Separation of film emusion from base

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David Malott
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Joined: Mon Jul 20, 2009 11:23 am

Separation of film emusion from base

Post by David Malott »

In our lab we've enIountered a problem with a new 35mm ortho film we're trying (MACO ORT25c), where the emulsion separates from the base. This happens before or during developement. I've never seen this occur with any film, roll or sheet format. Any comments?

Keith Tapscott.
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Location: Plymouth, England.

Re: Separation of film emusion from base

Post by Keith Tapscott. »

David, could you explain which B&W process that you are using and how the MACO ORT25c films are processed? e.g, Dip & Dunk tank, small-tanks, rotary-tube, specific temperature of the solutions etc. This information could be useful to help to find out what might be causing the problem.

David Malott
Posts: 3
Joined: Mon Jul 20, 2009 11:23 am

Re: Separation of film emusion from base

Post by David Malott »

Thanks for your attention to this matter Keith. We process the film in a small tank in D19 and rapid Fixer. The problem occurs before developing though. Even when unrolling the film from the bulk roll, separation of the emulsion has occured. It seems to happen at the ends of the film strip but can occur randomly along the length after running through the camera. Areas as large as 2 to 3 exposures can be involved.

Keith Tapscott.
Posts: 551
Joined: Tue Jan 17, 2006 8:58 am
Location: Plymouth, England.

Re: Separation of film emusion from base

Post by Keith Tapscott. »

David Malott wrote: The problem occurs before developing though. Even when unrolling the film from the bulk roll, separation of the emulsion has occured. It seems to happen at the ends of the film strip but can occur randomly along the length after running through the camera.
That seems to be a manufacturing fault to me. Have you tried contacting Maco? They should be able to advise on the matter and perhaps offer either a refund or another batch of film for free.

David Malott
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Joined: Mon Jul 20, 2009 11:23 am

Re: Separation of film emusion from base

Post by David Malott »

Unfortunately, so far the supplier denies any other reports on the phenomenon and the manufacturer has yet to respond. I've never seen a film behave like this unless it was abused during processing.

Keith Tapscott.
Posts: 551
Joined: Tue Jan 17, 2006 8:58 am
Location: Plymouth, England.

Re: Separation of film emusion from base

Post by Keith Tapscott. »

The description of Maco ORT25C appears to be a suitable replacement for the old Agfa Ortho 25 Professional film. If the film you bought is as faulty as you said, then the quality control people at Maco films really need to respond to your questions very soon.
In the meantime, I would try contacting the more well known companies to see if there is a suitable alternative available.

Keith Tapscott.
Posts: 551
Joined: Tue Jan 17, 2006 8:58 am
Location: Plymouth, England.

Re: Separation of film emusion from base

Post by Keith Tapscott. »

David,

Kodak still make some special application B&W films, but I don`t know much about them or if they are readily available to buy. They might be worth checking out.
http://graphics.kodak.com/GB/en/Product ... efault.htm

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