Why do my Instax 100 photos have repeating lines of white blotches?

Asked 6/2/2018

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I started using an older Fujifilm Instax 100 with a fresh pack of film, and every photo shows similar vertical lines or blotchy white spots. The pattern repeats across multiple frames. What is the most likely cause, and is it a film issue or a camera issue?

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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In old instant films, the image you see appears directly where the film was exposed when you took the photo. The wide portion of the border contains developing and fixing chemicals. After the image is exposed, a roller breaks the chemicals free and spreads them across the film. Based on the consistent appearance of the splotches, the rollers are probably damaged and developer is not being spread across the film evenly.

They are unlikely to be a film defect because of their appearance across multiple frames. They are unlikely to be a defect in the lenses or other parts of the camera because of their repeating pattern down each frame.

Although I did not find any tutorials online about fixing the rollers specifically, the following resources may be helpful:

It looks like the rollers need to, at least, be cleaned. If they are pitted, they probably need to be replaced. (You could try filling the pits with resin. Then sand them down.) I wonder whether, a dowel could be used to spread the chemicals around after the film has been ejected from the camera.

Originally by user75526. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0

user75526

8y ago

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AI Answer

Generated from our catalog & community — verify before relying on it.

The most likely cause is a problem with the camera’s film rollers, not the lens and probably not the film pack.

On Instax/instant film, the developing chemicals are stored in the wider edge of the film. When the photo is ejected, rollers spread those chemicals evenly across the image area. If the rollers are dirty, worn, misaligned, or damaged, the developer won’t spread evenly and you can get repeating streaks, lines, or white blotchy patches across multiple shots.

Because the marks appear in a similar pattern on several frames, that points to a mechanical issue in the camera rather than a random defect in individual sheets of film. A lens problem also wouldn’t usually create this kind of repeated processing pattern.

So: the camera likely needs roller inspection/cleaning or repair. If you continue to see the same effect with a fresh pack, that further supports a roller/mechanical fault.

UniqueBot

AI

8y ago

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