotting on Tri-X

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In a previous post, I've questioned why exactly I'm getting spots on Tri-X. In that post, I received some great replies and ideas. I concluded that an extreme temperature increase caused the spotting and/or grain reticulation. Upon further investigation(strictly monitoring temperates, times, etc.) I've concluded that the spotting may have been due to rust in my rinse water. I have taken the advice of others and thrown away my film squeegee. I now do a final rinse of the film in a very dilute solution of photoflo in distilled water and air dry. Results are excellent with other films. I have also purchased a filter system for my water source and plan to experiment further. My confustion lies in the fact that I don't get any spotting on either TMX, TMY, or Delta 100/400. Is there something different about TX emulsion that is more sensisitive to rust? Thanks in advance-Paul.

-- Paul Klingaman (paul.klingaman@seagatesoftware.com), May 04, 1999

Answers

This is a tough problem. I have found that Edwal LFN (low-foam wetting agent) is a much better product than Photoflo. I put one drop in 500ml of distilled water for my final rinse--haven't had a water spot in years. But if your spots are other than water spots, I'd be hard-pressed to know where to look next.

-- Ed Buffaloe (edbuffaloe@earthlink.net), May 04, 1999.

Paul, do you have observable rust in your tap water? I have been using TX for years and never had a problem with spotting that couldn't be traced to hard water or soap film. How many rolls of TX have you done since you started with the final Photoflo rinse in distilled water. Maybe this is just a fluke.

-- Greg Augustine (wca@idt.net), May 04, 1999.

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