Getting streaks on my negatives - what should I do?

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Sam Hiser
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R3 MONOBATH DEVELOPER is a 6-minute stand developer designed to be warmed in an external water jacket to 80 degrees F (higher temperatures achieve the effect of a Push).  UPDATE: Agitation may be helpful in the first minute with 35mm and rollfilm.

Trouble with streaking is less common with sheet films, where stand development (no agitation) produces a sharpness not seen with other methods.

Particularly with 35mm and rollfilms, streaks can occur from rapid cooling or temperature differentials caused by pouring the solution slowly into a cold tank.  Development is rapid and the turbulence of the pour into the tank can also impact the lower portion of the film.  Agitation here may help.

Also, if you are willing to experiment, try inserting a loaded real into the warm solution (rather than slowly pouring the solution in upon the film).  With R3, most of the development takes place in the first few minutes.

By establishing a repeatable process that works for you, streaking can be totally eliminated.

Consult the R3 MONOBATH DEVELOPER Resource Page for further information.

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11 Comments

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  • 0
    Avatar
    Sam Hiser

    Flickr spaces dedicated to R3 MONOBATH DEVELOPER

    Ted Forbes'
    https://www.flickr.com/photos/tedforbes/sets/72157650008473213/

    Flickr "R3 MONOBATH" group
    https://www.flickr.com/groups/2772184@N25/pool/

  • 0
    Avatar
    Ralph Hope

    "Also, if you are willing to experiment, try inserting a loaded real into the warm solution (rather than slowly pouring the solution in upon the film). With R3, most of the development takes place in the first few minutes."

    I gave this a try and it caused REALLY bad streaking. Looking at the pattern of streaks, I'm pretty sure it's cause by developer exiting the top of the film holder. (it is the top, not the bottom of the film that is streaked, and it's centered around the holder holes). I think it is basically cause by the developer being pushed out through the holes and causing turbulence, whether putting the film in or pouring in the developer. 1 minute agitation seems to help but not completely resolve the issue. I will continue to experiment.

    I have developed 7 rolls now using 4 different methods (pour + no agitate, pour + agitate, drop film into dev + no agitate, drop film into dev + agitate).

    Drop film into dev + no agitate being the for streaking by a long way, although it was also the only roll of iso400 (the others being 100)

  • 0
    Avatar
    Ralph Hope

    Sorry, meant to say I have developed 7 rolls now using 4 different methods.. and got streaks on every one. The only two common factors are me and the film holder :p

  • 0
    Avatar
    Ralph Hope

    I have solved this! :)

    It was indeed caused by turbulace as the fluid was forced out of the top of the Paterson reel.

    What i did was to carefully cut away the top spiral with a scalpel so all i had was a hub, rim and 6 spokes left.

    The lower spiral holds the film in place in a spiral, the top just stops it floating away :)

    I then slowly lowered the film into the tank with NO agitation. And finally I have zero streaks!!

  • 0
    Avatar
    Kenneth Hooper

    Ralph:
    I'm having a hard time picturing what you did to solve the streaks.
    Could you post a picture of how you trimmed the reel?

    Thanks
    Ken

  • 0
    Avatar
    Ralph Hope

    Hi Kenneth,

    Absolutely.

    This is how the reel looks to start with. Notice how little room the fluid has to exit the reel. It's this 'jetting' that seemed to be causing my streaks.

    [img]https://farm1.staticflickr.com/502/19865123523_fe681f6181_h.jpg[/img]

    So I cut the spiral part off to leave this:

    [img]https://farm1.staticflickr.com/481/20298010578_4e9b189a4b_h.jpg[/img]

    The final revised reel looks like this:

    [img]https://farm1.staticflickr.com/293/20486054975_ccf5c194ba_h.jpg[/img]

    I then look a test roll of film and tried loading it and proceed to test and smooth out the 'spokes' with sand paper until the film loaded smoothly.

    Note that I've been trying this with 120 film.

    If the images don't work inline you should be able to copy/paste to your address bar. There's no preview here so I'm not sure if they'll work or not!!

  • 0
    Avatar
    Ralph Hope

    BTW, I've processed another 5 rolls since I posted this and not seen another streak, so it was 7 out of 7 with streaks before and 6 out of 6 without streaks since this mod.

  • 0
    Avatar
    Ralph Hope

    Sorry to keep posting, there's not edit and I forgot to mention one thing - look carefully; I left everything that's attached to the rim - it's only inside spiral that I removed.

    Limit of cutting:

    [img]https://farm1.staticflickr.com/552/19865347473_a19cddc26b.jpg[/img]

  • 0
    Avatar
    Sam Hiser

    Ralph -

    Thank you for experimenting and reporting.

    You've pinpointed the cause of the streaking to turbulence. It's great that you've got a solution.

    Try a method that does not involve cannibalizing your reels: gentle swirling agitation for the first minute. I'd like to know what you get. I've been getting streak-free 35mm results this way without cutting.

    We do not recommend cutting equipment.

  • 0
    Avatar
    Ralph Hope

    I did try gentle swirling and while it defiantly reduced it, it didn't completely solve the issue for me. Maybe the sprocket holes in 35mm film give the developer another escape route - out though top towards the center of the reel as where with 120 it has to exit through the immediate top, or the very ends of the film.

    To be fair, with agitation the streaks were mostly confined to the unexposed edge of the film rather than the image area but it would occasionally show up. Also I believe I read somewhere that stand development is sharper and less grainy :)

    Those not wanting to butcher their reels (and potentially injure themselves with a sharp object) could look for alternate reels. I believe the stainless steel ones designed for only 120 have a steeper spiral and bigger gaps at the top for fluid to exit.

  • 0
    Avatar
    Yuxuan Qi

    Hi, I got heavy streak that lined up with the sprocket hole, I did the reserch online, they said it usually caused by over agitation, but I did very little agitation, and I also tried with no agitation, and it still shows the sprocket hole streak, and especially heavy on one side of the film, did anyone know how to fix it?

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