Is this a scanning or development problem?

[Richard Campbell]

Hi,

I have recently started trying to develop and scan my own Bronica SQ-A photos. I have an Epson V550 flatbed scanner and have only developed a few rolls of film. The first couple of rolls developed really well and then seemed to scan with no problems. The images were nice and clear (with fairly noticeable grain as I was using Ilford HP5+). The most recent roll I developed has not worked so well, however. The images have come out with artifacts and I don't know if these are as a result of my development or my scanning. I have attached a zoomed in view of one of the pictures. There are some 'lines' which didn't appear the first few times I developed or scanned images.

The only thing that I did differently was that I used tap water instead of bottled water to mix the developer (Ilfosol 3) this time. I'm not sure if I got carried away with the agitation or didn't time it accurately - or something else I'm not aware of. I will have a go with bottled water again. I just wondered if anyone would be kind enough to suggest what might have caused the imperfections on this scan. The second picture is a zoomed-in example of a photo from one of my first batch - which was much better, as far as I can see.

I would be really grateful if anyone would suggest what I might have done wrong.

Thanks

 

[Ysarex]

Don't let the scanner sharpen the image. There's a sharpen option in the scan software. Make sure that's turned off and sharpen as needed in your post software.

 

[webestang64]

Are the lines in the film or after scanning?

 

[Richard Campbell]

Thank you for those replies-

I can’t tell on the negatives if the marks are there...do I need to get a loupe? I have never used one before and have only found out what it is when searching for information on checking negatives for problems.

I’m going to try rescanning without sharpening today. I scanned a different roll of film however after posting about this problem and that roll definitely did not have the same issue - so I guess it is something to do with my developing of the film.

do you have any idea what might cause the streaks when developing?

thanks again!

 

[webestang64]

Streaks during development would include improper agitation or not rinsed enough between stop bath and fix. Not using some type of Photo-Flo after washed or not washed long enough. Contaminated chems.

 

[JBPhotog]

Get yourself a magnifier, I think 10x should work and check the negs. It doesn't look like a scanner issue to me.

Do you squeegee your negs after you wash them?

 

[Richard Campbell]

I am looking at magnifiers now. I think by scanning other film again I can see that it was with this one particular film.

I think I developed a couple of films and thought ‘this is easy!’ and so was maybe not careful enough. I thought it was HP5 that I had used but it was actually a roll of (only just) expired Retropan soft 320 - so I’m thinking maybe that had something to do with it - and maybe Ilfosol is not the best developer to use with that film?

One way or the other, I’m going to be very careful with the next roll I develop and get a magnifier so that I can properly look at the negatives.

Thank you very much for the replies...the more I find out about developing the more I see there is to find out.