Efke Ir 820 Processing Issues.

[specsphoto]

I recently shot my first roll of Efke Ir 820. I processed it with my schools chemicals which were d76 and arista universal fixer. I first prewashed the film like usual then used the stock d76 developer for 8 minutes agitating every 30 seconds. I then used water for a stop bath by agitating every 30 seconds for 5 minutes. I then poured in a 1:7 diltion of Arista fixer which is non hardening. I fixed for 6 minutes agitating every 30 seconds. I then poured out the fixer, and washed the film with water letting it continuously run into and out of the tank for 5 minites. When I pulled out the negatives they were completely yellow. Recognizing that the fixer didnt work, i returned them to the tank and fixed them with the standard Arista 1:4 dilution for 5 minutes agitating every 30 seconds. I then washed them again for with the same process as before. However this time when i removed the negatives they were opaque yellow in the middle like before but completely clear over the sprockets. what happened and how can I avoid it with my next roll? Buying different chemicals is not really an option at this point.

 

[Josh66]

Did you measure the temperature of the chemicals?

In my experience, Efke films turn a brownish yellow (almost like a nicotine stain or something) if your chemicals (not sure exactly which step is the culprit) are above about 25°C.

Also, they recommend a hardening fixer for Efke films... And your wash time seems kinda short too...

If re-fixing cleared the edges, I would say that you didn't fix long enough.

 

[dxqcanada]

Sounds like the chemicals are not able to evenly flow across the film.
Issue with how the film is loaded on the reel?

 

[Helen B]

It sounds like dichroic fog from developer carryover into a weak fixer.

 

[bsinmich]

I have never used a pre wash in over 60 years in the darkroom. All that does is dilutes the effect of the developer when it gets poured in. When pouring the developer just make sure you don't stop or pause while pouring. It also sounds like the film surfaces may have been touching at a couple of points.