Response to presoaking film

I think that in general, presoaking makes little difference. I stopped doing it a looong time ago. However, in theory, by presoaking you have an emulsion filled with water molecules when you drain the water and add developer. Since the developer is a solution of active ingredients in a water base, it will take time for the developer to displace the soak water and bring the chemicals into contact with the emulsion. This implies that for some brief time, the actual developer contacting the silver compounds is more dilute than the nominal concentration. How long this lasts (depends on the exchange rate across the film surface) and what it implies for developing time and contrast is a question only a photochemist could love. I just think that it adds another variable I don't want.

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