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Extracting Cloudy Developer

I'm enjoying my Pinsta experiments but I'm definitely doing something wrong at least half of the time. Some of my prints come out pretty good but some of them come out very yellow and when this happens, I know it's going to happen because when I extract the developer, it's murky or cloudy in the syringe.

I'm preparing the Ilford developer as per the instructions and I'm typically developing for 90 sec at room temp. Some of the prints are just fine from the same batch of developer, but some of them are not and I'm not sure what I'm doing wrong. I think it's in the developer step since the cloudy developer is always a sign that it won't end well.

I'm new to using photo chemistry so I'm just trying to figure out what I'm doing wrong!

4 comments

4 Comments

Matthew Jeanes

Jul 25

Wow, thanks so much for this. This is very helpful indeed. I'm now thinking that the heat of the day was probably breaking down the chemicals. I used some of the problematic developer and then made up a fresh batch and made two pictures with the same settings about 10 minutes apart and the fresh developer fixed it all. I need to get some additional syringes now. These are 8-min exposures with 1:9 ratio developer, 90 seconds develop, and then 60 seconds fix.

Thanks again!

Matthew Jeanes

Jul 23

Thanks, Tim. I made a batch of developer that was about 400ml with room temperature water and saved that in a dark blue plastic bottle. I then took about 80ml of that and put it into a small travel bottle to take with me. For these prints, I never reused the developer, so I discarded it after it was extracted each time.

I made the developer batch and then used it from my travel bottle at various locations over a few subsequent days. The developer was probably 4-5 days old the first time I saw the problem. It did sit in a bag in my car during the day, which can get quite warm. but the liquid itself was never hot to the touch when I used it. I was only injecting about 15ml of developer each time, and extracting maybe 10ml when each print was done.

I experimented with a couple of different developing times since I've seen different numbers.

Usually I was developing for about 90 seconds, fixing for 60 seconds, then washing for 120 seconds. I do wipe out the camera thoroughly after each use. I had a decent print and a failed print on the same day with the same chemistry (a few hours apart), and then I had a bad day where three different attempts all came out cloudy.

Thanks for helping me learn!

Tim

Jul 25

Replying to

There’s nothing that immediately stands out. Normally exhausted developer is the prime suspect for staining, but given you have made an acceptable print earlier in the day that is unlikely.

Exposure of the developer to air will cause oxidation and that is observable by a change in colour, and would be accelerated by agitation during transport over several days

The type of image could affect the result. Assuming you are using Positive Paper, if it was over exposed the print will be light so there is less work for the developer, but more work for the fixer to do to remove all the unexposed silver halide. Conversely if the Positive Paper is under exposed the print will be dark and there is more work for the developer, and less for the fixer to do.

Other factors to consider your agitation technique, excessive time/exposure to air between the development and fixing steps, insufficient fixing, or contamination - A very small amount of fixer in the development process can cause staining.

Consistent and uniform agitation will help ensure all areas of the print receive equal or as close as possible exposure to the liquid. Insufficient agitation can cause streaks and uneven patches.

I have the original bottle of Dev (or Fix), and apart from making up the diluted solution, that never moves. I have a lots of concertina bottles that holds the diluted solution to exclude air, and that sometimes travels with me if I have a base/car to leave them. Then I have small travel bottles that I refill daily – these I’d only take enough for the expected number of prints I was going to make, plus maybe a few extras – so these would be maybe half full and I’d discard this daily. High temperatures over 40-50c can cause chemicals to break down.

Preloaded, and full syringes can minimise delays. You can fit 22ml if you carefully pull out the plunger. If you consider the amount of actual developer in a syringe (before dilution) it’s tiny 4ml at1:5 , so every extra ml counts. Sometimes I might take 2 sets of (3) syringes (in a Pinsta syringe dock) instead of a small refill container.

I’d also suggest both developing and fixing longer, and not reusing fix. Try 3 minutes assuming 20c, and keep the process between 14-24c. Often I make up my solutions to half strength, then add the extra water from a flask to control the temperature.

Tim

Jul 23

Please can you give more details about your process. I think the developer is exhausted, which causes the staining. However there are many reasons why a developer can degrade.

How old is the developer, and do you carry the original bottle around with you, or do you make up a quantity and carry that with you, leaving the original bottle at home?

What volume of developer are you making up at a time, what temperature is the water you use to dilute it, and how many times do you use a syringe of developer? When you use he developer, how much is going in, and how much do you lose - a full 20ml in, and ? ml out?

What steps are you using - dev, fix, wash? How long are those steps? Are you cleaning the internal camera area each time?

Are the prints that fail made at the same time as those that are ok?

Edited