Artifacts on Negatives

[Whit Palmer]

Hello folks,
I know I'm new to this forum, but I was hoping you guys could help me out. I have been developing and printing my own 35mm black and white negatives myself at home now for about a year and I have come across a consistent problem in my negatives. My negatives appear to have artifacts of some kind (mostly looking like scratches), and they are way too prominent for me to print a fine picture with. I handle the negatives as carefully as possible and I keep my darkroom equipment clean but the marks continue to appear. I was wondering if there is anything I am missing that could cause these marks to appear? Here are some examples of little string marks in the negative. They may be hard to see but they're definitely there.

Thanks.

 

[Derrel]

Looks like small pieces of fabric lint/fiber to me. Hard to see at this size, but white scratches or white lines on positive images made from negatives mean the offending defect prevents light from passing through. There are a number of sources that can cause this type of lint/fiber: paper towels for example, or old cotton towels; clothing that "sheds", like sweaters, and so on. Dust in the air in the scanner or enlarger is a possibility.

 

[photoguy99]

That's pretty messy but you could totally spot those out with a good brush and a bit of practice.

Derrel is right. Looks like you're not being clean enough.

Figure out where the marks are, on the negative, or only on the prints, and work on getting cleaner in the appropriate steps.

 

[480sparky]

They being white, I'd say it's lint/hair/fibers on the negs. Are you using a blower and brush on the negs right before you place the carrier in the enlarger?

 

[photoguy99]

Yes I agree that they're ultimately on the negatives.

The question is are they glued on there so they're in every print (in which case, dry your negatives in a cleaner place) or do they appear during printing (in which case, as sparky notes, clean your negatives better, but also clean up your enlarger and surrounding area)

 

[dxqcanada]

I agree with the others ... dust on the negs.
If they got there during the neg drying then your hanging area needs to be cleaner. If they stuck on you can try re-washing the negs.
If they not stuck on then use an anti-static cloth/brush before printing.
I picked up an anti-static vacuum brush from a Lab that closed down ... this is an example of a cheap version (without the vacuum) Kinetronics KS070 KineStat StaticWisk Anti-Static Brush KS070

 

[gsgary]

6 foot piece of 4" sewage pipe spray a mist of water in the pipe which will take the dust to the bottom of the pipe then hang your negs off a piece of dowel and place something on top and leave to dry