I'm having a problem printing my black and white negatives that have a lot of sky in them. For some reason I keep getting uneven dark and light areas in the sky on my prints. I can't see anything on the negatives (4x5 Ilford Delta 100 film) and when I make several prints of the same negative the dark and light areas are not always in the same spots.

Any thoughts or suggestions would be appreciated.

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<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: trink5.0 on 2005-02-25 06:37 ]</font>

That sounds very strange. Are they actually whole areas, or are they spots? Can you scan and post a picture? This has me puzzled just reading it.

Is your paper outdated? Are all your chemicals fresh and properly mixed, to proper dilutions? Is your developer temperature correct? Is your darkroom truly light-tight, and are your safelights in order? Is your agitation technique adequate (and consistent)?

Apologies if you've already thought of these.

<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: Henry on 2005-02-25 10:17 ]</font>

It sounds yo me as if there could be a problem in developement.
I always use a pre-soak to soften the emulsion.
I bang the tank down a few times at the start of each bath to dislodge any air bubbles from the film.
I had patchy developement from the first sheets I developed untill I observed the above precautions.

Good advice, that. Another possibility: improper storage conditions of unexposed film and/or paper, especially high heat and humidity.

Have you examined the negs on a light box through a loupe? There may indeed be a problem there that you can't see if you merely hold the neg up to room light.

But you say that your *prints* of the same image vary. This strongly suggests to me that the problem isn't with the negs, but rather with the paper development.

Check wall socket, power cord plug, lamp socket, and lamp for firm contacts and lamp output for <b>NO</b> varriation in light intensity. With no film/negetive in the enlarger, stop down to the maximun of the lens (f22 or f32) and do a step tablet of 2 or 3 second intervals and produce steps of zone 1 to IX and process. Ilumate the washed paper from the back and check each band for evenness.
Any minor fluctuation should show up.

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While a picture may be worth a thousand words, a quality photograph is worth a million.

<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: 45PSS on 2005-02-25 18:30 ]</font>

Thanks for all the replies guys.

I wanted to add that when I make prints from my 645 negatives I don't have any of these problems. I use the same chemicals, papers, and enlarger.

I'm going to examine the negatives under a loop and see what I find. The strange thing is that these light and dark areas are not always in the same locations from print to print. That makes me think the negs are not the problem.

Sounds like an agitation problem. Nobody knows if you really have the ability to see such problems in your negatives with a lupe...maybe you do, maybe you don't.

You do inevitably agitate your 645 rollfilm differently than sheetfilm, even if you're using some kind of daylight sheet film tank (such as Yankee).

I like that presoaking idea. I'd also suggest a slow-acting developer or slow dilution (over 5 minutes certainly) so as to reduce the impact of agitation variables.

Tell us what kind of tank you're using...

645=good results
4x5=questionable results,
sooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo,
1).Are you using the same enlarger for both 645 and 4x5???????????
A). Yes=is the negetive carrier for the 4x5 holding the film totaly flat or is it allowing the negetive to curl slightly which can shift while the negetive is in the enlarger due to temperature change in the enlarger head.
2). Uneven developement becomes more noticeable in light tone areas of negetives (more density). I discovered this when I started scanning my negs. Adjustment to agitation corrected the problem. 1+2=floating density errors in print????????
Charles

_________________
While a picture may be worth a thousand words, a quality photograph is worth a million.

<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: 45PSS on 2005-02-28 22:42 ]</font>

I use a Yankee daylight film developing tank.

I do use a pre-soak in water before development.

What kind of agitation do you guys recommend for this type of tank?

I use Ilford DDX developer, my development times are usually around 7 minutes or so.

<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: trink5.0 on 2005-03-01 10:14 ]</font>

I have a theory about Packer fans who wear cheesehead hats in the darkroom, but I hesitate to introduce it to this august forum....

Side to side so that developer goes across the film not back and forth against the film.
But if you really want to solve the problem, put the Yankee on a shelf and get a <a href=http://www.jobo-usa.com/products/2500.htm>Jobo 2500 series tank and a 2509n reel or two</a>.
I use 2521 tanks with 2509n reels and do hand inversion processing using Xtol 1:1, and a 2551 with 2-2509n's on a Beseler reversing motor base.
Charles
_________________
While a picture may be worth a thousand words, a quality photograph is worth a million.

<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: 45PSS on 2005-03-01 23:48 ]</font>

I had this problem and put the daylight-tight sheet film tank on the shelf! (Even after much advice on using the Yankee tank from great folks on this forum, I still could not get even development with it.) I went back to stainless holders and 64 oz. (half-gallon) open tanks (requires five), the same method I used in Arizona back in high school in the late 1960's (they had us use the Anniversary Graphic for large group photos). I process six sheets max. at one time in total darkness.

I hit the jackpot on tanks and hangers at a local antique mall - bought 20+ like new hangers and 6 hard-rubber tanks that were like new for $15 for the lot. I have seen the hangers for $1-$3 at photo swaps.

Tank 1 - Empty tank for staging the film.
Tank 2 - Developer
Tank 3 - Stop
Tank 4 - Fix
Tank 5 - Wash

I use the development times for "large tank" with one minute agitation (total darkness req'd until film in fix for a minute).

When I first put the hangers into the tank, I lift and drop them sharply on the tank edge to dislodge air bubbles.

Agititation - I follow an old Kodak book recommendation. Lift and tilt to the left, then lift and tilt to the right, then re-immerse making sure there's a gap between the hangers. Don't lift the hangers too fast or the velocity of the developer between thru the holes will leave higher density marks on the film. The whole agitation process should be done smoothly and last about 10 seconds.

I haven't |\\\\\+ 'd up any film in years since I went back to hangers and open tanks.

More and more, I am favoring home made BTZS tubes for sheet film. My Yankee tank made me mad one too many times and I'm no good at using trays. Too many scratches.

I agree that hard rubber or stainless tanks with hangers are the ultimate. Everything else is a compromise.

Saying that, I've had good results with the CombiPlan adjustable rectangular tank: daylight, uses very little chem and can be adjusted to both 2X3 and 4X5, which meets my needs.