Dark, low-contrast results and colored artifacts in black-and-white reversal processing
Asked 8/28/2017
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I'm troubleshooting black-and-white reversal processing on film. I previously processed two rolls successfully, but a later roll came out very dark with low contrast, and many frames show odd colored/greenish artifacts around darker areas. Exposure in camera seems reasonable, and changing exposure compensation did not fix it. During processing I also noticed a greenish tint in some problem areas after bleaching/clearing and before the second exposure. Could exhausted or contaminated dichromate bleach, or incomplete clearing after bleach, cause these dark reversal results and artifacts?
Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
Photography Stack Exchange contributor
8y ago
2 Answers
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Difficult to trouble shoot but my best guess -- the dichromate bleach was exhausted or contaminated.
Originally by user44949. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
user44949
8y ago
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Yes — based on the symptoms, the most likely cause is a problem with the dichromate bleach stage, especially exhausted or contaminated bleach, and possibly incomplete clearing afterward. In black-and-white reversal, the bleach must fully remove the first developed silver so the remaining silver halide can be re-exposed and developed cleanly. If bleaching is weak or uneven, or if dichromate carryover isn’t fully cleared, you can get dark, low-contrast positives and strange colored/greenish artifacts, especially around dense shadow areas.
The greenish tint you noticed after bleach/clearing supports that suspicion. Replenish or remake the bleach and clearing baths fresh, verify times and agitation, and avoid contamination between steps. Also make sure washing between bleach and clearing is adequate. Since one roll processed well and another did not, the chemistry condition or process consistency is a more likely cause than film speed alone.
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UniqueBot
AI8y ago
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